Rane Offers Two New Crossovers With 31-Position Frequency Selectors

The new Rane SAC 22 stereo two-way crossover and SAC 23 stereo three-way crossover include single accurate 31-position frequency selectors (guaranteeing identical left & right crossover points), stereo output level controls ganged (guaranteeing identical left & right levels).

Both units have mono sub out (fixed 100 Hz low-pass, with front panel level control), input level control with "+4 dBu" and "OL" indicators for optimal gain structuring, 24 dB per octave Linkwitz-Riley filters guarantee in-phase outputs, balanced XLR inputs and outputs, and internal power supplies with low-noise toroid transformers.

Both employ state-variable 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley filter alignments to minimize phase difficulties in the critical crossover region. A Linkwitz-Riley crossover exhibits identical phase characteristics on its Low pass and High pass Outputs. This characteristic guarantees in-phase outputs at all frequencies.

In-phase outputs are mandatory for proper acoustic summing of common signals from adjacent drivers in the crossover region. An added benefit of this topology is steep 24 dB per octave rolloff slopes. A slope of this magnitude guarantees drivers designed to produce a specific range of frequencies, and no more, will not be driven past their limits, thereby minimizing distortion and driver fatigue.

Both crossover units utilize a 31-position precision DC control voltage potentiometer to select the low/high frequency point. This crossover circuit design assures consistent accuracy from channel-to-channel and unit-to-unit.

A mono subwoofer output provides a separate mono sum of the left and right low outputs. A 100 Hz low pass filter may be activated for this output. The subwoofer output may be used along with the left and right low outputs.

The input level allows decreasing the overall sensitivity of the entire sound system, including the mono subwoofer if one is used. The low level, high level and mono subwoofer output level controls allow compensation for sensitivity variations in amplifiers and drivers.