Hybrid Audio Technologies Legatia Pro - Manual (Page 19)

Legatia Pro User’s Manual ©Hybrid Audio Technologies Page 19 of 43
Stage V Legatia L2x Two-Way Vertically-Biamplified Passive Crossover
NOTE: Although the Legatia L2x is listed in the Stage V Legatia series, it has multiple complimentary
uses for Stage VI Legatia SE and Pro products as well, given the complimentary crossover topology
and use of low-tolerance, asymmetrically-aligned componentry and lack of board-mounted
equalization.
History
The Legatia L2x topology is an enhanced Stage V version of the Stage IV Clarus C2x passive
crossover network, which was first released with the Clarus C61-2 set in January 2008. It’s no secret
that Hybrid Audio Technologies highly recommends the use of active crossovers that are set-up and
adjusted by an industry specialist, such as a master tuner, or a highly-qualified car audio shop
installer (please read any number of White Papers on the subject of passive crossovers on the Hybrid
Audio web page). In some cases, however, using active crossovers is not a viable option, so we
designed and manufactured the Legatia L2x to allow for easy Legatia installations, especially when
multiple amplifier channels and/or adequate active crossover processing was not available in the car
audio installation.
The L2x can be used for two-way passively crossed-over systems, or used as the two-way dividing
network for midrange and treble drivers in a “quasi-active” three-way (six speaker) system, where the
midbass is actively crossed-over at the amplifier.
The L2x is based loosely off of the Clarus C2x crossover, with key enhancements, including the
option for vertical bi-wiring, as well as an enhanced filter set using low-tolerance, super high-quality
componentry. The Legatia L2x was launched in September 2009 and is the reference two-way
passive crossover in Hybrid Audio’s product category known collectively as the Legatia Series.
Key Issues in Passive Crossover Design
Before highlighting the L2x’s design attributes, there are certain key issues in passive crossover
design that the end-user should be aware of. For years, vocal manufacturers have coerced the
consumer into believing that capacitors, coils, and resistors are not only desirable, but are a
requirement. One notable “high-end” speaker manufacturer boasts that they spend “months” working
on crossover designs to ‘enhance’ their speakers. To ‘enhance’ means to add considerable filtering
to fix speaker response anomalies, aka poor speaker designs.
Our speaker design philosophy is to spend the time and resources necessary to make the speakers
exceptional in the design phase, and then use simpleton filtering to protect only for thermal protection
at resonance and provide the desired frequency response filtering via crossovers. It is our philosophy
that the passive crossover should not contain any level of equalization; none of our designs, in any
series, use crossovers that contain any form of equalization beyond simple tweeter attenuation. We
believe in making the speaker great, not trying to fix a poor speaker with filtering and attenuation.
There's no crossover in the world that can make a poorly-designed speaker sound good. This is why
there’s a relatively simple, high-quality crossover topology employed on the Legatia L2x crossover,
with no additional board-mounted equalization. And this is also why we implore you to use our world-
class speaker systems in concert with the L2x.