Speaker Crossover Network Components that Assist, but Are Not in the Signal Path – A Spice Simulation of How This Works

Let’s do a Spice Simulation of this design.

Spice Simulations of a two-way, 2^nd-order Speaker Crossover Network with an Assistance Part that is Not in the Signal Path.

The table above is a component summary for the simulated two-way crossover network used to generate your original graphs. It lists all electrical elements in both the baseline (standard LR2) and assisted versions of the crossover, along with their exact numeric values in SI units (henries, farads, and ohms).

Here’s what each section represents:

Main crossover filter (baseline)

Together, those four parts form the textbook Linkwitz-Riley 12 dB/octave crossover.

Assistant / corrective networks

These parts do not carry the main audio signal but shape the response, impedance, and damping.

What the table shows overall:

In short, this table is the engineering recipe for the crossover—the electrical blueprint behind the plots used as Figures 1 and 2 (Figures at the top of this page).

1. What SPICE simulation means

SPICE stands for Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis — a physicsbased circuit solver originally developed at UC Berkeley.

It computes how voltages and currents behave in a network of resistors, capacitors, and inductors across frequency.

In this case:

From that, the simulation produced:

2. How the table fits in

The table labeled “Crossover Components: Baseline and Assisted” lists every component value used in the SPICE netlist:

Each numeric value (in SI units) was directly inserted into the SPICE equations to calculate the plots.

3. What the two plots represent

These are the exact quantities a real amplifier would see if it drove that network.

4. Why simulate

In short:

The simulated network is a two-way, 2nd-order (12 dB/octave) passive crossover, the classic Linkwitz–Riley or Butterworth topology used in countless loudspeakers.

Let’s break that down precisely:

1. Two-Way

That means it divides the audio signal into two frequency bands:

No midrange driver is present — it’s a 2-driver system (woofer + tweeter).

2. Second-Order

Each branch has two reactive components (one L and one C), producing a 12 dB per octave slope:

At the crossover frequency (≈ 2 kHz in your case), both outputs are down by 6 dB, and their phase shift is complementary. When summed acoustically, they produce a flat overall response (the hallmark of a Linkwitz-Riley 2nd order, or LR2).

3. Assistant Networks (Supportive Elements)

To refine the behavior, four additional “off-path” corrective networks were included:

These don’t change the fundamental 2nd-order topology; they fine-tune its accuracy.

4. Crossover Frequency and Behavior

Using the component values:

The electrical cutoff frequency is:

confirming a 2 kHz, 2nd-order crossover.

Summary

So, the network simulated in these graphs and table is a two-way, 2nd-order crossover, enhanced by auxiliary correction circuits that improve real-world performance without altering its fundamental LR2 (Linkwitz–Riley, 2nd-order) architecture.

It refers to a specific crossover alignment defined by Siegfried Linkwitz and Russ Riley, and it tells you how the filters are shaped, how steep they are, and how they sum.

A Linkwitz–Riley (LR) crossover is designed so that:

This is achieved by choosing specific filter Q values and mirror-image filter sections.

What the “2” in LR2 means

The number indicates the order of the filters:

So, for LR2:

When summed acoustically:

That’s the defining LR behavior.

How LR2 differs from other common crossovers

LR2 trades gentler slopes for excellent phase coherence.

Why LR2 matters in your crossover discussion

When I said:

“without altering its fundamental LR2 architecture.”

I meant:

• Zobels
• notch filters
• damping resistors
• impedance stabilizers

These do not change the crossover order or alignment

So electrically and acoustically, it’s still an LR2 crossover, just better behaved in the real world.

Why LR2 is often chosen for high-end speakers

This fits perfectly with the YG Carmel 3 design philosophy: precision first, with driver and crossover behavior optimized through extensive simulation, and then implemented using carefully chosen passive components, rather than relying on brute-force filtering in the signal path.