Group delay and crossover slope? (1 Viewer)

[Glen_L]

I sent off an e-mail to Outlaw inquiring as to what type of slope to expect on their upcoming pre/pros. They said that they were considering either 2nd or 3rd order (12 or 18dB/octave) slopes. They said they wouldn't use a 24dB/octave slope in order to avoid group delay.
It seems to me that too shallow a slope has inherent disadvantages. Your mains might be sent reproduce bass information beyond their capability, while the sub would become more localized by reproducing higher frequency bass.
What exactly is given up by using a more rapid rolloff at the crossover point? Do you lose the "blending" between the mains and subwoofer with a steep XO? How does group delay factor in here?

 

[Greg Monfort]

The higher the order, the greater the GD, or 'ringing'. Still, I'll take the ringing over the alternatives you list in the LF BW any day. Higher up, where our hearing is more acute, I go for the lower order XO's, 1st or 2nd. For sure the higher orders require a

 

[Chris Hoppe]

I suspect another reason they would want to go with 2nd or third order crossover is so they can maintain the ability to adjust the crossover point. An adjustable 4th order crossover is a very expensive proposition whichever way it is done.
In my opinion and experience, 24db on a subwoofer is ideal.