Do I need an EQ or Crossover to do this.....

Either would work, but I would recommend a crossover personally. With a crossover, the cutoff freq tends to cut more and more the farther you get away from the crossover point, whereas an EQ usually cuts 12dB at each frequency, and that's it. It will be a cleaner cutoff with a crossover. Then run each to a different side of the power amp and then to the respective cabinets.

 

It's also worth adding that with today's full-range cabs, it's a lot of hassle for very poor results.

 

I think what he means is, Since the cabs are made to work with both the high and the low frequencies, not just the lows or highs, it probably wont sound that different(/good ?) and therefore not worth the effort of setting it up.

 

It'll certainly sound different, wether it sounds good or bad is a matter of opinion and judicious crossover tweaking. Plus, simply because a cab is "full range" doesn't mean it's automatically gonna sound bad with a crossover. I'm curious to know what the thinking is behind this particular theory.

 

I think I like the idea of using the EQ better. It's true that both cabs are intended to be full range, but being able to roll off the lows on the 210 to keep it from muddying up and seperately tweaking the 115 sounds like a good plan to me.

A crossover will kill ALL of the sound above/below a set frequency on a slop of -6 to -24 db per octave. It's really intended for using two very different cabinets, like a PA system with dedicated subs mids and horns.

The crossover is a one trick pony while the EQ is fairly usable in a variety of settings. An EQ can also be had any day of the week for cheap on ebay. A crossover is a little tougher to come by cheap.

 

Using a crossover will bring more balance and tone consistency issues than keeping both cabs full on.
In other words, You don't solve the problem, just add more parameters to the equation.

 

But the same is true for a non-full-range cab, so...?

I sorta know what you're saying, but what's he gonna do? He already has balance and tone issues, he can't stick it out, he's gotta do something.

A crossover has less parameters to tweak than an EQ, and it has the potential of solving his problem - even if it does make his setup more complex.

 

Don't want to screw up your idea. But don't you need 2 power amps? to amp the 2 diferent EQ lines? My Hartke has 2 poweramps (HA5000, 2 x 250 watts) and has a crossover. But I never use it, I like the blend of EQ through each cab (back when I had a 15 and 410). Now I only have a 610 SVT. I think most of the crossovers and EQ's are for use between the pre en power amp, so if you have only 1 poweramp it wont have any use.

 

Line level crossovers are available in rack format and they go between pre and power amps. Other crossovers are often found inside speaker boxes and are (obviously) designed to go between power amp and speaker.

The obvious difference is that line level crossovers are often variable whereas crossovers inside speaker boxes are usually non-adjustable. Some adjust-ability is especially useful if you're not quite sure how you want the crossover set.

However, fixed crossovers that live inside speaker boxes negate the need for two separate power amplifiers as only one speaker level signal is needed to feed the crossover and the speakers.

So to answer your question, if you don't have precise crossover frequencies and filter responses in mind, you definitely want a line level crossover (ie; between pre and power.)

 

If you insert an equalizer between the power amp and speakers, you'll have a cloud of smoke in just a few seconds.
It should be inserted between the preamp and power amp.