Text: Crossover networks are used in speakers to separate the treble from the bass in order to feed high-frequency tones to the tweeter and low-frequency tones to the woofer. The simplest type of crossover is a high-pass filter, which merely keeps the bass notes out of the tweeter, thus preventing tweeter damage. A more complex crossover, consisting of one or more coils and capacitors, also keeps the highs from entering the woofer, where they may be distorted. The frequency above and below which the frequencies are routed to the woofer and the tweeter is called the crossover point. A well designed crossover network must be matched to the characteristics of the speakers so that a smooth transition will occur at the crossover point. For speaker systems with a separate mid-range speaker, a more elaborate three-way crossover network is used to divide the total frequency range into three portions - bass, mid-range, and treble - each going to its appropriate speaker.

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