Thank you for your purchase of Volti Audio VTK Crossovers.
This page will guide you through the installation and adjustments of your crossovers.

If you need the installation page for the original VTK400 crossover, please click

HERE

If you need the installation page for the VX crossover, please click

HERE

VTK crossover networks are shipped in product-specific packaging that has proven to be very durable, and we've had very few problems so far with shipping damage.   However, please inspect the box and contents for damage, and if you do have shipping damage, please let me know asap, and before you install anything so we can put a claim in to the shipping company for reimbursement on the insurance.

Installation

First, remove the old networks and wiring from the speakers.  If you're upgrading other components, install everything else first before installing the new networks.  Take this opportunity to remove and clean the wire connections to the woofer chamber door, as well as all other wire terminations, which may have become corroded over time.

VERY IMPORTANT FOR KLIPSCH KHORNS with AK-2, AK-3, AK-4, and AK-5 crossover networks.  These networks have woofer crossover components located inside the woofer chamber, mounted on the inside of the woofer chamber cover.   It is very important that you REMOVE OR DISCONNECT the stock, existing crossover components located inside the woofer chamber door if your Khorns have them.   If you are unsure about this, you should remove one woofer chamber cover and have a look.  The new networks have all of the woofer components necessary, located on the main board and will not work properly if the signal is passed through these other components.  The woofer output of the network must have a direct wired path to the woofer without going through additional components, on both the positive and negative wires.  If you have components inside the woofer chamber, you should disconnect the existing components from the connectors on the woofer chamber door and add new wire directly from those connectors to the woofer.   If you have any questions about this, please contact Volti Audio for assistance before operating the speakers.

Volti Audio crossovers are not screwed into the cabinets.  They have sticky polyurethane feet that hold them in place inside the cabinet.  If you are moving your speakers (more than just sliding out of the corners), you may want to remove the networks so if you tip the speakers they don't fall out.

VTK Crossover Connection Path

Connections are very straight forward.  The input from your amplifier goes to the binding posts, and then each driver (woofer, midrange, tweeter) is connected to the appropriate screw terminals as indicated on the front edge plate.

You can connect the wires coming from your amplifier to either of the two sets of binding posts.  These binding posts have jumper wires connecting the two together.  If you are bi-wiring, remove the jumpers and run the two sets of wires from your amplifier to the crossovers.  On the VTK crossovers, the left set of binding posts (facing the front of the crossover), connect to the woofer crossover filter and the right binding posts connect to the mid/high crossover filters.   Once the jumper wires are removed, there is a complete disconnect between the woofers and the midrange/tweeters.

Connect your woofer, midrange, and tweeter wires to the screw terminals on the front edge of the crossovers, making sure that the wire terminations are securely held in place by each screw.

It is very important to make sure the polarity is correct for all of the connections.  It is easier than you think to have one of the drivers wired backwards.  While being wired backwards does not cause any serious damage to occur, it does interfere with the imaging, soundstage, and possibly the tonal qualities of the system.

Important note: For those of you who have Klipsch Khorns with AK-2, AK-3, AK-4, or AK-5 crossover networks, do not use the input binding posts on the woofer doors as an input from your amplifier as you have been doing.   Now, the input will go to the new crossover in the upper part of the cabinet and a wire will go from the woofer output on the new crossover to the woofer.  I recommend disconnecting all the crossover components inside the woofer chamber from the upper binding posts on the woofer chamber doors and use those as inputs to the woofer.  A new wire needs to be installed from the upper binding posts to the woofer directly.  Once you have done that, you can then plug in the wire from the crossover to the upper set of binding posts to connect the woofer.  There are other ways to make connection to the woofer, like installing new binding posts in the woofer chamber cover, or installing new woofer chamber covers with new binding posts, or drilling small holes and running longer wires directly in to the woofers, etc...  Please consult with me on these options and I'll help you figure out what will work best for you.

Another important note: These crossovers are built with a very simple design and very few components on purpose.   The goal is to use these crossovers to balance and voice the upgrades in your Khorns to capture the best sound available.    The fewer the components, the less there is between you and your music.   To that end, we have not installed any measures to protect any of the drivers from damage caused by excessive power levels.   It is the responsibility of the user to be aware of how much power is being fed to the speaker, through the crossover network, and use necessary caution and restraint to protect the speaker components, especially the tweeters. Do not rely on the crossover network to provide protection for your speakers.   If you feel you need protection for your speakers (teenagers and very loud music maybe?), please add this protection in line to your networks with an inline fuse holder and the appropriate fuses.

Resistors

In our speakers, the midrange and tweeter often are much higher sensitivity than the woofer, and it is necessary to attenuate or turn down the output of the midrange and tweeter in relation to the woofer (which is not attenuated) in order to properly balance the system.  In the stock Klipsch crossovers the output levels of the midrange and tweeter are fixed in place.  In the VTK crossovers, we have the ability to choose the output level of these drivers.

Attenuation of the midrange and tweeter is done with resistors that are installed on the crossover board.   There are spaces on top of the crossover board for four resistors.

From left to right, the first resistor is Midrange Resistor 1 (MR1), second is Midrange Resistor 2 (MR2), third is Tweeter Resistor 1(TR1) and fourth is Tweeter Resistor 2 (TR2).

MR1 and MR2 resistors work together to attenuate the midrange output level and TR1 and TR2 work together to attenuate the tweeter output level.

Please take a minute to study the photos shown here to familiarize yourself with these resistor locations.

Here's a closeup photo of a resistor

Nomenclature = "LYNK" is the brand - "10W" means 10 watt and "5R1J" means it is a 5.1ohm resistor.   A 12ohm resistor would have "12R". The 5R1, 12R, etc... is the only part that you need to identify if/when you replace any of the resistors.

Connecting the tweeter

You will always need to attenuate your midrange drivers, but you might decide not to attenuate the tweeter at all and run it at full output.  This is common, especially with the stock K77 tweeters.  If you decide not to attenuate the tweeters, you will not have any resistors on the board in the TR1 and TR2 positions, and you will need to connect the tweeter to different screws on the board as shown below.

Here's what it looks like with the tweeter connected to the screws with no attenuation - no resistors in TR1 and TR2

Here's a close up

Important Connection Notes Regarding Resistor Wires

When connecting resistors and/or drivers into the screw terminals, it is important to make sure that all wires and terminations are secured by the screws.  Be sure to look closely and make adjustments to the resistor wires as they are turned around the screw to make sure the screw head is binding everything down to the board.  The pictures below are close-up shots showing how the wire is looped and how the wire is 'captured' under the screw head to make good contact with the termination on the board.  Note - I often remove screws completely and put them through the loop of the resistor wire instead of straightening and re-looping the wire around the screw.

Very important note - please look at the picture below

Notice how the MR2 and TR2 resistors connect to the positive output and not the negative at the front edge of the crossover?  Please see the photo below and look at the area highlighted in Orange.  This is a very important detail to know and understand, because it would be more intuitive to simply connect each resistor to the negative screw terminal directly in line with the resistor, and that is something you do not want to do.

Attenuating and Balancing the Output of the Midrange and Tweeter

We've covered the basic connections, resistors, resistor locations, and important details about how to make connections.  So now lets talk about adjusting the output of the midrange and tweeter for your preferred balance of the system.

When you placed your order for your VTK crossovers, I asked you which midrange driver you would be using - the stock K55 or the BMS 4592 as part of your Volti Audio Klipsch Upgrade Package.  I have installed the MR1 and MR2 resistors for your mid drivers and installed resistors in the TR1 and TR2 positions to attenuate the tweeter output -1.5db.  This will be a good starting point for you to listen to music.

After you've listened to music you might decide that you would like the midrange or tweeter output levels to be higher or lower than they are currently set at.  This is easy to do by following the instructions below and by using the extra resistors included with your VTK crossovers.  By installing different combinations of resistors on the boards, you will be able to change the output of the midrange and tweeter drivers in relation to the woofers, which run at full output all the time.

You have three different tweeter output levels to choose from.  First is to have no attenuation, with no resistors in the TR1 and TR2 locations.  Second, you can choose a -1.5db setting by installing the 1.2ohm resistor in the TR1 position and the 47ohm resistor in the TR2 position.  Your third option is a -3db setting by installing a 2.2ohm resistor in the TR1 position and a 22ohm resistor in the TR2 position.   The picture below may be helpful.

You have five different midrange output levels to choose from.  The choices for the K55 midrange drivers use different resistor combinations than the choices for the BMS 4592 drivers.  The two pictures below show the resistor combinations for each of these two drivers.  The resistor combination shown in the middle of the chart is the starting point, and for each of the drivers, you have two choices that are higher in output and two choice lower in output.

K55 Mid Driver

BMS 4592 Mid Driver

As an example.  Let's say you have the BMS4592 mid drivers and the current resistors are the ones I installed - MR1=12ohm and MR2=6.2ohm, which gives us a -11db setting for the midrange.  If you wanted your midrange to be just a bit higher in output, you would change MR1 resistor from 12ohm to 11ohm and the MR2 resistor from 6.2ohm to 6.8ohm.  This would give you a -10db setting, or one db less attenuation.

You'll find more Resistor charts at the bottom of this page.

Upper Midrange Response

You can adjust the amount of upper midrange by simply moving a resistor from one screw terminal to another.  I offer this feature because I like the sound of both settings, and I suspect that some of you will like the upper midrange response one way and some of you will like it another way.   It's your choice.

In the two pictures below, notice how the MR1 resistor is connected to two different screw terminals.

With the MR1 resistor connected to this screw terminal, the upper midrange is more prevalent in the mix.

With the MR1 resistor connected to this screw terminal, the upper midrange is softened or rolled off a bit.

My Preferred Settings

For Khorns with the full upgrade package with V-Trac midrange horns, BMS4592 midrange drivers, and Beyma CP25 tweeters:
MR1 resistor connected to the left most screw terminal for a bit of a roll-off of the upper mids.
Four resistors from left to right - MR1=12, MR2=6.2, TR1=1.2, TR2=47

For Khorns, La Scala, Belle with stock midrange horns, K55 midrange drivers, and K77 tweeters:
MR1 resistor connected to the left most screw terminal for a bit of a roll-off of the upper mids.
Four resistors from left to right - MR1=9.1, MR2=10, TR1=none, TR2=none

Please keep in mind that these preferred settings are what 'I' prefer.  You may like something different and there's nothing wrong with preferring a different setup for your system.  That's exactly why I offer crossovers that are adjustable.  Trust your ears and Have Fun!

Email

If you have any questions or problems with your installation, or if you need replacement resistors, or need some advice on anything to do with your system, please don't hesitate to send me an email or call me.  My phone number is on your invoice.