Active Speaker Choice


Active speakers utilizing DSP seem to take the room out of the equation, so now I'm now considering going this route, at least at my present residence.

Lots of buzz arounds names like: Dutch & Dutch, ATC SMC 40A, Kii Three, Buchardt A700. 

Most are pretty big bucks, so pricewise, I would prefer to lean more towards the Bucharts' but I'm open a bit (used?)

Most are difficult to demo, so please, if you have comments or recommendation these or any other active speaker you have heard or can recommend, it would greatly be appreciated.


high-amp

Showing 8 responses by djones51

Geithain is hard to get in the US. I know there's a dealer in the UK don't know if they ship to the US. 
If you want small package full range you might give Devialet Phantoms a look. 
The A700 are the least expensive of the ones you've mentioned. I tried  but returned them. The bass was to boomy not well integrated in the speaker. If you like a lot of bass and want to spend time I imagine they could be tamed but my wife didn't care for them so i didn't really bother. I liked the Dutch and Dutch but they are a lot more expensive. One of the best measuring down to 100hz I've had in my room. They sound exceptional as well very easy to use REW to integrate them, I had one null at 60hz I believe was floor bounce.  There are a couple more you might look at, Genelec 8351b and Mesanovic RTM10. I ended up with the 8351b I preferred the narrow directivity  my listening position is only about 2 meters and they were the most neutral of the ones I tried. I like accurate neutral speakers. I haven't heard any of the others but I doubt you would go wrong with any of them.  
If you can’t do many room treatments you should look into narrow dispersion speakers and sit near or mid field, you will hear the speaker more than the room. In a room with a lot of hard surfaces, windows, etc.. like you describe you’ll get better sound quality with narrow, look at the dynaudio XD line they’re fairly narrow and the XD60 is full range.
If you get a chance the Neumann KH310 is another great monitor though a bit different  they are laid on the side and are designed specifically left and right. Actives that are more home friendly aesthetically are Dynaudio, Elac Navis and Dali. 
The G3 is basically the same as the 8030. I have the 8351B which are in the family of The Ones, any with 83x1 at the end. I also use two subwoofers. The main difference other than price ,the 83x1 series are 3 way and have the ability to use Genelec GLM to fine tune the speakers to the room. You’ll notice the difference in accuracy with the coaxial driver and waveguide when you hear the 8331 to the G3. I’m not sure how you’re consider using these but the smaller 8030,8331 are nearfield speakers for smaller rooms or close monitoring. The guide in the link shows the best distances for use.

https://www.genelec.com/correct-monitors
I've had Dutch and Dutch 8c, Genelec 8351b , Buchardt A700 and none of them are plug and play. They are simple to set up but rooms are not the same they need to be calibrated. 
I have the Genelec 8351b and I'm the first to admit they aren't for everyone. They are about the most revealing speaker out there without any forgiveness of bad recording. I do use DSP EQ and a roll off of .5db per 1000 hz from 1000hz to 20Khz so it's down 10db which makes them a little softer.  I also use 2 subwoofers, if I could afford it I would get 2 W371a's  to go with them but they're $19K. I would never recommend anyone buy them without getting the GLM system for calibration.