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Any thoughts on passive v. active speakers?

I'm thinking about ditching my amps and cables and just buying an active speaker with a balanced input. I have a Krell 2250 and a pair of 140 watt Atma-sphere MA-1MKII. I desperately need speakers and cables, but not sure if I want to go through the bother (and expense) of finding the perfect matching set.

Should I go with a speaker & amp that are already matched or keep building my system like a bespoke smorgasbord?
rogerstillman

Showing 4 responses by atmasphere

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,110 posts
 
If you decide you need more power (or want more resolution, or whatever), an active speaker means you have to sell the speaker and start over.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,110 posts
 
Rogerstillman, FWIW the MA-1s are perfectly comfortable driving 8 ohms and even 4 ohms in some cases- which is why they work nicely on Sound Labs and Quads.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,110 posts
 
I've yet to see an active speaker do what mine do. Which is to say my speakers go down to 20Hz and yet are very easy to drive (98 db 1 watt/1 meter) and are very detailed (employing field coil drivers, which are to the dynamic cone world what ESLs are to the planar world).

Are there any actives that go to 20Hz properly?

While many transistor advocates say their amps are neutral, I've yet to hear one that does not impart a coloration- that of brightness and hardness. OTOH, I don't really go for that 2nd harmonic that tubes are known for and while it may come as a surprise to some, tube equipment does not have to have high distortion or even the second harmonic- that is all in the design. I say this simply as I have yet to see an active that uses a tube amp built-in.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,110 posts
 
BTW, doing 20hz is not always the most important criteria IMO, for that matter many loudspeakers do that.

Agreed, but as a manufacturer with a need for a reference, while that is not the most important criteria, its not acceptable if the bandwidth isn't there. Our amps go to 2Hz with full power and we want to know what's up when we play them. Plus the bass is really nice :)

In other words, could the "brightness/hardness" effect you point out be a byproduct of the Class AB design that some of the better designers are able to greatly reduce or even eliminate?

'Brightness and hardness' is a product of trace (0.005%) amounts of distortion, often containing the 7th harmonic. The ear is very sensitive to the 7th harmonic as it uses it (and others) as loudness cues to determine how loud a sound is. The ear/brain system converts all forms of distortion into tonality. That is why an amp can sound bright but measure flat on the bench.
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