Legacy Caliber HD or XD with Wavelet delivers great sound, musicality and audiophile grade playback IMHO in a smaller footprint. You can also add subs as I have done. See my virtual system for details and PM me if you want more detail.
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Some interesting posts here.....the first two active speaker companies the I know of were Genelec (which I represented years and years ago) and ATC (which we now import to the US as lone mountain). Both companies have a long history of "how its done" and both started primarily in studio market, where passives were very much in control of the market in the late 70s and early 80s. ATC was an owner operator so they stuck close to home, they got support early on from Pink Floyd and others in the UK. Genelec raised money and went international very early and had a significant break out hit, the 1031. For small active 2 way, this thing rocked. So much better than the passives of the day. The 1031 was used for more movies in the 80s than any other I think! Genelec made a great sounding ribbon tweeter speaker early on too, the S30, lovely speaker but it sort of faded way for unknown reasons. . I think the number one reason active is considered better than passives by many (speaker) designers is the ability to control phase. Building a speaker that's linear in phase response is a wondrous thing to behold. The other side benefits of active are easier to guess: super short cables, the right power to each driver, easy to calibrate a system for flat response with amp/driver level, easier to do a electronic crossover than a passive one and you use higher slopes with active so you can get some additional performance out of that. A lot of folks don't know that passive crossovers have a tough time with changing driver values as they heat up, changing crossover behavior. That's why in pro, you cannot have a speaker "sound different in the morning" than the night before. Brad Lone Mountain Audio |
for me, i move around alot and need to keep the number of physical units to as few as possible. i surmise that any active monitor manufacturer has the opportunity at the spec-design stage and also the actual listening stage to put an amp behind the drivers that they feel performs well. .. and i do not have to deal with the connections, an added plus. i have low-fi, JBL LSR 305's and my main set AirPulse Model 1 (A200 for the rest of the world).. i listen to these all day, every day. |
No one mentioned it here, but there is a fundamental differrence between a) near field listening (e.g. at a mixing desk or desktop) and b) listening in a living room. Studio monitors are usually very resolving and dynamic sounding in near field setups where they can be very convincing and satisfying, but they can generally also be very disappointing (muddiness, harschness, coloration, uneavenness, boominess) if you try to use them in your living room, unless you pad your room walls like a studio (diffusors, absorbers, bass traps, ...), which is a route I personnally do not want to go. I know very few speakers that do the trick in an untreated living room, if this is the goal. My recommendation would be to look at speakers based on 1) dipole principle, also for the bass (reducing room interaction and masking by acoustic energy that gets stored/released in cavities/pannels), 2) as constant directivity as possible (reducing coloration of reflected sounds) and 3) active drive in a separate box (reducing the difficult to predict effect on frequency response and distorsion of speaker cables and crossover components, the high level amplifier outputs having to deal only with the easy load of a single driver). I believe LXmini or LX521 would be my best recommendations, while giving you a lot of room for tweaking and upgrades (DIY or turn key systems available, DSP or AnalogSP, you can use your own amps or Hypex NCores). Cost is also very reasonnable. Sound is out of this world. |
I prefer partially self-powered speakers, for built in bass power only. I'm looking at Von Schweikert Aktive series and have heard their Ultra series. Great speakers. Legacy audio offers similar type speakers with DSP as well. Full active speakers are restrictive in the end unless it is just the match one desires. I've heard a few dozen and some are very good, but not the equal of my passive speakers or the Von Schweikerts. |
The very first time I heard active speakers were the John Bowers Active 1's waayyy back in 1986. They were shockingly dynamic! There really is something special about getting all those Inductors & Capacitors out from between the amps & drivers. Audiophiles think that "control" is being taken away from them because they cannot choose their own flavor of amplification... but that control is being transferred to the speaker designer... It took me a LONG time to finally buy a pair of actives...... and am now a very happy owner of ADAM S3H's. Yes they are digital, and they are very revealing, dynamic, and fun to listen to. Yes they are a pro monitor, and I have a studio and do mixing.... But these are truly amazing speakers and worthy of any audiophile to consider. Focal also makes really good powered monitors (and not digital). They are prettier than the ADAMs, but in a a side by side comparison, I chose the ADAM. |
Several notes: 1) Active speakers (monitors) such as most of the higher-end ones being discussed here are by in large no-nonsense and demanding professional tools. Not only are they not designed to be eye-catching and decorative, as a class they must needs be ruthlessly revealing yet highly listenable at the same time. Thus, they are very apt to tell one everything that’s wrong (or right!) with what comes before them, from recording technique, to mastering, to one’s electronics, to their position and placement in the room (studio). If they don’t sound good to you, it’s very likely that the problem lies elsewhere, including what one expects or is accustomed to. Best possible program material and kit is a given. 2) Well-designed, especially higher-end, active speakers are a highly integrated system. The physical design, the amplification, and the drivers are all rigorously designed to work specifically with the other components in the speaker. Moreover, actives work with either a line-level or a *digital* input (see below). The result is a remarkable degree of flexibility in design throughout. That’s profoundly different from a passive system where the input is an already fully amplified signal. The passive design has to be substantially generic, and try to both accommodate the quirks of an unknown amplifier and crossover the high-powered input to the sundry drivers. That’s challenging and expensive to do well, and it actually allows for less flexibility in design. 3) Active monitors fall into two categories, analog and DSP. The difference is rather obvious. The older, analog, approach is just that, the input signal remains analog throughout the processing, amplification, and reproduction chain. The analog processing, however, can be and often is highly sophisticated. PSI, Questeds, and others, are excellent examples. The DSP monitors are newer and typically rely on digital wizardry to achieve their often remarkable sonic results. Kii three’s, D&D’s, and several others are the hot new guys on the block. Overall, both types have their merits and, to some degree, drawbacks. Analog monitors only accept a line-level analog input, and then have an assortment of level and EQ controls available (on the back). That makes driving them and setting them up rather straightforward. DSP monitors will ordinarily accept an analog input, but often also accept, and generally prefer, a digital input, usually @ 96kHz. Even an analog input will be converted to digital for processing. The result can be amazing sound, but the setup and configuration, even the volume control, can also be challenging and complex. Your choice. |
Important to listen to active speakers before buying, perhaps more so. I also think that thinking about long term enjoyment is key. They often sound great out of the gates, but after a few days of listening, they fail to excite. I listened to the Kii three’s and found they delivered a smaller version of the sound I liked. I heard the D&D 8c’s had an even bigger sound so I auditioned those, but they didn’t have the sound qualities I like. I happened by a B&O store and tried the Beo50’s and Beo90s and while the build quality is superlative, B&O has to learn how to set up speakers in their stores for demos. I will keep auditioning to try to find the shoe that fits. I recommend extended auditions if possible. |
I have tried using several active speakers in my home rig but they were all musically unsatisfying to me and I found, when I downsized that I much prefer pricey mini monitors used with top tier subs and just live with having to provide space for amps and additional cables that would not be required with actives. -1 as to PSI A-17M. They are much loved by some for pro audio, but I did not like them at all for music playback and they were absolutely boring to me at low to moderate volumes. Also, I think they are very ugly. I sold them to a recording studio in Canada and they love them. Obviously, many of the more positively reviewed powered speakers to be chosen from in the marketplace were designed for the purpose of using them for monitoring and mixing recordings in the studio by professionals. Some of them may also just happen to sound great for home audio as well, I do not know. Maybe the best ATC models are great, but definitely not the KEF for you primary system. The lower cost actives can be okay for desktop fun but beyond that only you can decide if they are right for you for home audio. Of course, make sure any active speakers you buy have a right of return for refund because you may wind up not liking them for home audio purposes. |
ATC all the way. I own the passive ATC SCM12 Pro's (simply couldn't fit any of their active designs on this desktop) and am enormously impressed. Easily the best 2-ways I ever heard. I read a lot of info from music pros & studio types, where various powered ATC models (SCM20ASL Pro mk2, a sealed 2-way; and SCM50ASL, a ported 3-way) are extremely popular. These are quite large devices, even the 2 ways, but man, what a sound...a rather thrilling combination of great accuracy, particularly in the mids, with a lack of brightness or sonic pushiness (qualities not often found together). |
ATC make sense to audition if you have a 20K budget. They aren’t cheap but are regarded as a reference by many golden eared folks. ATC sound is very consistent across their professional series both in various models as well as over the years. Other actives have more variability - so more specific model dependency and vintage/age variation to their sound. ATC are highly consistent even when new models come out - great if you like their sound - not good if you don’t as there isn’t a lot of choice as they are all voiced in a similar way. |
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The primary reason I've preferred passive speakers for home use (and live stuff, although I do use active speakers and subs in live setups) is simply because I like the ability to try different amps from time to time. I'm addicted to my small single ended tube amp's sound which requires an efficient speaker, so there's that...but having experienced an active PA speaker dying during a show (not my show luckily, but a live gig run my a friend who owns a recording studio) and you simply can't quickly "field fix" the damn things, where you can stick another amp on a passive speaker which I've done. Otherwise powered stuff is fine, which I'm saying mainly to make others feel better as, clearly, I'm a giver. |
From an engineering and design standpoint powered speakers provide the ideal solution for reaching the goal of maximum control over the final results. As an established dealer and integrator with almost 40 years of experience we have migrated towards powered speakers as a solution for both our personal systems and many of our clients. Currently Meyer Sound (Berkeley California) and Genelec, out of Finland, are among our recommendations. Many professional musicians from all areas of music, producers, and casual music lovers, have found the powered speaker as an ideal solution for the temporary suspension of disbelief. |
For the last 20 or so years just about every recording was done with active speakers....except those studios using Yamaha NS10M’s...then what amp did they use?....usually a pro audio amp of some sort or Bryston from what I’ve seen. Depending on your budget go listen to JBL LS series Yamaha HS series Barefoot PMC Hedd Focal KRK Adam I current have a little listening set up in a bedroom with a computer, Schiit preamp and JBL LSR305. Wonderful accurate little system. |
Given that most music is mixed and mastered on powered speakers (yes, even live recordings) I would suggest that esoteric amplifier and speaker pairings might not give you any more insight than a great sounding, excellently designed pair of powered speakers. However, some people will have better ears than 'dem unsophisticated professionals and will be able to hear through their lazy, poor sounding work. |
I have a decent size room so bought a pair of used dsp8000's. I heard the Kii3 at axpona and liked the modular idea. The Kef ls50 has an active version now that's supposed to sound even better than the original. It's true you're married to the amps when you go active, but i think that's a good thing. |
If you want ATCs and are worried about built-in amps you can just order them with the remote amplifier option. They also sell passive speakers and stand-alone amps, and some active models that come with remote amps standard. http://atcloudspeakers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ATC-Tech-Note-Remote-Amp-Mounting_revA.pdf |
The crossovers and every wire in your speakers already "vibrate like hell" as does the amp and everything else in a powered subwoofer or speaker...however, no problemo, and powered speakers like ATCs and others (and every powered PA box hung over yer head at live events) have garnered praise from plenty with well tuned earballs. Kinda makes the Anti Vibration Industry look silly, don't it?. I've owned tube combo guitar amps (meaning the fragile little snowflake of a tube amp is in the box with the speaker...horrors!) that were unmodified from 75 years ago that sound sublime, and my 2 el cheapo used RELs also have been doing their job well for years in spite of a hellish nightmare of self induced vibration. |
I can see only one real advantage - you eliminate speaker cables from the chain. As for the best match for particular speakers - there is always a better match, including custom or customized amps. And it is hard if not completely impossible to deal with amps vibrating with speakers. This is a very flawed concept overall. The only kind of thing from pro audio world that is desirable is the source, when it is good, I mean. Audiophiles want sophisticated sound and generally are much more concerned with sound quality than pros. With some notable exceptions. However, if the OP insists - just get top of the line ATC and call it a day. |
@inna Not. At. All. The first concern, by far, is sound quality. One's job depends on it. But pros are generally a no-nonsense bunch with better things to concern themselves with than pointless tweaks. Active monitors are a very well proven concept, and they generally DO offer substantially more real value for the money invested. So from that perspective, one might think that they're "cost and effort saving," but the proof is in the studio, even studios where cost is a very secondary concern. Active monitors are VERY widely accepted by professionals for the quality of their sound, regardless of cost. |
There may be others as good, I’ve not auditioned all that there is obviously, but I’m confidant that none are finer than PSI Audio Active Studio Monitors. They are built in Switzerland by a company that is an offshoot of Revox, if that rings a bell, and they are to speakers what Swiss is to watches, none finer. They’re profession gear, and uncommon in the U. S., so you’ll not find them in any audio salon. But trust me, I’ve used a pair of A-21Ms in my mastering studio for several years now, and they’ve completely cured me of any "upgradeitis." They’re utterly clean, utterly neutral, utterly transparent, detailed, and as "fast" and dynamic as any speaker built, with pinpoint imaging and not at all fatiguing. They sonically disappear and one is left simply listening "down the wire" to the source; I listen to them all day. If I was ever to replace my "living room" setup (Thiel speakers, Classé amp), it would be with PSIs. As I said, none finer. http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/psi-audio-a-14m-active-powered-loudspeaker-tas-212/ https://www.zenproaudio.com/brands/PSI-Audio.html |