"Pro" Active Monitors


What does anyone think about using a pair of active "pro" studio monitors? As a point of reference, I have my eye on a pair of Tannoy Reveal Active monitors ($899 USD Retail).

They are essentially a pair of small two-way montiors, four internal monoblock amplifiers (two per speaker), and each speaker is outfitted with an internal active crossover.

They have XLR balanced inputs for connection to a preamplifier, as well as IEC power sockets for connection of one power cable to each speaker.

Am I missing something, or is this the best "budget" route to go for reference-quality sound? What do you think?
gthrush1

Showing 2 responses by hager_charles

Well, you are definately correct, in some cases. Take the ATC speakers. They started out as ONLY doing pro-audio. All of their speakers are internally bi-amped or tri-amped depending on the number of drivers. ATC took home the Stereophile system of the year for 2001 also... 60% of the recording studios have them, including Sony and Todd AO.

You can get a pair of internally powered Active 10's for $2500 or active 20's for $6900. Both are just amazing bookshelf sized monitors.

The Paradigm Active 20's were also an awesome speaker, but they stopped making them due to lack of interest. Internally amping is actually the best way to go if designed properly. On the ATC active 100's for example, they have 50Watts on the Tweeter, 100 Watts on the MidRange, and 200 Watts on the Bass unit. There is nothing sweeter when the amps are engineered for the specific driver right up front!

Secondly, it is better to have a long wire run BEFORE the amp, where an internal amp has a VERY short run from the amp to the driver. Especially with a balanced cable run, you can run much farther without nearly the loss as you would lose with a powered signal. Lastly, Internal passive crossovers are also not as good as an Internal active crossover....

I've never heard the Tannoys, but worth a listen.
totem beak? Heck where do I get blue tak! I've got 5 ATC 100's coming on Tuesday arriving from England.