[OCC7N]

For gaming, nothing beats a good set of headphones.. For me it is HE 500: they are not offensive HF wise, but if they slam, they slam hard ) plus very precise positioning and realistic sound.. a bit heavy on the head, but nothing critical..

With ATC you are running the risk of being evicted from your apartment quite soon.. after a couple of night sessions ))

Thats why I sold/returned them

Im gonna see if I can demo the smyth realiser

 

[bodiebill2]

Hmm yeah we are different on that one. the Active SCM40A was clearly a winner to me over 40 passive. Not only more transparent but speed was on point and the bass definition was deeper and holographic. Even on youtube I saw a video of it where I could hear it...

It was a one off experience... I am open to be corrected

 

[OCC7N]

It was a one off experience... I am open to be corrected

No my local dealer also says passives are best because the speakers are note locked to the sound(amp)

If ATC is not prefered taste it wont beat passive with prefered amp.

I used ATC own amps and AHB2 as reference. They could not engage the same way. The veil is more obvious on the passive whereas the active took the veil off, it was more free.

A more expensive poweramp could be better than the active speaker but thats a lot over the actives price.

If Kingwa made AB I would definitly give them a try. Class A is too much power/watt loss for me.

 

[OCC7N]

I am yet to be convinced: these ones have HYPEX amp and SHARCDSP/AKM chips. Never know what to expect when the local music dealer says they are surprisingly good and takes out the competition. EX MACHINA GANYMEDE ... I think they are also raving about it on gearspace: https://gearspace.com/board/high-end/1334860-ex-machina-speakers-must-hear.html

 

[gimmeheadroom]

There is no such thing as over/design/kill.

^ my thoughts exactly

 

[falcon70]

Last year I was pretty sure that I was going to buy my first set of active speakers, so I tried 10 well reviewed ones (Kii3, Dutch & Dutch 8c, Elac, ATC etc.). This was educational. None of the active ones gave me the emotional involvement that f.i. Audio-GD can provide with its DACs and amps. So I learned that -- whatever the theory says -- I prefer good passive speakers. I also tried Magnepans, which sounded pretty terrible in my setup (probably some matching problem). I ended up buying (admittedly a bit above the poster's price range) TAD ME1, and now have Wolf von Langa SON, both great speakers to my ears and in my setup. No plans to replace the SON anytime soon.

I do not plan switching to active studio monitor.
Although I heard a small of them, their sound is analitical and not for long time listening.
On the other hand the HE1/Master3 pre/power amp is good enough not to change them.
I have middle size dedicated music room with limitations. It's not possible to take up a big, heavy floor standing speaker on the steepy steps.
The bookshelf + sub combo performs very well, but I'm curiuos how a worldclass passive speaker sounds with the AGD chain.

 

[AudioAlex]

Although I heard a small of them, their sound is analitical and not for long time listening.

Active monitors can be quite good and flexible.. if you cook them right )

 

[OCC7N]

I do not plan switching to active studio monitor.
Although I heard a small of them, their sound is analitical and not for long time listening.
On the other hand the HE1/Master3 pre/power amp is good enough not to change them.
I have middle size dedicated music room with limitations. It's not possible to take up a big, heavy floor standing speaker on the steepy steps.
The bookshelf + sub combo performs very well, but I'm curiuos how a worldclass passive speaker sounds with the AGD chain.

I totally agree, that was my first recommendation if you are a really analytical listener. Don´t get me wrong but AGD is a very powerful/analytical machine too.

If you look and see the speaker model you wan´t comes in two variaty(active/passiv), don´t chase the idea of bettering the active model with AGD or any other amp with the passiv speaker. The active will win in all aspects. It will cost a lot to match the Active. Just saying

 

[bodiebill2]

No my local dealer also says passives are best because the speakers are note locked to the sound(amp)

If ATC is not prefered taste it wont beat passive with prefered amp.

I used ATC own amps and AHB2 as reference. They could not engage the same way. The veil is more obvious on the passive whereas the active took the veil off, it was more free.

A more expensive poweramp could be better than the active speaker but thats a lot over the actives price.

If Kingwa made AB I would definitly give them a try. Class A is too much power/watt loss for me.

My power amp is a somewhat strange beast: Harmonix Combak Reimyo KAP-777. It uses mosfet to create tube-like sound with solid-state-like prowess. I even use it to directly feed my favorite power hungry headphones (Hedd One, TakeT, Hifiman), which is another advantage of a separate amp. I challenge any active speakers to approach that SQ.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

My power amp is a somewhat strange beast: Harmonix Combak Reimyo KAP-777. It uses mosfet to create tube-like sound with solid-state-like prowess. I even use it to directly feed my favorite power hungry headphones (Hedd One, TakeT, Hifiman), which is another advantage of a separate amp. I challenge any active speakers to approach that SQ.

I prefer passive monitors for several reasons. The only reason I can see for active monitors is convenience, like all-in-one dacamps. But they have their annoyances and can't be as good as passive. The engineering trade-off can't be overcome.

 

[PLGA]

dS DACs

Do you mean dCS DACs?

 

[Dandoudou]

The internal amplifiers of the active speakers are designed specifically for their channels, while we try to associate at best an amp to given speakers.
In the Focus line of Dynaudio, for instance, each channel has its own amplifier. There are as many amplifiers as channels. They were designed to work together, and to produce an optimal result.
This is the advantage of active speakers.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Do you mean dCS DACs?

This was asked upthread

No, he means D/S DACs

 

[OCC7N]

Do you mean dCS DACs?

Deltasigma

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Deltasigma

There is now a stigma
With delta sigma
We got taken aback
By a certain chip dac
They went all the way
With their FPGA
You might need pin lube
If you use a DAC tube
But we stay as we are
With our R2R