[Mkubota1]

Aren't most active or powered speakers 'studio monitors'?  Typically these are used near field, like on a desktop or just above a mixing board, etc.  And these speakers are usually tuned accordingly.  If you're looking for something to put on stands in a listening room type environment, I don't think these monitors would be the best choice.
 
Otherwise, I appreciate the idea of a speaker, amp and crossover, designed as a completely system from the start.  Let the engineers roll amps and crossover points!  =)

 

[jenneth]

Quote:

Aren't most active or powered speakers 'studio monitors'?  Typically these are used near field, like on a desktop or just above a mixing board, etc.  And these speakers are usually tuned accordingly.  If you're looking for something to put on stands in a listening room type environment, I don't think these monitors would be the best choice.
 
Otherwise, I appreciate the idea of a speaker, amp and crossover, designed as a completely system from the start.  Let the engineers roll amps and crossover points!  =)

While a lot of active monitors are nearfield, there are still quite a bit of Mid-Field monitors (i.e. Klein & Hummel O410, or the upcoming KH510). Personally, I prefer active monitors over passive ones. Why? less clutter.

 

[Il Mostro]

Let me see, active monitors or a pair of Sonus Fabers, Harbeths or Spendors paired with a really good tube amp.  Tough choice...

 

[jenneth]

Well, even though I haven't heard of their latest offerings, I have heard the Sonus Faber Extremas before. Really wonderful speakers... but you know what, in my opinion, some of the bigger offerings from the top active speaker manufacturers are on the same tier. Now, if you were talking about a pair of Nautilus, well, that might be another story....

 

[Mauricio]

"Sorry, boss, please apologize to Bono and the band for the delay.  Yes, I know we were due to give them the demos weeks ago, but I tell you,  you can thaw a frozen lasagna next to these blasted actives we got here in the studio.  You know what, if these little furnaces keep giving us trouble, I'm just gonna bring my crossoverless sub and my college Polk speakers from home and rig them up in parallel with a mono amp."

 

[Black Stuart]

Why has no one mentioned 'active x/overs' which is a completely different proposition.
 
With AXOs it is the amp driving the speakers, not as per passive with the speakers dictating to the amp/s. Take a look at Rod Elliot's site - ESP/Elliot's Sound Products. Read why active x/overs are way better than any passive set-up, his explanation makes perfect sense, indeed his site contained no waffle or unsubstantiated b/s at all.

 

[Mauricio]

I, for one, have mentioned on a few occassions within the last few weeks the preponderance of technological superiority of active designs in general and specifically of active crossovers.

 

[Black Stuart]

Sorry Mauricio,
I missed those posts. The superiority of AXO's is undoubted - so why is'nt the market dominated by integrated amps with built in AXO's or make it easy to insert the AXO after the pre-amp section - the inertia effect aka 'we've always done it this way and we don't want to change'.
 
I hav'nt had the space until now to use my s/hand Grand Heils/air motion transformers to build open baffle speakers with efficient 15" woofers. The G/Hs are mid/treble units so I wll only need a two-way AXO - can't wait to get started.
 
 

 

[JRG1990]

Active speakers won't over heat in nearfield when your using 1watt of power or less, I doubt any studio engineer uses them above 90db all day as it would damage there hearing, but if you crank the volume for a house a party or to fill a large space with sound some do heat up very qucikly and then cut out when they get too hot.

Active crossovers are better but are they audiable better?, can our human ears actually hear the differences probley not.

 

[Mauricio]

Do you understand the range of advantages of active crossovers fully?

 

[liamstrain]

For me it depends on what I'm doing. 
 
My mastering/mixing areas have active monitors. This is more due to repeatability than anything else. I have two spaces, and they are both tuned pretty well to be about the same. Having the same monitors, in the same position, helps. Well designed monitors are also pretty well optimized to have a known amplifier and a crossover built tailored to it, to help get flatter response. 
 
With that said. If I am listen to music for pleasure, I prefer passive speakers - I like the choice, the tinkering with the system, often the coloration or less than ruler flat performance... etc. I liken it to a sports car. The actives are a race tuned ultralight track car. They are hard work and fatiguing to drive, but the performance is hard to beat. The passive system, for me, is getting into a luxury sports coupe... still has mind blowing performance, but now I get air conditioning, leather seats, and a stereo... 

 

[Mauricio]

Yes, I know what you mean.  Whenever I go into to a "hi-fi audio" store, I can't stand the hyping...err..sorry, I mean, the "musicality" of passive "hi-fi" speakers.  So contrived and artificial.

 

[liamstrain]

Sounds like you've been listening to crappy systems/speakers. 

 

[MorbidToaster]

I can get behind this.
 
Quote:

For me it depends on what I'm doing. 
 
My mastering/mixing areas have active monitors. This is more due to repeatability than anything else. I have two spaces, and they are both tuned pretty well to be about the same. Having the same monitors, in the same position, helps. Well designed monitors are also pretty well optimized to have a known amplifier and a crossover built tailored to it, to help get flatter response. 
 
With that said. If I am listen to music for pleasure, I prefer passive speakers - I like the choice, the tinkering with the system, often the coloration or less than ruler flat performance... etc. I liken it to a sports car. The actives are a race tuned ultralight track car. They are hard work and fatiguing to drive, but the performance is hard to beat. The passive system, for me, is getting into a luxury sports coupe... still has mind blowing performance, but now I get air conditioning, leather seats, and a stereo... 

 
 

 

[Nepenthe]

I hav'nt had the space until now to use my s/hand Grand Heils/air motion transformers to build open baffle speakers with efficient 15" woofers. The G/Hs are mid/treble units so I wll only need a two-way AXO - can't wait to get started.

Awesome! I had Great Heils growing up. Fantastic speakers.
 
Where will you cross them over?