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So, why is it that active floor standers are so rare?

dfuller

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Now that I think about it... I can't think of any floorstanders that aren't passive aside from like, one Dynaudio. Why is that? I can't think of any practical reason to not do so other than audiophiles being oddly wary of anything active.
 

JSmith

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digicidal

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Elac has some nice ones (well, "nice" is subjective but I think so), and there are some others... but there are several reasons why even people like myself with numerous active monitors choose to go passive with bigger systems (esp. multi-channel setups):
  • Entry cost - it's less "daunting" to spend $3-5K once a year for 4 years than to drop $12-20K all at once.
  • Longevity - much cheaper to replace/repair a single component than an all-in-one device (usually at least).
  • Variety - in actives you don't have the option to decide on amplifier topologies or driver selection separately.
  • Flexibility - actives only come in a few flavors. You can debate horizontal center channels vs. 3 fronts certainly... but some installs just require it. Maybe you want real full-range LR's for music, but much smaller center/surrounds... if your chosen brand/model doesn't offer that option, you might have to make a concession (re: voicing) on the other speakers that is less than optimal.
I guess I would add to all the above - loss of use for any currently available components. Many people (and certainly most audiophiles) have a closet full of amps and speakers which work but aren't their "go-to" options... with separates these are viable spares. Still possible with actives, but less likely and requiring more work.
 

Sancus

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Buchardt A700.

Honestly, I suspect it's a combination of the fact that the market for floorstanders is very small and more slanted towards traditional audiophiles who are wary of active as you stated. Bookshelves target a larger and probably younger, less traditional market(so far as these things go) for a variety of reasons.

Klipsch HAD a wireless active floorstander but seems to have discontinued it in favor of bookshelves so that gives an indication of what they've found the market to buy.
 

wwenze

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Just to be clear, let's differentiate "huge bookshelves" like JBL M2 from living room floor standers.

From what I was told, floor standers are the size-reduced versions of huge bookshelves and have better WAF.

So their target market decides whether they are active or not. And these are often intended for home theaters with an AVR.
 

stevenswall

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Most active speakers seem to be studio monitors... There isn't an advantage to making these larger because a subwoofer will outcompete it and most will be on a mixing bridge where they can be positioned better than if they are floorstanders.


Also, maybe consumers realize this too and buy more stand mount speakers with the thought they can get a sub, and a bunch of small woofers don't often seem to play low compared to one larger driver.
 

Frgirard

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stevenswall

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Not seeing how this means a floorstanders kills diffraction compared to a bookshelf.

Very smooth contours to the cabinet seem to be feasable solution, and even very small speakers can have excellent sound with accurate frequency response and smooth dispersion.

Not seeing how those articles translate to a floorstander being inherently better, as many of the graphs are frequency response, and companies have solved those issues with diffraction causing frequency response anomalies.

Haven't seen a tower as good as a Genelec 8260, with a smooth continuous surface to remove diffraction, and excellent dispersion... Unfortunatrly just lots of sharp edges and archaic designs that prioritize internal reflections, maximum diffraction, lobeing, crossover distortion, etc.

Maybe if B&W made an active 800 D and figured out their own coaxial driver with a waveguide I'd have a positive outlook with floorstanding speakers and the industry moving forward.
 

Sancus

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You wrote There are not advantages to make larger speakers.

There's a difference between hypothetical design advantages, and real speakers that are better than other real speakers because they use those advantages and also get everything else right.

I can't think of any floorstanders that have been proven to be meaningfully better than the currently available state of the art bookshelves, except for sheer SPL output. And even in cases like the Revel Salon 2 where it's agreed they're some of the best out there, cheaper bookshelf sized studio monitors have proven to be competitive or even better in some cases.
 

Wombat

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Power cables running across the living area?
Thinking.gif
 

wwenze

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The left right and top edges of floorstanders (relative to the drivers) don't appear that much different from a bookshelf. The bottom, I'll give ya that.

One advantage of floorstanders I've seen being demonstrated by Amir's measurements is, if you have a bunch of woofers crossed low enough so directivity is not a concern e.g. <200Hz, you can have a smaller midrange with results in good directivity while the woofers provide the bass.
 

wwenze

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How's that any worse than speaker cables?

You can generally die touching mains voltage, versus speaker voltage which is *hopefully* isolated from the mains via a transformer.

I still get uneasy looking at exposed metal binding posts just 1 cm away from each other tho. Good idea for a high school project: How do lizards fare against 50V
 

somebodyelse

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You can generally die touching mains voltage, versus speaker voltage which is *hopefully* isolated from the mains via a transformer.

I still get uneasy looking at exposed metal binding posts just 1 cm away from each other tho. Good idea for a high school project: How do lizards fare against 50V
RCDs mitigate most of that risk, but what would you be doing to expose mains voltage in the first place, let alone touch it? If there's a risk of that much mechanical damage then you've already got a problem, no matter what cable type.
 

sharock

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I've got some of the Andrew Jones designed Elac Navis powered floor standers.

I auditioned them last year and was impressed enough to buy a pair, although I later discovered ASR and objectivism and understand that they don't measure terribly well for a coaxial. I use them with Dirac Live and do correction to the Harman target across the full range and they are paired with an SVS SB4000. Another decision I might have made differently if I'd put in more research and realised 2 smaller cheaper subs might produce a more even response than one hefty sub. I also would have seriously considered the Buchardt A700 if I hadn't already got these.

I think I chose actives because I prefer the simplicity of onboard amplification and chose floor standing because to me they are better aesthetically in the living room with the TV and have the same footprint as stand-mount speakers.
 
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