Are active speakers the future? (YouTube series)

[DatSpeakerTho]

Meridians are not cheap

This is speakers, high price doesn't mean good.

 

[kyuu]

I, personally, see no point to passive speakers in this day and age.

If you can point me to some good active speakers that will give as good performance or better with the same or lessor footprint as my current speaker, while not being too much more expensive than said speaker plus the AVR driving it, I'd be all over it.

This is said speaker, for reference:

Revel W553L Measurements (In-wall Speaker)

This is a detailed measurements of Revel W553L in-wall speaker. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $495 (each). You can see it on the measurement stand: As an aside, this speaker was used in double blind test by the owner. NOTE: our company, Madrona Digital, is a dealer for Harman...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Buy cheap things, get cheap results.

Sure... but you can buy fairly inexpensive passives and expect them to live longer than a few years. That seems to be more than you can expect from some active models (thinking of the numerous complaints of failures in the Neuman KH80/120, as well as the not-really-cheap KEF LS-whatevers).

 

[dfuller]

If you can point me to some good active speakers that will give as good performance or better with the same or lessor footprint as my current speaker, while not being too much more expensive than said speaker plus the AVR driving it, I'd be all over it.

This is said speaker, for reference:

Revel W553L Measurements (In-wall Speaker)

This is a detailed measurements of Revel W553L in-wall speaker. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $495 (each). You can see it on the measurement stand: As an aside, this speaker was used in double blind test by the owner. NOTE: our company, Madrona Digital, is a dealer for Harman...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Sure... but you can buy fairly inexpensive passives and expect them to live longer than a few years. That seems to be more than you can expect from some active models (thinking of the numerous complaints of failures in the Neuman KH80/120, as well as the not-really-cheap KEF LS-whatevers).

In-wall speakers absolutely could be active. Active doesn't need the amp pack to be part of the speaker box, just have the crossover before the amps. It's sort of a self-sustaining thing where AVRs have amps because most people have passive speakers because AVRs have amps.

 

[john61ct]

Does not need to be an "active speaker"

so long as it's just one driver in the box

or designed with separate wiring posts, or to easily mod it that way bypassing the passive network

then it can be part of an "active system".

 

[Mr. Swordfish]

There are big advantages to using active crossovers vs passive crossovers, including removing any passive components between the amp and the driver. The pro audio world has understood this since the 70s.

The problem with that approach is that if you plug the wires in the wrong way you fry your tweeters. Oops. So, the only way to get active crossovers into the consumer market is to put everything in one box where you can't easily mis-wire things. But audio enthusiasts tend to want to do it themselves, and the powered speaker takes the fun out of changing your amp, or speaker cables, or whatever else is easily tweakable.

Meanwhile, powered speakers have taken over the studio monitor segment and the small to medium sized PA markets. Large PA systems have separate amps, but it's all processor based and active crossovers, so really more in common with a powered speaker than the traditional home hi-fi amp & passively crossed over speakers.

And it seems like many people are using one of those powered sound bars for their TV sound. So maybe the future is already here, we just haven't noticed. Who would have thought that the kid with the boom box in 1980 was such a harbinger of things to come?

 

[Multiway]

but you can buy fairly inexpensive passives and expect them to live longer than a few years. That seems to be more than you can expect from some active models (thinking of the numerous complaints of failures in the Neuman KH80/120, as well as the not-really-cheap KEF LS-whatevers).

My experience of DSP / active solutions -
1. Behringer DCX 2496. 15 years old still works but I never used it much.

2. DIYaudio WAF Najda 4 in 8 out.
Preamp/DSP/DACs etc.
You bought just the board.
Gave it power of your choice, wired up all control buttons, LCD and later OLED display and the LED status lights.
Opamps were easy to change.
DACs not so easy.
Hook up you 4 stereo amps or equivalent, sources etc.
Connect up PC and set it up.
Stand alone running and analogue volume control chip.

I used it pretty much every day for 14 years. Still works fine.

3. Sonos Ones and Sonos Beam. Have lots all over the house, garage, barn etc. Still working after 8 years. Don't think they'll stop working anytime soon.

4. Colinear DSP-8C this one is only ~3 months old and replaced Najda as an upgrade and it can can do FIR pretty decently.
Hopefully will last many years

Don't see why other active in speaker solutions should be any different if designed and built right.

 

[Multicore]

Okay, since my comment was on Wednesday and today is Sunday, I went back to the transcript to refresh my memory. If this isn't an argument for vinyl superiority, I honestly don't know what is. This quote is verbatim from the transcript:


Others may disagree, but fantasizing about having one's soul penetrated by a music format qualifies as fetishism to this pigeon

It's an example of poetic audiophile metaphysics. Thanks for running the quote down so i can give this reviewer a pass.

 

[Palladium]

There are big advantages to using active crossovers vs passive crossovers, including removing any passive components between the amp and the driver. The pro audio world has understood this since the 70s.

The problem with that approach is that if you plug the wires in the wrong way you fry your tweeters. Oops. So, the only way to get active crossovers into the consumer market is to put everything in one box where you can't easily mis-wire things. But audio enthusiasts tend to want to do it themselves, and the powered speaker takes the fun out of changing your amp, or speaker cables, or whatever else is easily tweakable.

Meanwhile, powered speakers have taken over the studio monitor segment and the small to medium sized PA markets. Large PA systems have separate amps, but it's all processor based and active crossovers, so really more in common with a powered speaker than the traditional home hi-fi amp & passively crossed over speakers.

And it seems like many people are using one of those powered sound bars for their TV sound. So maybe the future is already here, we just haven't noticed. Who would have thought that the kid with the boom box in 1980 was such a harbinger of things to come?

I find it extremely baffling that non-pro subwoofers almost universally still doesn't have 80Hz HPF'ed stereo line outs, just like how toslink doesn't have native volume control outside of computers.

The circuitry cost peanuts and it also doesn't need to have some super SINAD.

 

[Flaesh]

Here is an example of an active system "from the past": https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...peakers-is-it-me-or.9633/page-59#post-2587283

 

[john61ct]

Colinear DSP-8C

So in general you are happy with this?

Any specific differentiators against others in the market?