Are studio monitors a better buy than passive hifi speakers?

[a4eaudio]

Splitting the audio per driver has two advantages: the sum of power of the splitted amp can play at higher levels than a single amp of the same power. ..

You can bi-amp lots of passive speakers. Usually on forums like ASR it is regarded similarly to buying expensive speaker wire.

...On top of that, the bottleneck for efficiency in domestic systems is almost always the efficiency of the woofer/bass section...

Yes, and "almost always" is probably like 95-99.9% of the time. An example... The Genelec 8020 has 50w for the woofer+ 50w for the tweeter. The 4" woofer probably reaches xmax by 20w and the tweeter probably never gets more than 5w. I have 3e audio monoblocks, so there aren't many two way passive speakers where I don't have an excess of power.

 

[dtaylo1066]

Only reason to biamp, IMHO, is if you have an active crossover or DSP filter. I also have no deisre to purchase a speaker that has to take an analog input and through its ADC/DSP makes it digital, then converts back to analog. That's a "bit" too much for me. OK for a turntable hook up, but otherwise if the powered speaker has DSP but no Toslink, Coax or USB in, count me out.

Now if you plan to feed a powered speaker from an RCA or XLR DAC or Pre, I am fine with that if the speaker has a passive crossover.

 

[RDoc]

Only reason to biamp, IMHO, is if you have an active crossover or DSP filter. I also have no deisre to purchase a speaker that has to take an analog input and through its ADC/DSP makes it digital, then converts back to analog. That's a "bit" too much for me. OK for a turntable hook up, but otherwise if the powered speaker has DSP but no Toslink, Coax or USB in, count me out.

Now if you plan to feed a powered speaker from an RCA or XLR DAC or Pre, I am fine with that if the speaker has a passive crossover.

In view of the audio transparency of modern DACs, especially compared to speakers, I wouldn't worry about A->D->A in an active speaker.

 

[Ropeburn]

Studio monitors with built-in optimized amps seem to cost less than buying passive speakers plus and amp. If serious music listeners are going for hearing it "like the engineer intended," what could be better than using studio monitors? And on the higher end of the scale you have speakers like Genelec SAM that can automatically calibrate the EQ for your room. Are products made for the pro market a better value than those made for home listening?

What if using monitors for production doesn't mean that's the intention for listening? Is club or dance music in general intended for studio monitors? Somehow I really doubt that.

It's always such a thing with alleged "as the artist intended" - you can only assume, you never know. Is jazz intended for studio monitors, or for the average to good home stereo? As the artists very well know most people use for listening?

 

[ElJaimito]

Studio monitors with built-in optimized amps seem to cost less than buying passive speakers plus and amp. If serious music listeners are going for hearing it "like the engineer intended," what could be better than using studio monitors? And on the higher end of the scale you have speakers like Genelec SAM that can automatically calibrate the EQ for your room. Are products made for the pro market a better value than those made for home listening?

Yes.

 

[levimax]

You can bi-amp lots of passive speakers. Usually on forums like ASR it is regarded similarly to buying expensive speaker wire.

Bi-amping a passive speaker where the crossover is left in place is not the same thing as "true" bi-amping where each driver is driven by it's own amplifier and an active crossover is used. Here is a article about the advantages of true bi-amping with a summary below https://sound-au.com/bi-amp.htm

1.16 - Adding up the Plusses

• Effectively (up to) twice the 'real' power of the amplifiers themselves
• Reduced intermodulation distortion
• Elimination of the low frequency passive crossover, its inherent losses, potentially poor linearity and crossover point inaccuracy
• Reduction of the difficulty of the load presented to the power amplifier
• No padding is required to align the driver sensitivities, so we are not simply wasting power
• The damping factor is greatly improved for both the low and midrange loudspeakers
• Complete freedom from any interaction between the loudspeaker driver (and its environment) and the crossover network
• Cost savings, since complex passive crossover networks are not needed
• Bi-wiring is included free!
• The flexibility to choose amplifiers which are at their best within a defined frequency range
• Ability to match amplifier power to the exact requirements of the drivers for maximum overall efficiency

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Yes.

Especially now that the so-called "pro market" includes multitudes of "home studio" amateurs, a trend that has made decent sub-$1k powered/active monitors a viable, profitable marketplace due to the sheer economies of scale available.

 

[RDoc]

What if using monitors for production doesn't mean that's the intention for listening? Is club or dance music in general intended for studio monitors? Somehow I really doubt that.

It's always such a thing with alleged "as the artist intended" - you can only assume, you never know. Is jazz intended for studio monitors, or for the average to good home stereo? As the artists very well know most people use for listening?

It seems to me, and is my preference, that the speakers, sound system, and equalization should be as transparent as possible. That's the closest I can get to "as the artist intended" as recorded in the music source. The point to studio monitors is to be transparent exactly so the engineer doesn't have to worry about the speaker being used for mixing adding coloration that consumers have to deal with.

If a home system is set up such that you need different speakers for different types of music, that's a long way from transparent. While I can imagine that some people might like that level of added coloration, it's not what I would call high fidelity.

 

[RexrothPigeon]

Bi-amping a passive speaker where the crossover is left in place is not the same thing as "true" bi-amping where each driver is driven by it's own amplifier and an active crossover is used. Here is a article about the advantages of true bi-amping with a summary below https://sound-au.com/bi-amp.htm

1.16 - Adding up the Plusses

• Effectively (up to) twice the 'real' power of the amplifiers themselves
• Reduced intermodulation distortion
• Elimination of the low frequency passive crossover, its inherent losses, potentially poor linearity and crossover point inaccuracy
• Reduction of the difficulty of the load presented to the power amplifier
• No padding is required to align the driver sensitivities, so we are not simply wasting power
• The damping factor is greatly improved for both the low and midrange loudspeakers
• Complete freedom from any interaction between the loudspeaker driver (and its environment) and the crossover network
• Cost savings, since complex passive crossover networks are not needed
• Bi-wiring is included free!
• The flexibility to choose amplifiers which are at their best within a defined frequency range
• Ability to match amplifier power to the exact requirements of the drivers for maximum overall efficiency

sharing 1998 audiophile cant on ASR in 2026 is a bold call

 

[RexrothPigeon]

Is jazz intended for studio monitors

It's not about what kinds of speakers the music was "intended for" (as if anyone could ever know that with any certaintly lol) but about reproducing the source accurately, plain and simple.

 

[levimax]

sharing 1998 audiophile cant on ASR in 2026 is a bold call

Why? Nothing has changed on the subject as far as I know. If something has changed can you share it please.

 

[a4eaudio]

Bi-amping a passive speaker where the crossover is left in place is not the same thing as "true" bi-amping where each driver is driven by it's own amplifier and an active crossover is used. ...

I quoted two reasons that someone else suggested bi-amping is an advantage of powered studio monitors. "Splitting the audio per driver has two advantages: the sum of power of the splitted amp can play at higher levels than a single amp of the same power." And I pointed out that you could get these advantages by bi-amping passive speakers. Of course, for an active crossover 2-way you MUST have separate amplifiers, which somebody else was making the point that that is an additional cost for actively crossed studio monitors relative to passive speakers.

 

[RexrothPigeon]

Why? Nothing has changed on the subject as far as I know. If something has changed can you share it please.

high powered amps are cheap af now

 

[dtaylo1066]

In view of the audio transparency of modern DACs, especially compared to speakers, I wouldn't worry about A->D->A in an active speaker.

While I tend to agree in some aspect of your sentiment, especially as it relates to DAC transparancy, many of the ADC's tested on this site just don't pass muster. So I wonder of the quality of them in certain powered speakers. If I am spending alot of money on a powered speaker, it seems an unnecessary step and extra conversion. As to transparcy, with a powered speaker with a WiiM feeding it, even via analog outs, you will have full transparency, full wi-fi or network streaming, lots of PEQ, and not need an amplifier.

 

[dtaylo1066]

high powered amps are cheap af now

Good, clean, high-output power is cheaper than ever before. So I do not see the cost of amplification as any barrier in high-quality audio. For a number of reasons, some would prefer amplification and digital processing to be built into the speaker. I have both types of speakers, and each has its place in my house.

The all-in-one approach offers convenience, less clutter and cable clusters, and when in monitors and smaller speakers is quite portable.

Let's face it, it is also somewhat of a marketing tool to sell more speakers, especially desk top.

The good news, quality hi-fi is cheaper and better than ever, regardless of the type you buy.

A WiiM Amp Ultra with a good pair of standard, passive crossover speakers can deliver a ton of quality listening for not much more than a grand. Pretty stupendous.

 

[levimax]

high powered amps are cheap af now

So why do serious speaker companies like Neuman and Genelec use multiple amps in their studio monitors? If anything the advantages of multi-amp speakers has increased over the last 25 years due to the reduction in cost of DSP which can only be taken advantage of to its full extent with individual control of each driver.

Maybe you aren't familiar with Rod Elliott. During the truley dark ages of subjectivism in this hobby he was one of the only voices of objective reason and was one of the only sources of objective information. His contributions to educating the Hi -Fi hobbiest and DIY community and designing and selling DIY projects and boards paved the way for sites like ASR. He truly is one of the "good guys" involved with this hobby.

 

[Hayabusa]

You can bi-amp lots of passive speakers. Usually on forums like ASR it is regarded similarly to buying expensive speaker wire.

Indeed, but then you still have no direct connection to the driver or you should modify it to bypass the x-over

 

[dtaylo1066]

Indeed, but then you still have no direct connection to the driver or you should modify it to bypass the x-over

I have read Rod Elliot for many years, but not purchased any of his boards. I respect much of what he has written or produced. Not so sure of his writings as they pertain to powered speakers.

There is no real inherent value to powered speakers over those with no power and passive crossovers. It really depends on what you are looking for, and the number of components you desire -- or not.

High quality watts, DACs and DSP have become a lot cheaper in recent years, and DSP quite powerful.

One can buy a powered speaker that employs a passive crossover and only one amp and zero DSP. Noting inherently wrong with that, you will just need an external dac or streamer to deliver the analog signal. Just as in a passive x-over speaker, you had better hope the crossover was well desinged.

WiiM or MiniDSP for EQ typically are more substantial than a lot of onboad EQ in powered speakers. Wi-Fi for lossless digital is absent in many powered speakers. Many just have Bluetooth or nothing. So additional components are required anyway.

The better all-in-one solutions of powered speakers tend to be fairly costly, or small with small drivers, and if you have a bad part your entire system is useless, which is not the case with separates.

Convenience and less clutter are the main benefit to powered speakers, which is a key reason for their success in desktop and nearfield listening.

In a discrete listening room where one might not be concerned about components or consolidation thereof, one can certainly argue against powered speakers.

Since I have both powered and standard passive crossover speakers, I see benefits and uses for both.

If you look at circuit boards in all-in-one powered speakers with DSP, Wi-Fi and multiple digital inputs, they are quite complex. Plenty of opporunity for a bad surface mount component to go south. In which case you are out of business. If out of warranty, you can have a lot of problems.

A bad cap or resistor in a passive X-over is rare and easily fixed. If a power amp goes bad you can buy power for cheap. Same with a DAC or streamer.

All things to think about.

That said, if I had a hasty 5K, I would seriously consider the KEF LS 60 or a Buckhardt. On the other hand, if you don't mind a bit of clutter and some cables, for the price of an LS 60 you can get some darned nice amplification and DAC or streamer, depending on your needs.

For a grand I would be very tempted to pair a WiiM mini via optical with a KEF Coda W and you would have one damn good objective and subjective system with plenty of EQ options and things like Tidal Connect, Roon ready, etc. If not enough base, toss in a sub at some point down the line.

 

[RDoc]

While I tend to agree in some aspect of your sentiment, especially as it relates to DAC transparancy, many of the ADC's tested on this site just don't pass muster. So I wonder of the quality of them in certain powered speakers. If I am spending alot of money on a powered speaker, it seems an unnecessary step and extra conversion. As to transparcy, with a powered speaker with a WiiM feeding it, even via analog outs, you will have full transparency, full wi-fi or network streaming, lots of PEQ, and not need an amplifier.

I see quite a few headphone amps well under $100 retail with SINAD over 100. JBL, Genelec, Neumann, and other studio monitor companies probably can include them for quite a bit less, so I'm pretty sure the DACs aren't an issue. As I said before, the transparency of electronic components like this is generally far higher than that of the speaker drivers themselves.

 

[dtaylo1066]

I see quite a few headphone amps well under $100 retail with SINAD over 100. JBL, Genelec, Neumann, and other studio monitor companies probably can include them for quite a bit less, so I'm pretty sure the DACs aren't an issue. As I said before, the transparency of electronic components like this is generally far higher than that of the speaker drivers themselves.

Yes. I have often mentioned on this forum, that we place components with astonishly low distrotion and very high SINAD ahead of and feeding our speakers, the drivers of which, even when crossed over, do not have a flat frequency response, have phase issues, off-axis issues, diffraction issues. baff;e-step issues and, then, you have listening room issues.

None of the upfront electronic components, if well designed, have any of the issues that speakers have.

And, of course, one can by a headphone amp with DAC and EQ and tailor the response to some headphones or IEM's that really nail the desired response curve and foget about speakers all together.

But I kind of don't like wearing IEMs, though I do have an ASR thumbs up pair, as well as an iFi Black Label IDSD, a bit long in the tooth, but also an amp tested and recommended by Amir. And you can get a really inexpensive headphone amp that kicks ass these days, and feed it from a phone, tabloid or PC, and have very high-quality audio experience with total mobility.