Need advice about active vs passive speakers

[vert]

Hi,

I'm buying a pair of speakers for my desk and can't make up my mind between a pair of passive vs active speakers for desktop use.

Based on price and local availability, my choice is going to be between the Wharfedale Diamond 12.2s, for passives, and the KRK Rokit 5 Gen 4s, for actives.

Both come recommended by Amir, in other words both are good sets of speakers.

What I'm not so sure about is if both options can give me equally good sound quality ?

With the Wharfedales, I can keep using gear I already have: a Teac A-H300 mk iii amp; nicely built, nice to handle, small amp, but only 35 W of power into 8 ohms. My DAC is the SMSL Sanskrit 10th mkII, a great performer, which I'd like to keep as well. With that option, I might need to change the amp down the line. One big plus with that option is I can try the Wharfedales in my living room; they are likely better than the Paradigm Atom Monitor v7s which I currently have on my AVR, which I could use on my desktop instead.

2nd choice for passives: the more expensive Elac DBR 62s.

But I'm thinking the KRKs might work better at low volumes and a short listening distance. The downside of that option is that the Teac amp gets retired. I still get to keep my DAC, using RCA to XLR cables. That setup should sound great. Some doubts remain about how well the SMSL will perform as a preamp/volume control, and potential ground loops. I have zero experience with actives. With that option, I might need to change the DAC down the line, for an audio interface (many good choices available between $ 100-200 range).

2nd choice for actives: the Audioengine A5+s; same price, possibly not as good as the KRKs, easier to implement.

My apologies for a rather boring, self-centered topic. Any insights, ideas and comments from the knowledgeable ASR crowd will be much appreciated.

vert

 

[LTig]

If you go active (my favorite choice) you have to be aware that cheap monitors often suffer from hiss. It may be audible (depends on the listener, some are very sensitive to hiss, other barely recognize it at all). This won't happen with Neumann or Genelec monitors but you pay for it (out of your budget).

Hum shouldn't be a problem when the DAC output is unbalanced (RCA) and the monitors input balanced with short cables - however when a PC is involved strange things may occur.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Hum shouldn't be a problem when the DAC output is unbalanced (RCA) and the monitors input balanced with short cables - however when a PC is involved strange things may occur.

It's about time to lay this old wives' tale to rest. The cables' topology is way more important than their length. Anything built e.g. like the Monoprice RCA to XLRs should generally be OK.

I would assume that either the RP5 G4s or the DBR62s would work better in nearfield than the Wharfedales, although none of them should be bad. Given the existing hardware, the passive options certainly aren't unattractive in this case. A tricky one for sure.

 

[antennaguru]

Going passive gives you the opportunity to choose the amplifier yourself, and to also easily replace the amplifier at any time in the future. In 40 years the passive speaker will typically still be working, even though by then you will have no doubt replaced the amplifier(s) a couple of times. If an internal plate amplifier fails in a lower priced active speaker system you may not be able to replace it at that time - depending on whether the manufacturer still keeps replacement plate amps for that model on hand, which I would expect for probably the first 5 years of ownership. After that you could possibly be on your own to come up with a repair/replacement solution. You can ask the manufacturer how long they plan to keep replacement plate amplifiers available, but that won't be a guarantee.

The biggest issue with replacing a plate amp well down the road is that the form factor of the replacement plate amp (plate dimensions and screw hole pattern) will be different than the one you're replacing, and how handy you are to make it fit.

 

[tmtomh]

If you can find actives in your price range that have good performance and no audible hiss/self-noise, they are the most elegant solution.

But if you can't find one in your price range without audible self-hiss, I'd consider just getting passives to go with your current amp.

 

[ZolaIII]

Take a look at Yamaha HS8 (don't look smaller one's), try to audition them.
For a passive speakers I won't give a recommendation as my likings could sound strange.

 

[vert]

Thanks for all the replies !

 

[Bsmooth]

I have the Audioengine A5+ and I can say you will NOT be disappointed. They are amazing for the price, and the outlet has them for even less. Simply amazing sound.

 

[twsecrest]

I would go for JBL LSR306 studio monitors, with a sub-woofer.

 

[vert]

Thanks for the new replies! I eventually went for actives and chose the Rokit 5s based on Amir's very positive review. First I tried my living room bookshelves on my desk and wasn't thrilled, I figured it might be the amp and I would need to buy a new one. I was still quite apprehensive about getting what I thought were DJ speakers... But those Rokits are actually super refined speakers, from classical to jazz to rock, they play everything beautifully! It could have been the A5s though ! Genelecs were considered but at 3x the price I wasn't sure they would make a 3x difference. I then vacillated between various devices for the vol control & settled for a Topping L30, which is fantastic both as a preamp and a HP amp. Beautiful sound from that little setup for a very reasonable cost. I've even taken to listening to music while working, a first for me.

 

[Bsmooth]

Glad you found what your looking for, good thing is, they will probably get even better once they are broken in !

 

[LTig]

Glad you found what your looking for, good thing is, they will probably get even better once they are broken in !

 

[Chrispy]

Glad you found what your looking for, good thing is, they will probably get even better once they are broken in !

He's broken in by now I'd think. The speakers probably within minutes....

 

[Sengin]

I'll pile in on this one rather than starting a new thread for basically the same question

I don't have a particular preference for active or passive speakers (i.e. I need to buy an amp anyway), which means I have a lot more options to choose from... I'll decide on which speaker amp or preamp I'll be getting once I've decided on the speakers. So naturally, one of the ways I've narrowed it down is "Just give me the best sound quality for X dollars per pair of speakers" where "sound quality" is distilled down to a number i.e. Preference Score. Since I will be using these on my desk where I can EQ them, I only care about the PS post-EQ. But in scouring reviews here and reading the threads several pages in, it seems like PS isn't the whole story. If it was, the JBL Studio 530 (passive) is leaps and bounds the best bang for buck (or rather, PS for buck) around $240/pair for a PS of 6.1! Plus the LFX goes down to 41Hz so a sub isn't required without sacrificing too much (well, except for desk space - those things are enormous). I couldn't find anything near that price range in either category - a PS of 6.1 is quite high already and for $240 seems like it should be the de-facto recommendation if speaker height and its passivity aren't a concern. Yet I don't see it mentioned. Perhaps they just fly under the radar?

What else can I focus on here besides that single number that invariably doesn't tell the whole story? On the <= $1000 end, the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62s have glowing reviews (and soccer panther!). The KEF Q350 have a higher PS than the Elacs (6.4 over 6.3) yet don't get the soccer/golfing pather (but are still recommended). For active there are a ton of recommended options with a PS >= 5.9 for as little as ~$400/pair but it doesn't seem like there are as many passives with that PS/price ratio.

It would seem that active speakers needing to provide everything that a passive speaker does PLUS an amplifier (and practically, most offer some sort of tone control for bass/treble) should beat passives on the price/performance ratio, but it doesn't quite seem the case. Is the industry in general leaning more towards producing active speakers these days so there's a lot of research/build overlap allowing cost savings? If that's the case, going passive may reduce my options in the future as more and more better quality active speakers get produced for less cost, without the same happening on the passive side.

Anyway, as you can see there are just so many options to choose from it's a bit hard to narrow down . Speakers either take XLR/RCA input or have binding posts, no mix. So by choosing one over the other, you also lock in your amplifier. Go passive now but in 5 years you switch to active because the tech improves and there's an insane speaker for the price? You need a different amp =\. Maybe I'm thinking too hard... Anybody got any tips to narrow this down?

 

[Juju]

New here, I would also be interested on the same subject but in a different price range.
I'm researching new speakers and tend to go for active monitors, as it seems much easier to find.
It's quite easy here to audition Focal Twin vs Genelec 8040 vs Neumann KH310.
There are in several music shops within 2 hours drive offering these brands/speakers, within Belgium/Netherlands/Germany.
On the contrary Aria 906+Amp or M106+amp are very difficult to find in a shop, or I do not know the good addresses. And I wouldn't buy a set without prior auditioning it.
Let's say for Nearfield Revel M106+amp vs Neumann KH310.
Talking with music shop & musicians friends, they mostly talk active speakers.
Is it because active are more like "plug and play"?

 

[LTig]

New here, I would also be interested on the same subject but in a different price range.
I'm researching new speakers and tend to go for active monitors, as it seems much easier to find.
It's quite easy here to audition Focal Twin vs Genelec 8040 vs Neumann KH310.
There are in several music shops within 2 hours drive offering these brands/speakers, within Belgium/Netherlands/Germany.
On the contrary Aria 906+Amp or M106+amp are very difficult to find in a shop, or I do not know the good addresses. And I wouldn't buy a set without prior auditioning it.
Let's say for Nearfield Revel M106+amp vs Neumann KH310.

I would always prefer a 3-way speaker over a 2-way due to reduced IMD. And in its price range the KH310 is very hard to beat regarding sound quality.

Talking with music shop & musicians friends, they mostly talk active speakers.
Is it because active are more like "plug and play"?

No, it's rather to better ratio of sound quality to price and the fact that most active monitors offer a few EQ settings to match the position of the speakers. There are threads here where people discuss the pro and cons of active vs passive speakers so I'm not going into more details here.

 

[vert]

I would always prefer a 3-way speaker over a 2-way due to reduced IMD. And in its price range the KH310 is very hard to beat regarding sound quality.

No, it's rather to better ratio of sound quality to price and the fact that most active monitors offer a few EQ settings to match the position of the speakers. There are threads here where people discuss the pro and cons of active vs passive speakers so I'm not going into more details here.

I would agree, in my case, I would have needed to buy a new amp if going passives. OTOH more and more small "desktop" amps with good performance are becoming available. Most traditional amps are just too large for a desk IMO. Another plus for actives is they are "made" for the desktop being nearfield. With actives you still need to factor in a volume control device. As I already had a DAC I went with a Topping L30 for volume control for the better HPA compared to an audio interface; no ground issues at all with RCA to XLR connection, and the preamp on the L30 is excellent. It has a quirk in that sound is still faintly audible with the volume knob all the way down. From a technical or QC viewpoint, I found that odd. In practice, it doesn't bother me in the least ; the device is either on or off, used or not. All in all, getting to excellent fidelity on the destktop is easier and cheaper with actives I think, at least if starting from scratch (i.e. no pre-existing gear you may already have for your setup).

 

[Juju]

Thank u @LTig and @vert !
Yes with my desktop I'll start from scratch, i have only an audio interface and headphones, I'll investigate further, but most likely I'll choose the easier active alternative.
In my living room I have some ScottS196 from the 70's and I wanna keep them (family), I'll investigate for a proper amp.

@vert
so input via the audio interface and output via the topping, for better volume controls to speakers, or eventual headphones. A lot of audio interfaces have very small volume knob, and not enough power to run all headphones.

 

[vert]

To be clear, in my case, my audio interface is a DAC, to Topping, to either HPs, or monitors. In your case, the Topping would go after the audio interface, but the interface could still control the speaker volume. At least, that's how it would have been with the Motu M2 I briefly had, then returned. The Motu's knob is really nice, more substantial than the Topping's. The Topping is a tiny device. As to headphone amp, power and performance was enough to drive my main headphone, but might have been limiting for other heaphones down the line. I returned the Motu before I got the Topping, but had the DAC and the Motu together for a while. DAC is an SMSL Sanscrit 10th MkII which has a preamp function. Sound quality was identical (as should be expected, but no issues due to RCA to XLR connection, for instance). Even as to volume control, performance was identical, as well, which I'd been really unsure about. Of course, no headphone out, no volume knob on the Sanskrit, and the remote is very directional and not very responsive. Overall I figured I didn't really need the Motu, otherwise a very cool device.