Active Speakers Don't Sound Better

This is why active speakers better have volume control AFTER digital crossover or be fully analogue.

I don't know any other way to do it.  An inherent feature in any active crossover is level matching, or the ability to set the gain differently for each driver due to normal differences in efficiencies. 

@erik_squires of course actives sound better. It goes without saying that the same quality amplification must be used for the comparison so the damping factor is the same. 

One of the most pertinent reasons for superior sound is that there is no inductor with it's attendant DCR in series with the woofer. That series resistance ruins the damping factor resulting in inferior transients and lacks dynamics.

You will not understand this and I draw your attention to you claiming, in a previous discussion with you, that if a bigger inductor of the same value replaces the original in a passive XO then the lower resistance of the new bigger inductor should have a resistor placed in series with it to achieve the same overall DCR. This illustrates an inability to grasp the basics. Nobody does this with the rare exception of designing the XO specifically for a low damping factor tube amp.

Now I expect your usual rude response to me stating that you are sorry this all went right over my head.

Look up DF and educate yourself instead of just flapping your gums.

In your last sentence above I need to correct you again! You would be setting the gain according to the different sensitivities of the drivers. It has nothing to do with their efficiency. C'mon man, if you try and parade yourself as a speaker guru perhaps visit Wikipedia from time to time. Try reading Dickerson or D'appolito, you won't find them placing a resistor in series with the woofer LOL                                      

You will not understand this and I draw your attention to you claiming, in a previous discussion with you, that if a bigger inductor of the same value replaces the original in a passive XO then the lower resistance of the new bigger inductor should have a resistor placed in series with it to achieve the same overall DCR. This illustrates an inability to grasp the basics. Nobody does this with the rare exception of designing the XO specifically for a low damping factor tube amp.

What a rant, @lemonhaze - Are you miller carbon? Cause let me tell you, he also couldn’t let go of anything. He’d also interject nonsequiturs and personal attacks out of nowhere, just like here. I used to send him some coconut butter so he could apply it to the parts that hurt on a regular basis. I’d send him to a therapist too but that seemed like a waste of money.

Also, you are simply plain wrong about speaker design, and if you’d actually spend any time sweating the details of a crossover you wouldn’t be making such silly statements. I suggest you actually go design a few passive speakers and then come back, but you won't do that because this is clearly personal and not technical.  Boo hoo. 

PS - I don’t set myself up as a guru, just a hobbyist.

I think the active discussion has gone off the rails into detials that are NOT the main reasons for active. Here is my summary of reasons.

1) phase linearity (via line level adjustments in the crossover). Many designers think this is the key reason to do it, as adjusting phase of drivers is practically impossible with passive crossovers and very easy with active ones.

2) Calibration of each band via the ability to adjust individual driver levels to compensate for manufacturing differences in the drivers, which can vary 1/4 to 1/2dB at best and 2 or 3 dB at worst). This is not a subtle differnce because a 1/2dB down or up across the entire bandwidth of the driver is very audible. In tests here we’ve had sucess hearing a 1/4dB level change when applied across the entire midrange or tweeter. 1/2dB in EQ across a small part of the band or a group of frequencies is very difficult to hear for many.

3) No speaker level filltering, only line level filtering in analog or digital. FIltering as it applies to passive crossovers is far less precise and controllable and is not changeable with driver changes. Precise level calibration and filtering means you can make two identical speakers actually sound identical instead of slightly different. (this is the dirty secret of hi fi)

4) Freedom from driver temperature fluctuations, which can signficantly impact driver dynamic range and level. Called power compression and thermal compression as the system can be precisely calibrated to apply limiters to keep this from happening. The sonic penalty of a well designed limiter is far less than an overheated driver.

5) No massive losses of power or dampening factor though long runs of cable from amp to driver, compounded by the large amount of copper wire in low frequency inductors in passive crossovers. Active cable runs are very short.

6) Ability to provide sufficient dynamic power to a given set of drivers by "matching" the right size amp to the driver, rather than under or over power the entire system.

7) Lower cost/higher value for a given level of amp performance by avoiding expensive outboard amp chassis (excepting outboard active with multiple amplifiers). Cosmetics a large part of the manufacuring cost of all amplifiers.

Brad