speakers for classical music

If the speaker can stand up to those sources without stressing, without distorting, without sounding stuffy or wooly, and deliver the full dynamics, transients and bandwidth, it'll be a very special speaker. The best ones I've heard for this have always been active. I've heard some passives come close, but to really deliver, actives have a decisive edge.

The above post about active speakers is of course correct, but my experience is that most active speakers or powered studio monitors lack the finesse of audiophile speakers

Agree fully. You want piano (a percussive instrument) then I have not heard better than with actives. You want full orchestra - same answer. You want big band - same answer. You want full justice to percussion - same answer. However if you listen to acoustic, modern pop or rock (generally not much dynamic range left when it leaves the mastering studio) then there are many good choices often with more warmth and finesse - and which won't show up every wart on a recording.

Nice description Raquel.

Let me chime in with my opinion about the best current Rowland amps for the Mahlers. For those using separates, the 501 monoblocks plus PC1 Power Factor Correction is the "budget choice", for stereo the 312 is amazing and includes PFC and for those of us that like integrateds the Continuum 500 will do the job and includes PFC.

Anyone considering VA and sufficient budget to consider a "statement" product should wait just a few weeks to hear the new The Music reference speaker. I haven't heard it, but it looks like a high potential product from a great maker. Hopefully we'll be auditioning them soon.

Dave

If you are needing high SPLs and have a large enough room then Avantgarde Trios with bass horns will be all you will ever need.

All these large amplifier problems mentioned above will evaporate as the high sensitivity will leave you being able to use pretty much anything you like from low power to quite high powered amps.

The dynamic range will kill all the above speakers leaving them sounding muted and flat. By the time you have found an amp to run low sensitivity speakers at the SPLs needed for full orchestral works in a big room
your bank balance and you floor will be very tired.

What are good models and manufacturer's for actives? Will active's also sound good at low volumes. It would be nice to have the same set of speakers for Mahler's 2nd symphony at 100 db and a shubert trio in the early morning at 70 db? I have heard good things about Mackie's but have never listened to a pair. Also is the horn technology a problem? Actives actually look like a good idea - built in amps, right amount of power per driver, etc. What are the downside to actives and why do are there so few active's as opposed to passives?

Mackies??!!

I loved the six-foot Mackie towers that we used when I played trumpet with The Pit Pops in Dallas. We set them on top of the Mackie subs and had about 5000+ watts of power, all-in. It was great for a funk/rock/soul party band, BUT you didn't want to listen closely. The hiss was through the roof, even at low, pre-show levels.

Unless Mackie has come out with an audiophile line that I haven't heard of, don't even think about it. With digital sources they'll be hard-edged and tiring. Even with a live mic feed they're hard edged. Sound reinforcement is where Mackie really shines and those requirements are very different from audiophile needs.

Dave