speakers for classical music

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

Musicnoise, I have driven Vienna Mahlers initially with Rowland Model 7M monoblocks. . . loads of power, but at only approx 170, damping factor appeared insufficient to control bass drivers completely. . . there was some woolly bloat on double bass. I am currently driving them with a JRDG 312 with excellent results. Treble is filigreed, mid have a complex harmonic texture, bass is deep tuneful and controlled at all times. Large orchestra is a pleasure, but my favorite are small string ensambles and vocals where the subtlety and musical involvement are sheer delight. 312+Mahlers is the pairing I heard at RMAF. I also used a set of Nuforce V9Se monos with Mahlers. . . also very good. . . even more control in bass, but to the point of becoming slightly dry in that region. . . as good stagers with Mahlers as JRDG 312 if not more. . . but perhaps not as complex harmonically and filegreed in treble. Both of these yield loads of authority to Mahlers. I suspect that Spectron Musician 3 SE may also be a very good choice, although I have not had the opportunity of listening it in my own system.

What are good models and manufacturer's for actives?

Genelec 8050A - you may find these at your local music or guitar shop - they will probably be close to the best of the active near fields mini-monitors you can audition at a pro music store (where they sell musical instruments an studio gear)- try to listen and see if you like them - I think they are better than Mackie's - if you do then there are a few others I would add which are difficult to find for an audition and even more expensive and will essentially play louder for far-field listening - so it is probably best if you check these Genelec's out first and see if it up your street. (You may not like the neutral sound -many don't)

What are the downside to actives and why do are there so few active's as opposed to passives?

This has been discussed on other threads but basically you are limited for "tweaking" through choice of your own amp - especially important to tube lovers - as you won't find a tube in an active speaker (due to microphonics of tubes)