Any thoughts on passive v. active speakers?


I'm thinking about ditching my amps and cables and just buying an active speaker with a balanced input. I have a Krell 2250 and a pair of 140 watt Atma-sphere MA-1MKII. I desperately need speakers and cables, but not sure if I want to go through the bother (and expense) of finding the perfect matching set.

Should I go with a speaker & amp that are already matched or keep building my system like a bespoke smorgasbord?
rogerstillman
Once upon a time two friends went to a concert, but only had one pair of tickets.

The friend who got in to hear the show sat center stage and listened to beautiful line array of speakers.

The friend who didn't get in also sat center stage, but behind a wall with two pin hole openings for perfect stereo imaging.

Who do you think enjoyed the show more?
One friend drove a Lamborghini to RMAF and sat in the sweet spot in the best room at the show.
One friend drove a golf cart to RMAF and sat in the parking lot and listened to AM radio.
Who do you think enjoyed the show more?
The guy in the parking lot because it's legal in Colorado and you can't smoke inside.

Uh...what were we talking about, anyway??
Which is better?

1. To hear 100% of the sound with only 2% that is perfect or
2. Hear only 2% of the sound perfectly, but miss the other 98%?

Assuming you have enough SPL to fill the room is it better
1. To add another amp and speaker or
2. To buy two more speaker and run them on the amp you have?

Sorry, I was outside. What did you say?
Try auditioning some of the Meridian line of speakers. Each is right at the front of mixed systems in their price range and are absolute bargains at their used prices.
Meridian have been doing the active thing longer than almost anyone.
The DSP 8000 is truly worked class, the DSP7200 competes with Wilson Sasha/B&W 802 etc and the often overlooked DSP5200 is highly underrated.
Go listen see for yourself.
"09-30-15: Rogerstillman
zd542, I agree that change for the sake of change alone is not good, but wouldn't you rather have a system that you could grow into as your needs, taste, and budget change? I'm just proposing an alternate path to building a system. "

I already have this. You're assuming a line array is the best way to achieve your goals. It may be for you, and that's perfectly OK.

That said, I'll give you my opinion on this. If you start isolating certain features, giving them more importance over others, you're playing with fire. There's much more going on between the the amp and speakers that are beyond the scope of line array advantages/disadvantages. I would take a balanced approach and consider them all equally.

"Meridian have been doing the active thing longer than almost anyone. The DSP 8000 is truly worked class, the DSP7200 competes with Wilson Sasha/B&W 802 etc and the often overlooked DSP5200 is highly underrated."

I have some experience with Meridian. I've owned some of they're components, and my best friend is a Meridian fanatic. He's a scumbag lawyer and can afford the best stuff they make.

To make a long story short, we got into an argument when I told him my Vandersteen's sound better than his expensive Meridian speakers. They were at least 50k. I offered to put them side by side for comparison, and he agreed. He was also under the assumption that I was going to bring over all my best stuff. Instead, I brought over a pair of Model 2's, just 1 of my Ayre V-5's and my Wadia 302.(I also have an 861SE). Cables were 2 runs of AQ CV-8, Balanced AQ Cheetah, and 2 ESP Essence PC's.

The only things the Meridian could do better was play louder and go deeper in the bass. In every other aspect, we both thought my system was clearly the winner. And the reason I won is because my system had the better matched components. They just weren't inside the speaker. Meridian can't design an amp as good as my Ayre, and speakers as well as Vandersteen.