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active speakers, Paradise? Trouble in paradise?


Anyone ever hear or own active speakers that made you forget about all the rest?

Or are active speakers best left to the studio engineers?

And DJ’s?
blindjim
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Focal Twin 6 are another active design that are extremely good & very popular - I agree that they would be very good as a home stereo and would make a great surround setup too.
baam23f
32 posts
 
Shadorne:

Regarding dispersion and beaming problems that normally compromised speakers have, what is your take on a design like Adam Tensor- if you are familiar with them- they don't use dome tweeters-?

As a side note, I had my mind set on a Beta, but after reading several posts I am now leaning toward the smaller standmount Delta, since I already have a couple of JL subs which can be positioned to a more appropriate location than the left corner speaker would. But, what happens if I have a processor like a Denon a1 to manage the bass split between speakers and subwoofers in regard to phase problems like in passive crossover speakers?

Thank you
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Without disputing the discussion re: x-over and beaming which, in my view, is spot on, people might want to consider the other side of the coin.

If you cross from the mid driver to the tweeter much below 2K, you're nearing the a region where our hearing is more sensitive. Some would say that a well designed x-over circuit mated to appropriate drivers anywhere north of One-ish khz minimizes damage, but others disagree. The single driver crowd is all over this one.

I mentioned omnis earlier (and noted that they ARE rare) because they do satisfy both of these concerns. One driver is nearly full range (75hz to 7khz in my case) with only a subwoofer and (effictively) a supertweeter to augment. Dispersion remain essentially consistent without the need for x-over circuits where they MIGHT cause mischief.

Obviously, all designs involve trade-offs. This is just one more "recipe" to consider.

Marty
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Marty,

The Ohm design deserves a whole discussion in itself. I do not believe that they are immune from the laws of physics - and a large radiating surface is still going to beam - but by changing the orientation of the cone the beaming will occur towards the ceiling and in the direction of the cone movement (which still yields a reduced dispersion in the horizontal plane at higher frequencies)
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Shad,

Fair observation. However, I have measured on axis (uni mic) and something like power response (multi sweeps with an omni mic) at my listening position. I suspect that you'd be pretty impressed by both the absolute quality of each measurement and by the convergence between them.

BTW, I've treated the crap out of the room (absorbtion, diffusion, hemholtz, etc.) and use DRC EQ below 75hz, which helps.

As I indicated earlier, omnis are merely one more way to
skin this particular part or our common SQ cat and, while I think it's a good approach, I'm the first to admit that it is neither perfect, nor suitable for every taste.

Marty
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