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Do active speakers interest you? Also, let's talk directivity

Hey all. Don't think I've ever made a thread here. This is a super interesting community for me. I'm an audio professional, a mastering engineer and music educator. I'm someone who differs from much of the pro community, in that I don't see a difference between "pro" systems and "high-end" systems. 

There is one way they often differ, and that is in terms of directivity. Home systems are more frequently omni, while and studio or live sound requires directivity.

This was definitely the case in the 70s, back when audiophiles still had parties :D 

It's very hard to set up a directional system to fill a large room evenly unless you use a line array.

But let's be honest. Aren't we mostly sitting and listening, and hoping for a good image? We aren't expecting every spot in a big room to sound exactly the same for every guest. Personally, my social life is 95% virtual now and I am generally listening in my mastering room. I have a high end system in every room in my house, but my wife uses the living room system more than me (and she has better taste in music, so it's nice to learn about some new artists when she decides to put something on from he collection).

Anyway, I'm designing an active system. Though the cabinet is not large, with a combination of Hoge's principles and active electronics, we will achieve accurate response through to 20hz.

The reason to choose an active crossover is very obvious. Sending power directly to each driver allows us to use a very low sensitivity woofer, which thus plays much deeper than expected. We are using a ported woofer and a sealed midrange/hi cabinet, which are not sold separately. An interesting feature is the the very low-crossed ribbon tweeter carrying all of the high midrange and treble

It's an 1800w system, aimed at both the professional and home market. I'm curious, does this sound interesting to anyone? We are intending to have a prototype ready by 2022, so it is a ways off.

Part of the directivity concept is also dealing with room issues. Cancelling the rear energy of the woofers can help. I am inspired by Bruno and Merjin (whatever  his name :P). a big part of our concept has to do with advanced acoustic materials, which I don't want to discuss too much, as I don't think anyone else has thought of it or connected with that maker, yet

Curious to hear people's thoughts!
128x128mehtayoungs
occasionallycurrent
5 posts
 
This is a fantastic post, and based on your writing and description of your systems alone, I am intrigued.

I, too, have a background in audio engineering. As a young 20 something, I worked in Nashville for a couple of years at RCA Studio A and at East Iris Studios.

East Iris Studio A was a Michael Cronin designed room. In many ways, I had some of my greatest listening experiences in that room. I wish I had taken it in more back then.

The systems you are talking about designing would far exceed my price point, but I would love to see what comes of your ideas.
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
i really like my devialet phantoms (stereo pair) in a room where i don't want other components

lovely sound, tremendous bass response, very good imaging
unsound
7,315 posts
 
I like the concept of active speakers, but worry about parts availability and maintenance. I also have a strong preference for sealed vs ported woofers. I think DSP will work better with flush to the wall drivers.
alephresearch
24 posts
 
I’m running a pair of Focal Core 6 Be 40th on stands balanced direct from my TT2/MScaler stack.  Took a long time to break in but I love it.  Still searching for that ideal interconnect.

I think if you treat “the chain” well—use quality cables, treat your power, actives can be fantastic.
inorganic's avatar
inorganic
19 posts
 
For a few years now I have been listening to ATC 50 scm active floor standing speakers. A midrange driver covering from about 380 Hz to 3200 Hz, the entire midrange with no crossover. The amps are 200, 100, and 50 watts for the lower, mid and highs. Magnet structures are immense. Very musical, articulate, and you will hear things you hadn’t on other speaker systems. It is easy to distinguish one grand piano from another, and that is a game we play with musical guests...and more. These speakers are exceptional, and with a great front end and superior ICs the musical presentation is embracing. Let me add that adding a regenerator to the setup was worth every cent.  Really good active speakers are not inexpensive .  Every part has to be worthy.

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