Passive vs Active...Again!
My wife and I have made the rounds and have listened to numerous speakers now, not as many as we'd like, but as many as we could within a 3-hour drive. We liked some both active and passive, but it seems most of the active speakers we saw are not that pleasing to the eye (eg: Genelecs).
Not having a dedicated listening room, our room itself is a big problem. We have lots of hard surfaces to deal with.
If we go with passive speakers and the associated gear to go with it, we will need to spend a whole bunch of money on acoustic treatments.
We have a ton of artwork as well and with already limited wall space, we would rather look at the art than a bunch of sound-absorbing panels.
So here's my question: Will active speakers, that may come in cheaper, with room correction software (DSP) be able to tame the sound to a pleasing level in my lively room, or do I go with passives and break out the Rockwool!
Just a side note, I had some Martin Logan Spires in a very similar style room, that was much larger with little acoustic treatments and they sounded pretty good. But in this house I don't have the room to pull the speakers 3 feet of the back wall.
I know there is no perfect answer here, but appreciate any feedback, thanks.
My Vintage Speakers have L-Pads, one for mid horn, one for horn tweet. Many in those days included them, for the purpose of adjusting to the room they ended up in: less attenuation for dull rooms and more attenuation for live rooms. And, your personal taste (or the wifey’s). Are you finding current makers that provide for adjustments while listening in the space? You are thinking modern software correction, and of course you can get a high quality multi-band parametric equalizer.
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Sorry @high-amp I got carried away. I thought they were up for active discussion. Room treatment purchased is expensive. Room treatment made is inexpensive and can be exactly the aesthetic your wish. Sonos has many happy customers :-) By the standards of this website, swarms are not expensive, but I don't know your budget. But let's go back to those Spires. Floor to ceiling arrays, ESL, ribbon, etc. (or close to floor to ceiling) are more immune to floor and ceiling bounce. Why not look into those again. You do fix the response with DSP. Don't look at DSP as complicated, look at it as an extension to your hobby. Something to have fun with.
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Final Thought, My Latest Kick Buy an inexpensive SPL Meter, and a Test CD meter doesn’t need to be perfectly calibrated, it gives answers, at ___ location this 1/3 octave is more or less than the prior and subsequent one, up and down the line. Move the speakers, adjust the toe-in, tilt them back, move furniture, PATIENCE.
this test cd has selectable 1/3 octave bands, so easy they come with holes for tripod, put in listening position/height, see what you get and see effect of changes. not looking for perfect, just the best you can |
elliottbnewcombjr - Great pics of your place and great suggestions as well. +1 on the PATIENCE thing...Thank you!cindyment - Hey, no need to apologize, Kii 3s are up for discussion, I'm even negotiating as I write with a dealer 2 hours south that may let me have a demo! By the time you add up all the separate components and room treatment on top of that, I'm sure things would even out price-wise. Spires? Loved them but they need space off the back wall. I would probably go open baffle if I had the room again?
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Here's a couple of shots and some measurements of the place before I purchased it This is the back wall, wife would like to mirror the wall to the left to make the room look bigger plus reflect the view. I don't think she'll like acoustic panels on the mirror...UGH! Far wall, showing all the widow and I think drapes are out. Measurments:
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