Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused

If an engineer can build an amplifier specifically designed for the components of a particular speaker and the way they react to each other electronically the engineer can design the amplifier so that it matches the needs of its drivers and crossover networks, without an amp / speaker unit the engineer is only guessing. Using some random amplifier will never give you the exact needs of your specific speaker unless the speaker and amp are made as a unit. 

I have a Dolby Atmos system and a home theater system in the same room, they are set up separately from each other, of course the home theater and stereo sounds much better but the Genelec mixing system sounds more accurate. 

You don't have to be much of an audiophile or even a professional audio engineer to be offered vibration dampening systems of all types, to mount under speakers on stands, as equipment racks, under equipment feet, in the internal frame of components, under speaker cable and AC cables, vibration is big business. When the speaker is in the same enclosure as the amp how in the world can you take out vibration if it mattered all powered speakers would sound awful. 

With only a few exceptions high end audiophile systems don't design amps and preamps for particular speakers, why because audiophiles like to tinker and argue about how the sound changes when the speaker cables are to close to the floor. Someday the powered speaker will be be the audiophile speakers of the future as they are now in concert systems with networked audio (connectors don't matter). Or perhaps audiophiles don't care about sound and only care about audiophile community, maybe that's ok, I'm one also.

Home theater is not hifi. Whatever. You are smoking it's not the same thing as what the audiophile community smokes. Peace ✌️

vibration dampening systems

Vibration dampening systems. Now I understand.

Someday the powered speaker will be be the audiophile speakers of the future as they are now in concert systems

I’m not sure I’d bet my money on that. The home audiophile manufacturers are making way too much money on selling separates these days, especially at today’s home audio gear prices. I can’t put up any type of argument for Genelec in a recording studio environment, as most studios regard them top of the line, but I think most concert speakers with self-contained amplifiers are probably designed now more for convenience in a concert setting environment (quick setup and tear down), more than anything else. Achieving maximum SPL’s with the smallest and lightest (in weight) cabinet is also the goal for concert sound. Heck, anyone at this moment can go out and buy a set of PreSonus CDL12-34, Meyer Sound Panthers, Clair Bros. C12-i-90, or so many others, if they’d like self-powered concert speakers in their home.

 

in my thinking, the question is -- will a very good speaker with a very good amp be inferior to a pretty good powered speaker.

While the powered speaker will have an excellent match between the speaker and its amp, will the advantage of having that matchup outweigh the "better" quality of the very good separates?

The audiophile marketplace seems still to prefer the separates, but at this point, it is up to the buyer’s listening preferences.

We have a member here that contended that his powered speakers were better than any "cost-no-object" separates. While his claim did not change my thinking, I was glad for him that he was so happy with his rig. However, I vowed to doubt any further opinions he would post.

Now if Wilson Audio were to ask Nelson Pass to design amps for a powered speaker system, I would be happy to consider such a system might be "better" than separates. But this hasn’t happened (yet?), And current powered speaker offerings are not convincing (to me).

This is a topic that deserves consideration.

I do suspect the home audio enthusiast is paying too much.

You can buy a pair of top model RCF active horn loaded speakers which contain very high quality components and a lot of technology for about a quarter of the price of apparently  similar JBL speakers like the M2 which are marketed for home audio.The RCFs may even sound better.They have been receiving excellent reviews.