Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused

1. Each driver is optimized by its own amp
2. Better transient response
3. Amp dampens the voice coil perfectly
4. Amps designed for impedance of the driver
5. Amp is directly connected to the driver
6. No loss between amp and driver
7. No crossovers after the amp
8. No speaker level crossover design problems
9.  

• These are all essentially related so I will address as one unit.
• Yes, the amplifier can be optimized to some degree, but for most active speakers, it is just an integrated solution of external boxes and moving the crossover. That is 1^st/2^nd generation active speaker design. Next generation designs employ more sophisticated amplification electronics that cannot be replicated by a simple external voltage amplifier and never with a passive crossover.
• Missing from this discussion is not only can the amplifier be optimizing, but the driver that is used in an active design can be optimized for an active configuration. Drivers today are designed to be linear with voltage drive. That is not ideal for optimum performance but does make passive crossovers easier to design and performance more consistent.
• A basic connection of the amplifier to the driver does not damp the voice coil perfectly. The resistance and inductance of the voice coil prevents that in a basic voltage drive implementation

9. More accurate than random amp / driver combos

• I would not say that is an inherent advantage as most amplifiers will drive a speaker accurately when that amplifier behaves as a voltage source. The accuracy comes from the tight integration.

10. No speaker cables

• Not touching that one

11. Amps designed for proper power handling of driver
12. Amps are more efficient designed for a smaller power window
13. Amps can be up to ½ the power (lest cost more reliability)

• These are true to a point, but we also have multiple amplifiers, potentially increasing standby power. Do we have 1 power supply, multiple? Does it matter?
• I don’t think it is the amp designed for power handling of the driver, but the amplifier knowing the power handling of the driver and can henceforth ensure it is protected from damage.

I would never purchase a Powered speaker.

Happy Listening!

Comments are being made about the quality of parts built into active speakers versus external parts. I know this is a touchy subject, but when our higher end active speakers are considered, the quality of our internal DAC never enters the discussion for us. If we improved it, no one would know as the performance of the drivers is the limiting factor by a large degree. To meet marketing requirements, we are implementing the common consumer filters on some models which you may be able to hear if you feed it 44.1 or 48. Across the price range, the amplifier quality scales so that the driver is always the dominant sound unless you are driving them harder than they are designed for. The only time DAC performance is evident for us is on next generation and R&D designs as we need to grow our own. We need much higher conversion speed and less latency than integrated solutions.

@mijostyn ,

Your setup a a good example of where an active speaker could provide benefit. A sub-woofer designed to compliment your speakers could use multiple drivers to create a shaped emission that matches your main speakers more closely. Could you do that passively? Perhaps, but it is much easier to do with DSP, and it is more flexible. There could be options for programming the listener distance to better shape the response as the speaker transitions from line source to other, etc.  Similar to how external DSP can not fix all room issues, it cannot fix all inherent speaker issues either. At the penultimate, a sophisticated active solution could shape the drive signal for the panels to extend dynamic range.

@cindyment is back.