Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused
17 of 23 speakers in my studio and home theater systems are internally powered. My studio system is all Genelec and sounds very accurate. I know the best new concert and studio speakers are internally powered there are great technical reasons to design a speaker and an amp synergistically, this concept is much more important to sound quality than the vibration systems we often buy. How can an audiophile justify a vibration system of any sort with this in mind.
There are no internal powered speakers that can compete in amplification, or loudspeaker design sonically , these are average quality class D amps I have heard several respectable class D amps but they all start around $5k genelec is a good powered studio monitor for the monies, but cat compete with same Bricasti amps,preamps withB&W 801 speakers these are elite studio setups , for-the money genelec is very sound ,but no where near at Reference level. |
But genelec have been measured by audiosciencereview and found to have perfect results. I have not seen other speakers do this. |
@audioman58 , by what definition do you define reference level? Popularity? Lots of write ups? Many many people do not like B&W speakers, not even the 801. As a speaker guy, there are some excellent things about this speaker, however, I always feel like they got it to market before they finished it as they always seem uneven in the upper treble. Maybe in a few years I will no longer care as I can't hear it. What do you think Bricasti amplifiers do that cannot be done in a power speaker. This is where @donavabdear 's comments come in. A class- D amplifier can easily keep up with the Bricasti for the bass frequencies, and then a good quality A/B amplifier would have no problem matching for the mids and high frequencies, both perfectly matched to the drivers they are connected to. The 801 has almost too wide a dispersion for many home installations. It has a lot of energy off axis which can result in it being viewed as bright without adequate absorption. This is a common complaint. The Genelec is tuned to be near ideal for many installations. Most Genelec would require a sub to compete for bass frequencies and level. I expect the distortion of the best Geneiec equals or is lower than the B&W Bricasti combination. Less distortion, less lost details. |
Bricasti amplifiers and preamplifiers are substantially better in tone , micro detail, bass capability ,accuracy and tone and depth of instruments totally on a much higher level and their drivers and cabinets far from ideal and vibrate ,and drivers are average quality by any Audiophile standard. B&Wwas just an example but their latest models and Diamond costed tweeters are far more accurate measurements by a large margin ,in theunder $5 k range Genelec are good , a solid C class speaker amp combo ,you get what you pay for , if you can afford it just lookin TAS magazine many great products out there . |
