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.

128x128donavabdear

@kota1 , what I see in those pictures is a whole bunch of cheap loudspeakers scattered about a room that was not originally designed for audio. Not my kind of system. 

@thespeakerdude is correct that DSP can do nothing about dispersion which is why room management is just as important, maybe even more so if you have a processor. My own approach is to use speakers in arrays that limit dispersion to minimize room interaction. All the systems I have heard that floated my boat all used speakers with limited dispersion. You can overdo it in that regard. Flat panel ESLs are a great example. In cases where one is using digital "room control" which is really "speaker control" In rooms with unfettered acoustics some troughs can be 10-15 dB down. If a processor tries to correct that it can clip amps and blow speakers. Most processors now will limit the amount of correction they will apply to prevent this from happening, but then you wind up with lumpy response curves. I find it useful to measure the system response with a separate measurement system from the processor. You may be surprised at the results. 

@lonemountain , it must feel like you are a fly on the walls, nice to get the inside scoop. The problems you posted about atmos music applies to movies as well. You have great mixes and weak mixes. The best mix I have heard so far is the kraftwerk catalogue on bluray. At reference level it is a great concert mix. I really like the Beatles remixes too. I am using more Tidal to stream than apple music. Apple just sounds a bit bright for my room.

@mijostyn , if you like 2 channel all good, maybe you can send capitol record studios some pointers on their speaker selection. Who knows, maybe they’ll outsource a custom build for you!

I really like the flexibility to upmix certain tracks. Vinyl guys swap out cartridges=$.

Digital guys swap out DAC’s= $.

Immersive music guys push a button on the remote. Every recording can benefit from how it is played back in your room and you still have 2 channel as one of the many options.

It is a matter of preference and taste, not better or worse. One example that includes measurements and test tones. He discusses 2 channel music upmixing at 5:30:

 

@kota1 Great YouTube video, Thanks. Last time I was in studio C at Capitol John Mayor had easily 2 dozen amps in the mix room testing them all out, amazing. The speakers they are using don't look very good, square, not point source, not heavy, they can choose any speaker they want they didn't go for super turbos. This is why Capitol, Abby Road, who has done the same thing, not putting in expensive speakers, are the best.

@donavabdear

I am a bit envious of you, @lonemountain ​​​​@brianlucey who get to personally check out these legendary spaces. If the kota walked in the only speaker you would hear is the intercom speaker "security" and that would be a short visit as I get the boot.

I tapped as many engineers for wisdom as I could when setting up my space and continue to benefit from the generosity of your community. Totally different to actually see and listen in those studios where so much great content has been created (and still is). The "aha" takeaway I have gleaned from your posts so far is how different your pro system is from your personal system. The grass on the pro side may be different, but not necessarily greener. As for the speakers my takeaway from that shot of studio C was they were all identical, Steve said they were all full range, and look like they placed with absolute precision. Even though we all may have different rooms, speakers, and budgets, most of us can attempt to be precise as possible with setup and placement. Remember how I nudged you about your center channel? Moving it was no biggie and then you get a better result for your investment.