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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.

donavabdear
thespeakerdude
483 posts
 

Notice in the press release, that the press release is from the Harman Luxury Audio group (4329P). It will be interested to see if any measurements come out. It is based on the 708P which is a good studio monitor if you don't push it too hard. Push it hard and it becomes nasty. It is one thing to say compression drivers play loud, which they can. It is another to prove your model does. From the pictures it looks like the same horn as the 708P. That is fine for a studio near-field setting, but may not be ideal in home environments. The vertical is all over the map. Seating height will be critical and watch those floor bounces.

The connectivity is excellent and would suit the modern audio consumer. Run it as part of a full system when you want, treat it like a Sonos the rest of the time. Should be interesting to see how popular it is.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

If you want to audition a pair so you can measure them and post the results for this thread that would be great, just call the dealer or visit a local one.

Do you know what speaker the 708P is based on?? 

o_holter
980 posts
 

Earlier in this thread, thespeakerdude argued that my Atma-sphere MA1 amps wont be a good match for many active speakers (testing the passive speaker in the pair). He showed 1990s statistics of the amp performance. My amp is upgraded to mk 3.2 status with many component changes, so this is no longer reliable. But generally he is probably right. Active speakers are not designed for tube amps.

My point was not that the small passive speaker sounded great with the Ma1, only that it sounded surprisingly much better, than driven by the amp in the active speaker in the pair. I tested two pairs of active speakers - Elac am50, and Sony SRS ZX-1, plus a passive pair, Aurum Cantus Leisure 2SE. In all cases the MA-1 lifted the speaker to new heights, even if the match was not optimal. I have not tested more expensive active speakers - there, maybe the story would be different.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

@o_holter

Earlier in this thread, thespeakerdude argued

He should be ignored, he argues a lot, has never posted his own system, never recommended a speaker or a system to anyone, pretty much he argues and that’s it. Just trolls in this thread and annoys people who actually have systems of their own.

I tested two pairs of active speakers - Elac am50, and Sony SRS ZX-1, plus a passive pair, Aurum Cantus Leisure 2SE. In all cases the MA-1 lifted the speaker to new heights, even if the match was not optimal

I have had that experience when comparing the JBL Studio 230 (passive) to the JBL 305 (active). The speakers came out around the same time and both use trickle down tech from the M2 monitors. I preferred the $400 Studio 2 driven by a $1000 Carver amp to the $300 305 driven by their internal amp. The bad news for the people that bought the passive setup is it costs more and it could sound worse depending on the amp you choose.

I have not tested more expensive active speakers - there, maybe the story would be different

I would highly recommend the 4329P I just posted. That speaker is based on a studio monitor but customized for home use. Best of both worlds. You will notice the @thespeakerdude started arguing again as soon as I posted something, trolling as usual.

 

 

thespeakerdude
483 posts
 
o_holter
782 posts
 

Earlier in this thread, thespeakerdude argued that my Atma-sphere MA1 amps wont be a good match for many active speakers (testing the passive speaker in the pair). He showed 1990s statistics of the amp performance. My amp is upgraded to mk 3.2 status with many component changes, so this is no longer reliable. But generally he is probably right. Active speakers are not designed for tube amps.

@o_holter - My main argument against a tube amplifier in an active configuration is that the characteristic a tube amplifier would impart on a passive speaker from its output resistance is lost when in an active configuration. I allow room for the potential of the added distortion being a desired characteristic, but cautious as the evidence to support it being better or even audible at the relatively low levels, even in tube amps, is weak.  With some drivers, though frew made today I expect, there is the potential that the higher output impedance, if coexisting in a low distortion amplifier, may result in lower system distortion (amp + speaker). The biggest benefit would be in a mid-range driver. In this case, the active configuration would present a unique benefit to the OTL amplifier that it would have in a passive speaker.

 

 

 

 

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