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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
kota1
2,706 posts
 

For anyone reading this thread that is looking at all ranges of budget this is a good video on powered speakers over $1000:

 

thespeakerdude
483 posts
 

That is a marketing video from an online retailer. No complete in their coverage nor free from bias. They have a broad line, but these appear to be some of the only active speakers that they carry.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

At around $20K all in the JBL M2 is less money than the Steinways, the Meridian, and even the Bryston, but are those other speakers better (especially $80K+ better)? Diminishing returns are a real thing to consider. Once I got the JBL 230's that use trickle down tech from the M2's hooked up to the right electronics I lost all desire to change. Are their better speakers? Of course, but I just didn't feel the need to change anything as I love what they do. The M2's have influenced every speaker coming out of Harman (all brands) since they became available:

 

thespeakerdude
483 posts
 

Here we have a "blind" comparison between an M2 system and the Revel Salon2. Guess which one wins, handily:

The conclusion:  http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/2907816-speaker-shootout-two-most-accurate-well-reviewed-speakers-ever-made-12.html#post54628832

The whole thing: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/speaker-shootout-two-of-the-most-accurate-and-well-reviewed-speakers-ever-made.2907816/#post54546472

 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

PS- You could also pair the M2 with Mark Levinson amps instead of the crowns to take them up a notch:

The pro version of the M2 is packaged with Crown amps rated at 600 watts per channel plus a separate crossover. The whole package for two speakers costs $20,000.

The $46,000 consumer package shown at the CEDIA Expo combines a pair of M2s with four Mark Levinson No 531H 300-watt monoblock amps and an SDEC 3000 digital EQ/crossover. The SDEC 3000 also allows an installer to do room correction on the speakers.

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