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Active Speakers Don't Sound Better

I just wanted to settle a debate that has often raged in A’gon about active vs. passive speakers with my own first hand experience. I’ve recently had the chance to complete a 3-way active center channel to match my 2-way passive speakers.

I can absolutely say that the active nature of the speaker did not make it sound better. Or worse. It has merged perfectly with my side speakers.

What I can say is that it was much easier to achieve all of the technical design parameters I had in mind and that the speakers have better off-axis dispersion as a result, so it is measurably slightly better than if I had done this as a passive center. Can I hear it? I don’t think so. I think it sounds the same.

From an absolute point of view, I could have probably achieved similar results with a passive speaker, but at the cost of many more crossover stages and components.  It was super easy to implement LR4 filters with the appropriate time delays, while if I had done this passively it would require not just the extra filter parts but all pass filters as well.  A major growth in part counts and crossover complexity I would never have attempted.  So it's not like the active crossover did any single thing I couldn't do passively, but putting it all together was so much easier using DSP that it made it worthwhile.

I can also state that as a builder it was such a positive experience that I may very well be done with making passive speakers from now on.

 

All the best,

 

Erik

erik_squires
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lonemountain
440 posts
 

@mbmi

Stuck in what way? The only thing that internal true active changes (like ATC, Genelec, etc)is a choice in power amps and a ton of speaker level wire (to the speaker and tons of hidden wire inside the passive crossover). Due to the increase in "color" created by all that wire between amp and driver, the amp is a smaller contributor that it should be in front of all that wire. Once all that wire is removed everything else is revealed in a new way. Suddenly preamps, turntables, stands, line level cables, CD players, etc are far more audible and changes in those components yields an even larger result that before. I have the definitive experience where transitioning from passive to active INCREASES the hobby in revealing more differences in everything else, not less!

Brad

 

celtic66
1,648 posts
 

Shouldn't some of you just get a room?  Reminds me of pointless religious diatribe. While you guys were engaging in pseudo-intellectual combat, I was enjoying my system which at this point just sings and celebrating enormous talent.

More time enjoying the warm sun, less time in scary dark spaces.  You can choose this.  You will never reach your destination fi you stop and throw rocks at every dog that barks.  Winston S. Churchill

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phusis
1,188 posts
 
celtic66 wrote:

Shouldn't some of you just get a room?  Reminds me of pointless religious diatribe. While you guys were engaging in pseudo-intellectual combat, I was enjoying my system which at this point just sings and celebrating enormous talent.

Why don't you chime in on the subject, or be more specific about what it is you're trying to address? 

I'd say there are many threads to which your criticism could be leveled, perhaps more rightfully so, and do you engage in a similar fashion with them too? Why this thread? 

celtic66
1,648 posts
 

You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw rocks at every dog that barks.  Winston S. Churchill

Rinse and repeat.  Cheers

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lonemountain
440 posts
 

Im not with you on this one erik....

The phase issue alone is sufficient to make active vs passive and no brainer.  If you are using the speakers at higher level, say mixing/mastering, then the heat issue in the driver changing the load the crossover "sees" is an issue that can be very obvious.  Speaker systems (with a passive crossover) can sound different when they get hot.

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