Active hifi speakers or active studio monitors?

[altruistic.lemon]

I heard lots of different systems, for me I always felt the passive systems were getting in the way of the music.

What active systems did you audition, though, professional monitors or hifi actives?

I've only heard some high end Linn active speakers and (briefly) some Meridians, so it isn't a fair comparison, but thought the monitors I auditioned the other day were still some way off, although the baby Adams showed potential.

 

[steve_1979]

I agree. I've heard the Event Opals and they're shockingly good. A fair bit better than all of the passive speakers I've heard in fact. The only speakers that I've heard that were noticabilly better than the Opals are the Genelec 8260A and Quested V2108. I haven't heard the ADM40's but the old ADM9T's with the sub would probably give the Opals a run for their money too.

As for actives removing the life from the music... :roll:

IMO the clearer sound of a good pair of actives allows you to hear the music better which gives it more 'life' not less.

I'd have to do a direct comparison to say if the ADM40s were better or not. I have done a direct comparison between the 9Ts and sub (I have my cousins here while he moves house) and Opals though, and it's the Opals to me. Having said that, even though I think there is a fair margin, for some music I prefer the 9Ts and sub. The 9rss and sub would be a much closer run thing and might swing the other way. I think it's probably for the best if I don't hear the 8260A's! You've got me intrigued though... :doh:

It's always tricky trying to compare speakers when you hear them in different shops and on different occasions.

The 8260A's are mighty impressive but I wouldn't want to live with them because of their size and uglyness.

 

[the record spot]

Yes and if you'd bothered to check my previous posts on actives, you'd know how much I really believe that. Not.

I didn't bother as your statement stood alone and made no reference to previous comments.

Besides, I could not care less what you've said in the past.

Interestingly there was a news piece on this site not long ago about Genelec bringing their active speakers to a home environment. There are many factors that go into purchasing audio equipment, performance is just one of many. For the home environment aesthetics are important and it seems Genelec realise this.

Seeing as the post you refer to directly quoted the one to which I'd responded originally to highlight the broad brush nature of its sweeping cliched generalisation with one of my own in return, it looks like you don't delve too deeply into the rationale behind a post, but hey, I doubt I need to care too much about your input here.

Interestingly, Genelec's gear would fit in with most moden homes, their recent range aside. The 6010a was available (I think) in white too as well as the standard grey finish and probably isn't much different in size.

 

[the record spot]

The 8260A's are mighty impressive but I wouldn't want to live with them because of their size and uglyness.

I've always thought Genelec's styling was more interesting than any actives that have a more conventional boxy/bland hifi appearance.

I rather like the styling and while the 8240 is on the big side, the likes of the 8030a and 8040a are more living room friendly.

Another winner for me in the styling stakes was Acoustic Energy's AE22 Active. Loved the bold styling of that one even though AEJim's not its' biggest fan! Smart finish and apparently brilliant sounding speaker.

 

[steve_1979]

The 8260A's are mighty impressive but I wouldn't want to live with them because of their size and uglyness.

I've always thought Genelec's styling was more interesting than any actives that have a more conventional boxy/bland hifi appearance.

I rather like the styling and while the 8240 is on the big side, the likes of the 8030a and 8040a are more living room friendly.

I prefer the look of Genelec speakers to most studio monitors which are usually hideous. But the classic look of normal hifi speakers with wooden veneers and grills are much better IMO.

Another winner for me in the styling stakes was Acoustic Energy's AE22 Active. Loved the bold styling of that one even though AEJim's not its' biggest fan! Smart finish and apparently brilliant sounding speaker.

I didn't like to AE22's. They look totally wrong IMO. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that though.

The Acoustic Energy ProSat and ProSub aren't too bad . They're hardly pretty but they're not so ugly that I couldn't live with them.

 

[the record spot]

Yes, agreed, although I rather like a bold styling, or something that's out of the ordinary at any rate.

 

[steve_1979]

I like understated yet individual looking speakers best. I think my Neutrons could do with looking a bit more exciting. Don't get me wrong they're very smart with good quality veneers that make them look expensive but they're a tad plain too.

B+W make some very nice looking speakers.

 

[the record spot]

Yes, they've had some nice finishes in the past. Rather like the fuss-free fascia to my DC4s as well. Very clean and easy on the eye (as well as the ear!).

 

[steve_1979]

It would be great if Acoustic Energy made an active version of these together with a matching subwoofer. 8)

 

[davedotco]

Adam Artist a relatively inexpensive range of active speakers designed to look good non professional environment.

The baby Artist 3 has a USB digital in and makes a fantastic desktop system, normal analogue inputs too.

The floor standing Artist 6 looks fantastic and can be shipped out of Thomann in Germanny for less than £1k a pair, very fancy able.

Can't do a link on the iPad but try; http://www.adam-audio.com/en/multimedia/products

 

[BenLaw]

Yes, agreed, although I rather like a bold styling, or something that's out of the ordinary at any rate.

Drool.

 

[John Duncan]

It would be great if Acoustic Energy made an active version of these together with a matching subwoofer. 8)

Jeez, is that THREE times we've agreed?!?!

No sub though...

 

[hoopsontoast]

Are people saying they might buy something that may not be quite as good as it looks a little better in a domestic setting? :shame:

:rofl:

FWIW I think the Genelec monitors look alright, I almost went down that route with some small 6020a when I had a really small room in the previous house.

As a fan of ATCs as well, I have to say that EL150 is not particularly attractive in that veneer, this one is much nicer IMO. I do actually prefer the 'boxy' shape of their more traditional speakers although this curved cabinet should be better technically.

 

[cheeseboy]

Are people saying they might buy something that may not be quite as good as it looks a little better in a domestic setting? :shame:

:rofl:

yes, these are called people who live with their partners, not on their own 😛

 

[hoopsontoast]

Are people saying they might buy something that may not be quite as good as it looks a little better in a domestic setting? :shame:

:rofl:

yes, these are called people who live with their partners, not on their own 😛

Ah, thats why :rofl:

 

[John Duncan]

Are people saying they might buy something that may not be quite as good as it looks a little better in a domestic setting? :shame:

:rofl:

yes, these are called people who live with their partners, not on their own 😛

No, if it was up to Mrs JD I wouldn't have speakers at all.

 

[davedotco]

Are people saying they might buy something that may not be quite as good as it looks a little better in a domestic setting? :shame:

:rofl:

yes, these are called people who live with their partners, not on their own 😛

No, if it was up to Mrs JD I wouldn't have speakers at all.

I find myself somewhat in the same boat, one compensation though, Mrs DDC loves live music almost as much as I do (Bit of a 'rock chick' in her youth) so we would have to be out more, specially with festival season coming up.

 

[steve_1979]

Jeez, is that THREE times we've agreed?!?! No sub though...

Don't worry. We still disagree about the sub. 😉

 

[steve_1979]

...I have done a direct comparison between the 9Ts and sub (I have my cousins here while he moves house) and Opals though, and it's the Opals to me. Having said that, even though I think there is a fair margin, for some music I prefer the 9Ts and sub...

Out of interest which music did you prefer on the ADM's?

I only had a brief listen to both speakers but I found the Opals to be more dynamic sounding with a thunderously powerful yet well controlled bass which I'd imagine sounds best with rock and rave music. The ADM's on the other hand seemed to have a smoother and more natural sounding mid-range and treble which I'd imagine is better for classical, vocal and acoustic music.

 

[Craig M.]

...I have done a direct comparison between the 9Ts and sub (I have my cousins here while he moves house) and Opals though, and it's the Opals to me. Having said that, even though I think there is a fair margin, for some music I prefer the 9Ts and sub...

Out of interest which music did you prefer on the ADM's?

I only had a brief listen to both speakers but I found the Opals to be more dynamic sounding with a thunderously powerful yet well controlled bass which I'd imagine sounds best with rock and rave music. The ADM's on the other hand seemed to have a smoother and more natural sounding mid-range and treble which I'd imagine is better for classical, vocal and acoustic music.

I wouldn't go so far as to say one suits a particular genre over the other but an example album would be Fink - Sort of revolution. While I would guess that the Opals give a more realistic rendition, the ADMs sound a bit 'softer' with it which I prefer with this album. There are lots of other 'guitar and singer' albums that I prefer on the Opals. Maybe it's the difference between a metal and soft dome tweeter? I haven't compared loads of music on them though, I daren't leave the sub out all the time in case it gets used for kicking practice by my daughter, and otherwise I prefer the Opals for everything - the ADMs need the sub to compete, imo. As much as I love the Opals though, I still think I'll change them for some ADM40s, partly due to their smoother sound. Just got to finish some work on the house first. And I want a new bike, which will probably mean selling a kidney!

 

[skippy]

Currently researching going down the studio monitor path myself at the moment and focal solo6 and twins seem to get favorable reviews and this is for playback of music as well as the mixing.

The (solo6) are in the opal's price bracket, ultimately a listen would be a must.

The biggest problem I'm finding is being able to find a retailer who stocks the speaker and then the possibility of doing some sort of side by side test is proving to be practically impossible.

HiFi stores generally have the upper hand over music stores in this respect.

I remember auditioning a pair of dynaudio's against a pair of b&w's at practical HiFi in Manchester, they left me alone for 2 hours to compare, in the end I settled for the dynaudio's, there was no sales involved, just what my ears chose.

 

[AEJim]

*Sorry, double post. :roll:

 

[AEJim]

It would be great if Acoustic Energy made an active version of these together with a matching subwoofer. 8)

Well we might be starting that from the other end - I'm just finishing up our new budget range (imaginatively titled "1-Series") which are looking and sounding very good indeed, even if I do say so myself! 😀

I've set things in motion for the standmounts to have an active version somewhere down the line, probably would retail at £500-£600, possibly followed by the floorstanders at just under £1000...

The active floorstanders in particular would be interesting as there simply aren't many around at any price, let alone at the budget/mid level. I still need to figure out the best connectivity options, do we keep it simple like the AE22's and let people choose their own pre-amp/dacs or try to put it all onboard with umbilical connector between the speakers? :? The simple line-level in is of course easier for us but I'm not sure it would be as readily accepted as a full-blown solution which you can connect directly to a source for the home market.

No Reference sub on the horizon sadly, though the constrained layer construction would be perfect for it, especially with a couple of 12" back-to-back drivers with force cancelling like we did in the AE3 mkII a while back... Hmm... 😉

 

[Overdose]

The active floorstanders in particular would be interesting as there simply aren't many around at any price, let alone at the budget/mid level. I still need to figure out the best connectivity options, do we keep it simple like the AE22's and let people choose their own pre-amp/dacs or try to put it all onboard with umbilical connector between the speakers? :? The simple line-level in is of course easier for us but I'm not sure it would be as readily accepted as a full-blown solution which you can connect directly to a source for the home market.

How about a modular design that can provide an option to the customer to have the preamp section or not and also able to be retrofitted?

Possibly a split backplate on the master speaker, to allow for a module installation?

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Yes, agreed, although I rather like a bold styling, or something that's out of the ordinary at any rate.

Drool.

Hi Ben

Beautiful 🙂

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft