active speaker and preamp advice

[admin_exported]

Hi!
i am thinking of ditching my current setup ( audiolab 8000s, dacmagic, ae radiance 3, computer as source) and either getting the avi adm9t or the pmc db1s with the audiolab 8200dq/cdq. i am entirely ignorant about active speakers, is a preamp essential for the pmc monitors? Could the volume just be adjusted from the computer source? If so is this detrimental to the sound quality vs a preamp.

Another question i have is what volume level would be best to set the pmc's too? Ie would you set them to full volume and then adjust the system volume with preamp/pc. is there a general consensus on this for sq?

The avi's offer simplicity, but i like the best of both worlds set up of the pmc audiolab combo, which i presume would sound better too.

Thanks in advance for any help, recommendations or telling me im going completely along the wrong lines!

Edward

 

[Concertino]

Hi Edward!

Before "investing" in my recently purchased Rega/Sonus Faber set-up, i was looking into active speakers as well for building a HQ "minimalist stereo". Good idea :exmark:

Dynaudio Focus 110A (A=Active) would be my 1.st choice. If i remember right, you can adjust the sensitivity on these and i think that if you increase db, then you will have sufficient volume range on the connected PC, Pod etc.

But since i am using 3-4 digital sources like PS3, CD, Apple Air Port XP, Cable tuner, i would use a DAC with several digital inputs and remote for volume. Examples: http://www.electrocompaniet.no/products/prelude/PD-1.html or http://www.hegel.com/hd20.htm

Not the cheapest gear, but they both get rave reviews.

I just saw a test in a Norwegian mag where they used the mentioned Dynaudios with the Hegel DAC toslink connected to the Air Port Express.

Performed very well according to the magazine, but drawback is the price.

I know that the cheaper Dynaudio proline active monitors get good reviews as well and are used in similar set-up`s

But! if you need to connect an analogue source for some reason you will get a problem without a pre-amp(?)

:cheers: from Norway

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks in advance for any help, recommendations or telling me im going completely along the wrong lines! Edward

I think you are going along completely the right lines TBH, active speakers have huge advantages with active crossover and phase correct digital filtering technology, you have to have a very well setup regular speaker with a decent amp (class A and/or tube) to compete!

I am looking at the ADM9T active speakers for another room perhaps in the spring, clutter free and good sound.

 

[Anonymous]

The pro-audio sector have many very good active monitors for a fraction (in some cases) of the price of passive speakers and amp. I have a pair of Adam A5Xs and think they are sensational for the £580 they cost, not as good as the AVI ADM9Ts but less than half the price :boohoo:

 

[Anonymous]

£580 is good.

Significantly less than a cheap transistor amp marketed as hi-fi in fact

Do you feed XLR analog into that or digital.

BTW some of the smaller Soundcraft mixers make excellent (and far more versatile) balanced pre-amps.

 

[Anonymous]

hi,

thanks for you input

Why would the dynaudios be your first choice? Is it due to the sensitivity adjustability? Or preferable sq over the pmc's?

One of the reasons i like the audiolab cdq/dq is i can use 24 bit 96khz flac files with it over usb (bought from https://www.hdtracks.com/ (which only let you buy if you're from the US, but if you buy with paypal you can get away with it!)).

Are you of the opinion then, that the audiolab is not good enough for monitors in the £2000 ish mark?

:cheers: from the uk!

 

[Anonymous]

The pro-audio sector have many very good active monitors for a fraction (in some cases) of the price of passive speakers and amp. I have a pair of Adam A5Xs and think they are sensational for the £580 they cost, not as good as the AVI ADM9Ts but less than half the price :boohoo:

They look pretty serious, is that a ribbon tweeter? i thought they were a hi end luxury.

You might be able to tell me how these would sound from the sort of distance i am sat from them, as i would be about 6 feet away, so i doubt this counts as near field. This near field thing is something that confuses me. In the what hifi review of the active pmc db1s, they dont mention they had to sit close, so i presume monitors are fine at (an albeit modest) distance?

 

[Anonymous]

£580 is good.

Significantly less than a cheap transistor amp marketed as hi-fi in fact

Do you feed XLR analog into that or digital.

BTW some of the smaller Soundcraft mixers make excellent (and far more versatile) balanced pre-amps.

looks to be balanced xlr or unbalanced rca.

do you mean something like this http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/soundcraft-notepad-124--68860 ?

 

[Concertino]

Hi again.

For starters, I am very found of the Dynaudio sound. Had the old Audience A10 passive once myself and heard several later models like DM, Excite, Focus..Hard to go wrong with Dynaudio.

And they are quit powerful. And theyre an all Danish "in-house" product with regards to both the speakers/elements and the built-in amps. Very high quality in the whole chain. And i like the good looks.

Not saying this is the best alternative for you, just sharing my personal opinion after checking out several alternatives myself.

I am not familiar with the Audiolab i`m afraid. Reason for suggesting the Norwegian DAC brands is

1)the sound quality i heard myself and (Almost as good as my Rega DAC

2) the volume remote on them so that you don`t need a preamp (if only using digital sources)

My dream for a really clean system;

Streaming wireless(of course..) high res.music from my Mac, -and also streaming from Spotify from my Ipod, to the little Air Port Express router which is connected via optical cable to the Electrocomapniet DAC (Or Hegel maybe) which in turn is connected to the Dynaudios

BR,

Erik

 

[Anonymous]

£580 is good.

Significantly less than a cheap transistor amp marketed as hi-fi in fact

Do you feed XLR analog into that or digital.

BTW some of the smaller Soundcraft mixers make excellent (and far more versatile) balanced pre-amps.

looks to be balanced xlr or unbalanced rca.

do you mean something like this http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/soundcraft-notepad-124--68860 ?

Yes, and the folio stuff, all make great pre-amps, esp if you want to play guitar along to stuff

It makes a lot of sense to use something that allows the long wires to the active speakers to be balanced.

 

[Craig M.]

the avi's are awesome for the money, you also have the option of adding the dedicated subwoofer in the future for a system that would be hard to beat. i haven't heard the powered version of the db1, but, as far as i know, they don't have an active crossover so i'm not sure if they would be any better then a regular db1 with a decent amp. unless you go for the avi's, you will need a pre-amp in most cases. you could use the pc/mac to adjust volume, but you may find quality suffers at lower volumes. as has already been mentioned, actives have many advantages that relate to sound quality. if you're not too critical of the speakers appearance, pro audio brands can offer amazing vfm.

6 feet will be fine for any near field monitors, i think mine are supposed to be near field and i sit about 10 feet from them.

 

[Anonymous]

Globs. I run a 3.5mm jack to twin xlr cable into them from an airport express streaming itunes and spotify from my Mac. Yes £580 is a very good price considering the quality of sound from these little beauties

Eddie. The ribbon tweeter is very nice, extremely detailed but smooth with it.

The term "near field" is oft misunderstood, recording engineers sit very close to their monitors so they avoid sound reflection, allowing them to create a more accurate mix, hence the term "near field".

There is no reason why studio monitors wont sound as good (if not better) as hifi speakers from the same kind of distance once the monitors are large and powerful enough in relation to the size of the room.

 

[Craig M.]

There is no reason why studio monitors wont sound as good (if not better) as hifi speakers from the same kind of distance once the monitors are large and powerful enough in relation to the size of the room.

also, actives are more efficient and tend to go a lot louder then a similarly powered passive would. so a 100w amp in an active speaker will result in a much louder volume, then a 100w amp and passive speaker. mine have about 750 watts each, so would require a 1.5kw amp to match the volume with a passive speaker! i tend to listen at low levels most of the time, but it does mean i never clip the amps.

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

I'd recommend Dynaudio Focus 110 A too. I've got passive Focuses and they're very good speakers. you can also easily integrate Dynaudio subwoofer with active Focuses should you wish to do so (don't think you would need one though).

as for a preamp, I'd recommend Burson Audio HA-160D. it's a 3 analog (RCA) input preamp, headphone amp and a two input DAC (USB, coax) in one box. should do the trick for you. Burson Audio is little known Australian company but read some reviews or testimonials. they are not made in China too (unlike most of mainstream British hi-fi companies).

unfortunatelly with HA-160D you can't use pro audio monitor as it has only RCA pre out, but Dynaudio Focus 110A has only RCA in so there will be no problem with those.

 

[Craig M.]

unfortunatelly with HA-160D you can't use pro audio monitor as it has only RCA pre out, but Dynaudio Focus 110A has only RCA in so there will be no problem with those.

you can get rca to xlr cables. i used some with mine for a while. cost £6.49

 

[Anonymous]

I was talking to a mate last night and he has a friend who works for quested, who sold him a pair of quested s6r's for £150 (they're worth about £1000). I had to go over and listen and i must say i was deeply impressed. He said i could get a reduction on anything in their range, so i am going to go for a pair of v2108s. he's going to get back to me on a price but if it is the same sort of savings as his s6r's i will be laughing. They're ex review and ex demo ones but they replace the drivers before selling them off cheaply. amazingly ideal timing!

 

[Anonymous]

My dream for a really clean system;
Streaming wireless(of course..) high res.music from my Mac, -and also streaming from Spotify from my Ipod, to the little Air Port Express router which is connected via optical cable to the Electrocomapniet DAC (Or Hegel maybe) which in turn is connected to the Dynaudios

BR,

Erik

i was looking into the airport express today, and it would be really neat except it only plays up to 16 bit 44.1khz files, it does accept 24 bit 96khz for example, but converts them to 16bit before going to the optical out.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have been running Dynaudio Focus 110a s for a year or so now and am still thrilled by their performance. I use them with a Cyrus PreXPdqx and play from Squeezebox, controlled by ipad Squeezepad application. I mainly play FLACs at 16bit, with some 24bit files, and also MP3 320 kps files, plus some ALAC from legacy itunes, and 320kps Spotify streams. It sounds great and is worth every penny.

My first true active speakers ( I had Audioengine before) have continued to impress and impress. Ease of use and minimum lounge clutter is a bonus.

The 110a's do have a degree of adjustability via rear panel and this has proved useful as I have the speakers on stands with rears quite close to wall. everyone always says it about their little speakers, BUT, the 110A's really do go quite low with a very musical bass. Loud too. :rockout: I am not sure how much that has to do with having the power amplification close to the active crossovers, or if that is a Dynaudio speaker efficiciency thing.

Well worth an audition. Try the ADMs if you can and the Event Opals. People rave about both. I was not able to try the Opals, but did not really find the ADMs to my taste and was happy to settle with the Dyns, whose aesthetic and fit/finish was also best imho.

I'd also consider a look at auditioning the Benchmark pre HDR DAC.

 

[steve_1979]

I prefer active monitors to passive hifi speakers, they tend to sound more detailed and generally better. They offer very good value for money, sound more accurate and have tighter bass. However the bass can also sound a bit light compared to passives and most actives tend to look a bit ugly and functional compared to regular hifi speakers.

I think actives are best but everybodys tastes differ. Some people say that passives sound more 'musical' or 'fun' than passives. You could find yourself a local pro audio shop and listen to a few and make up you own mind which is best. There's lots of good reputable brands to choose from such Dynaudio, Genelec, Adams, Mackie and Focal.

 

[steve_1979]

I spotted this offer for only £1259 a couple of weeks ago which is terriffic value for money.

www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/dynaudio-bm-6a-mk2-and-tc-bmc-2--72080

You get some fantastic sounding £1200 Dynaudio BM6A actives monitors and an ugly but very nice sounding TC Electronics DAC/preamp which costs over £500. This is a great sounding combo that easily beats any regular £2000 hifi by a considerable margin (IMO of course ).

 

[stevenjonas]

Online Joined: 21/04/2011 Posts: 18 RE: Active speakers.
It's really interesting to have a problem & find that others have been discussing the same issue before. I have passive ATC SCM20s coupled with AVI power amps. AVI pre-amp, AVI tuner & AVI CD player. I like my system enormously. We also have an old CRT TV, which we have decided to replace (probably with a Panasonic TX-P42GT30 which will be connected to the internet & my workstation). It occured to me that if I had some active speakers (like the active ATC SCM20s) connected to my TV & my workstation, I wouldn't need any of my power amps. pre-amp, tuner or CD player? I could listed to various sources of radio from the TV, the internet or my workstation & I could listen to my CDs from my workstation. At worst, I could connect my laptop to the speakers & play my CDs directly from that? I wouldn't then need a pre-amp, nor DAC. Or is all that just too simplistic?

Also, I was very interested in the comment about lack of depth. I listened to a pair of AVI ADM 9.1s last weekend. Or they might have been 9.1Ts. The voice reproduction was incredible but I found the full orchestra a bit thin. Am I going to find the same with other active speakers, or was my experience because the 9.1s are in pretty small boxes?

:help:

 

[The_Lhc]

For dog's sake mate, you're not seriously going to dig up every old active speaker thread and post the same damn message to each one are you? You've asked your questions, just wait for an answer!

 

[Anonymous]

Active design results in better drive unit control by the amps due to very high damping factor. The resultant sound is often thin in comparison to many passives due to this. You get used to such clarity very quickly but it takes a little time if you're used to a different sound. The ADM subwoofer extends the range of the 9.1s very well and performs well with orchestral music. If you don't like the sound with the sub, or can't have it, try some other actives such as those offered by Dynaudio. I've never heard them but they may suit your tastes more due to different drivers and lower power.