Budget active/powered speakers vs. traditional separates

[Ajani]

Am I right in thinking that studio monitors are designed for a different application than audiophile hifi? It's just that whilst I do want transparency and timing, smooth and warm musicality is at the top of my list, not hearing every problem in the mix as glaringly obvious. I want the speakers to be forgiving of radio, mp3 and tv sound whilst making the most of cd quality and HD music (once I get a dac) from my laptop.

Thanks,

Max

There's not all that much difference in the sound quality between active and passive speakers to be honest. Generally I prefer active speakers because they tend to have slightly better clarity and offer better value for money.

But as I said there isn't all that much difference and of course you get good and bad examples of both types so it's worth shopping around to see what sounds the best to you.

Agreed. I think the competence of the designer is far more important than whether the speaker is active or passive.

While I also generally prefer actives, I think the passive vs active debate tends to be blown out of proportion, based largely on exaggerated differences.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Do actives offer better value for money? Aside from the limited source issue, anyone know how much they cost to run compared with the cost of running an amp? I mean, there are four amplifiers powered up and running, rather than just the one. I'm assuming like for like here, as in digital amps in speaker vs digital amp.

 

[Ajani]

Hi,

I thought it was correct to start a new topic since my question no longer fit under the previous post's heading. I want to get a smooth and detailed setup going in a small room for under £300. After some research (whathifi, stereophile, audiostream, etc.) it is still not clear whether a good powered desktop speaker like the Audioengine A5+s or the PSB Alpha 1s compare to the best traditional sub-£300 passive and amp set-ups. I think my choices are as follows (any input from whathifi's staff would obviously be much appreciated):

1. Q acoustics 2010i + Marantz PM5004 £260

2. Tannoy Mercury V1 + Marantz PM5004 £279

3. Audioengine A5+ £295

In a small room and sitting 6-8 feet from the speakers, what is going to give me the most hi fidelity sound?

Thank you in advance,

Max

To your list I'd add Yamaha and M-Audio. I owned a pair of M-Audio BX-5As that were very nice as a dektop system. My brother still uses that setup. The M-Audios were also very good at around 6- 8 feet away.

 

[Ajani]

Do actives offer better value for money? Aside from the limited source issue, anyone know how much they cost to run compared with the cost of running an amp? I mean, there are four amplifiers powered up and running, rather than just the one. I'm assuming like for like here, as in digital amps in speaker vs digital amp.

Interesting question. I suppose it might depend on what you are actually comparing.

For example: Dynaudio BM5A Actives have 50 watts per tweeter and 50 watts per woofer. So each speaker basically uses a 50 watt stereo amp to drive tweeter and woofer. So it wouldn't be fair to compare the BM5A to a pair of passive speakers driven by a single 50 watt stereo amp. You'd either have to bi-amp with two 50 watt stereo amps OR compare the BM5A to a 100 watt stereo amp.

So the question becomes whether two 50 watt stereo amps are more expensive to run than one 100 watt stereo amp.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

4 50W amps - 2 speakers, remember!

 

[John Duncan]

Just noticed these somewhat soiled but still working aktimate maxis on special offer:

http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/Aktimate-Maxi-iPod-Active-Speakers-Pair-Red-Ex-Display/product_7357

Very well reviewed, 5 stars in WHF at twice the price and would leave room over for some second hand stands and a cheap dac

That is a very nice price for a system I preferred in many ways to AVI ADM9.1s and PMC DB1aIIs. They are not better speakers, far from it, but they are remarkably 'sorted'.

On the downside, they are big and chunky and, well, red.

 

[steve_1979]

Do actives offer better value for money? Aside from the limited source issue, anyone know how much they cost to run compared with the cost of running an amp? I mean, there are four amplifiers powered up and running, rather than just the one. I'm assuming like for like here, as in digital amps in speaker vs digital amp.

Do you mean are they better value for money in terms of how much electricity they use?

Unless you're running hot to the touch class A amplifiers or several kilowatts worth of PA amplification it's pretty irrelevant IMO because amplifiers generally don't use all that much power. I think that active speakers are usually a bit more efficient than passive speakers though. I've read that passive speakers usually need roughly double the amount of power to reach the same volume level as a similar sized active speaker (or so I've been told on 'another' forum). Either way I doubt that you'd notice much difference on your quarterly electric bill.

In terms of value for money when you buy them I think that actives usually (but not always) offer slightly better performance over passive speaker/amp combos at the same price (IMO, IME etc etc...)

 

[Ajani]

4 50W amps - 2 speakers, remember!

Yep. Thats why I said 2 50 watt Stereo amps. Which is the same as 4 50 watt monoblocks.

 

[johngw]

That is a very nice price for a system I preferred in many ways to AVI ADM9.1s and PMC DB1aIIs. They are not better speakers, far from it, but they are remarkably 'sorted'. On the downside, they are big and chunky and, well, red.

Let's just call it for what it is. They look absolutely hideous.

 

[davedotco]

Just noticed these somewhat soiled but still working aktimate maxis on special offer:

http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/Aktimate-Maxi-iPod-Active-Speakers-Pair-Red-Ex-Display/product_7357

Very well reviewed, 5 stars in WHF at twice the price and would leave room over for some second hand stands and a cheap dac

That is a very nice price for a system I preferred in many ways to AVI ADM9.1s and PMC DB1aIIs. They are not better speakers, far from it, but they are remarkably 'sorted'. On the downside, they are big and chunky and, well, red.

Just to be clear, these are powered passive speakers, not active.

in my search for an inexpensive system I looked at these and quickly discounted them.

Contrary to JD's opinions I found them rather bland and lacking in transparency, inoffensive maybe but not remotely engaging.

 

[drummerman]

Coming a bit late to this thread, some time ago I had an opportunity to compare a few active monitors at a local pro-emporium.

Long story short, most of the cheap ones were dissappointing and it was only when listening to Adams at a few hundred pounds that things improved.

There's no such thing as a free ride.

regards

 

[Overdose]

There's no such thing as a free ride.

regards

I picked up a hitchiker yesterday and he didn't pay me a bean....

 

[davedotco]

Coming a bit late to this thread, some time ago I had an opportunity to compare a few active monitors at a local pro-emporium.

Long story short, most of the cheap ones were dissappointing and it was only when listening to Adams at a few hundred pounds that things improved.

There's no such thing as a free ride.

regards

There is some real 'tat' at the bottom end of the pro market but there are some real bargains to be had too, particularly from oem/own brand product and some less well known 'names'.

As I have said elsewhere, the various Studiospares/Seiwin models (£100 -£140 pr) are outstanding at silly money and at the moment I am very taken with the Presonus Eris 5, just £230 a pair and in my view, better than the Adam F5, their new (ish) entry level speaker.

 

[ID.]

I'm pretty impressed with the Fostex 0.4n (now 0.4d in Europe?) which sell for under 200 pounds per pair and i think the 0.5 with its larger cabinet works better for listening purposes. Then again, I have them on stands and running off a DAC/headphone amp as the DAC and preamp. When placed on a desk/shelf the sound becomes smoother and warmer. I couldn't say how they compare to a 250-300 pound separates setup, but the quality is good enough that I'm regretting not looking at studio monitors when I was originally looking for a budget system. Many active monitors are a bit of a faff to set up in the living room, but based around a computer as a source I think it's relatively easy. I think in general the controls and connections (particularly the number of sources you can connect) are much easier to deal with using a traditional amp/passive speaker setup and it allows more options for incremental upgrading of the various parts.