stereoman said:
Hi. Is this really a change when you plug active speakers to your amp's pre outs ? I mean, some active speakers cost around 250 € pro piece up and I am tempted by this idea of internal amp integration. Anyone here who dumped his passive for active ? I need better sound control and extension.
Hi-fi does not really embrace active speakers, at least not at affordable prices. At around £1k you can get the AVI DM5, AE 1A and the Dali Kubic and you can get the LS50w and AVI ADM 10 for double that, after that I am stumped. Some nice Dynaudios but they start about £4k, I am not that keen on the XEO models.
Pro monitors on the other hand, positively abound and offer great value, particularly those under £1kpr. You need to audition though, some really are just built to play loud and not blow up, best avoided unless you just want a party system where they are great.
However there are some really decent speakers at not much over £200pr (uk or german pricing), JBL LSR305s for example are much better than you might expect, Presonus Eris 5 are around the same price and Yamaha HS5s only slightly more.
As you spend more, you tend to get a choice, bigger and more powerful or more sophisticated, in the second group I am particularly fond of the Equator D5, around £450 and the entry level Dynaudio LYD5 at around £750. I am actually a user of Adam Actives and regard them very highly indeed, but I am always going on about them (I think the A7x is probably the best value under £1k), so I have tried to suggest some alternatives.
A word of warning, the speakers mentioned will not sound like most hi-fi speakers, these speakers major on clarity, control and presence which some consider analytical and unmusical. You need to try before you buy.