Active Speakers Better? No, per Michael Borresen
The best sounding speaker I have had the pleasure to hear is made by Borresen.
I recently spent time with Michael Borresen in Seattle at a show. It was slow so
I was able to speak with him for a time. I asked him if he plans an active speaker.
His answer was a definitive and immediate "No". He said separates sound better.
His statement flies in the face of what passes in most audio corners as commonly recognized facts.
Sadly I am too technically challenged to convey any of his further explanation.
I invite all intelligent commentary on this question. Theoretical or not.
kota1, I missed your comment about my post asking if I was a designer or engineer? Forgive my oversight. I am neither, I am the ATC importer to the USA for the last 20+ years. Before that I worked at JBL as in charge of theater and installed sound. In both roles, there was/is a lot of interaction with the engineering department about "why" they do things a certain way. Brad |
ATC speakers do not even provide frequency response measurements on their website. You'd think they would give you plenty of measurements to look at given that they brag about how accurate their speakers are. The are just overpriced overrated speakers that have achieved success based on rave reviews by so called industry professionals that know nothing about speaker design. ATC are a driver manufacturer that have no expertise in speaker design. You would think a high end speaker would be far more advanced than just a wooden box with drivers in 'em but thats exactly what ATC are. |
@lonemountain I could tell you were not a typical customer, now I get it. I checked your profile and you don't have a system posted. Would you mine sharing? Do you know how the virtual system page works? Thanks |
Some people want it to sound like it’s supposed to, the way Fleetwood Mac decided or Tom Petty or Lenny Kravitz. ATC enables you to get that, and you cannot get that with passives. I set up my home theater with the intention of replicating to the degree that is practical what the mixing engineer of a movie or album heard on the soundstage. I exchanged emails with the owner of the Dub Stage and Galaxy Studios. Both were very helpful in advising me on how to treat my room. Wilfred Van Balen from Galaxy Studios and founder of Auro 3D emphasized treating the ceiling and suggested bass traps. I am using a combo of absorption panels and Geofusers from Auralex which are diffusors that can be backfilled with rockwool or polyfil to double as bass traps. Both studios use active monitors and while I am sure they sound much better than my home theater, active speakers gave me the ability to bi-amp each speaker AND have that power go to the driver, not just excess heat. With 13 speakers that is roughly 26 channels of amplification. Even if I had that many amplifiers in a biamp configuration it still wouldn’t be as efficient. If you listen to acoustic music at low to medium levels, no worries. If you listen to concerts and action movies at reference level like I do, totally different animal. Look at these specs: http://www.cain.cainslair.com/Paradigm%20Reference%20Active%20Series%20Specifications.htm |
