Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused


17 of 23 speakers in my studio and home theater systems are internally powered. My studio system is all Genelec and sounds very accurate. I know the best new concert and studio speakers are internally powered there are great technical reasons to design a speaker and an amp synergistically, this concept is much more important to sound quality than the vibration systems we often buy. How can an audiophile justify a vibration system of any sort with this in mind.

128x128donavabdear

@clustrocasual The speakers in my profile are active but designed for home use, not studios. None of the links I posted above for two channel are designed for studio monitoring. What is the junk you are referring to? The OP talks about Genelec which are finalists for speaker of the year (and the least expensive of the speakers Stereophile nominated):

"I doubt you'll be surprised when I tell you I am over-the-moon crazy about Genelec's G Three minimonitor. It rendered recordings in a manner that really suits my listening proclivities"- Herb Reichert

 

OP, reading this thread I fear the confusion you brought up is spot on. Some of these posts cross the line from confusion to delusion...where is this junk???

Genelec’s G Three transduces more unpolluted truth than any other small speaker I’ve auditioned..... My highest recommendation -Herb Reichert

 

 

A powered speaker is really the epitome of an integrated, better yet a Bose Wave Radio, B&W Zeppelin. 

I love Genelec speakers (I spent 200k +) but they are only the example of a speaker with the design concept of making an amplifier with a speaker in mind. Meyer Sound is probably the best example of this, Meyer Sound is more of a concert speaker but they sound great. A perfect amplifier only amplifies the weak original signal, it shouldn’t have a sound at all but since the very complex load the speaker gives to the amp the pathway to simple amplitude multiplication is impossible to do unless that amplifier is designed to understand the particular speakers impedance loads and the unique ways that speaker deals with frequency and how fast all this can happen among other things. I’m sure Genelec didn’t make my "The Ones" speakers with perfect amps because they of course have to keep their prices down like everyone else.

The point is that everyone knows curated speaker and amplifier design is proper but very few are doing it because the community of audiophiles are really out to lunch (I am one) we worry about very esoteric things where there are huge design concept that make great difference in proper sound.