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Are active speakers worth it now?

I've been paying attention to recent reviews and product announcements for active speakers.  Mind you, I'm a convert, I think active speakers are the right answer for many, but I'm a conditional fanboy.  For me it's conditional on the overall value. 

In the residential high-end ATC has long been a darling of audiophiles, and of course many studio monitors are active.  Recent reviews for the Grimm, Focal and Dynaudio active in Stereophile make me hopeful this trend will continue, but at what cost? 

That question is literal.  Admittedly these speakers have amps built in so that is one less component and cables to buy, but ahem, those prices leave me unimpressed.  I'm just one minor voice though, so I ask you, A'goners, if you've been thinking of going fully active like me and what do you think of the price/performance of the marketplace, both in the pro arena and residential high-end?  Do these prices say "bargain" to you or "simplicity for a price?" 

erik_squires
joeycastillo
267 posts
 

OP

in my opinion. I can offer my view on the actives made by ATC as I have demo them and considered that path, I truly believe, if the manufacturer did their work right, active speakers are truly the way to go. and what I mean by that is the synergy of their speaker and the amp they put in is perfect match in all terms, sonics, prat, tonality etc. AND that what I heard in ATC active line. I cannot comment on other brands, but some reviewers swear on brands that go active as really good.

although what you give up is the ability to tweak your gear to suit your ultimate goal, the ability to move amps around to suit your listening pleasure

YMMV

rooze's avatar
rooze
683 posts
 

I bought a new pair of closeout Legacy Calibre XD a couple weeks back and I think they’re looking like being good value. They have a biamp toggle, so you can flick a switch and use an external power amp to drive the AMT tweeter, while the internal amp remains driving the bass and midrange.

So there’s some flexibility for people who want to shape the sound a bit. I bought a LTA ZOTL40 to drive the ribbons and after adding some necessary attenuation to the internal amp to match gains, it sounds pretty good.

 

The speakers only have about 120 hours so it’s too early to make a determination on value, but it’s looking quite good so far.

maam522a
161 posts
 

I am snakebit by active speakers.  I designed an built this Modern Console around Klipsch The Sevens.  They are literally incorporated in the cabinets and veneered in place.  They have failed and Klipsch has sent me two other plate amps and they both failed.  Now Klipsch has partnered with Onkyo for the new Sevens and will not respond to my messages for repair. 

 

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ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,425 posts
 

I have a friend that has struggled for years with problems from the internal amplification on a set of speakers. Had to take apart the speaker and send the am in... that was not it... then some other active piece. My intuition has always been to stay away from them, his continued experiences have solidified that. 

Determining the value would probably have to be done with a dealer who would have listened to dozens of speaker and amp combinations over time with the same streamer / DAC / preamp inputs to come up with a judgement. 

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