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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
deep_333
2,431 posts
 

+10 

Any sonic gains come from a active crossover. Class Diddly amp boards stuck inside the vibro cabinet did no favors.

An additional thought. Good amplifiers put great thought and effort into reducing physical vibration control. Putting the amplifier into a vibrating speaker box is completely antithetical to this.

 

32k for this plain jane ugly garage diy box is some grand level of weasely pricing, mmhmm.

 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. 

nitewulf
453 posts
 

The ATC dome midrange always intrigued me, but the ones I’m interested in are pricey.

bassbuyer's avatar
bassbuyer
884 posts
 

In my experience they are not worth the investment.  The amps eventually need to be replaced or repaired and when they do it’s usually an expensive and unpleasant process.  Most manufacturers offer relatively short term warranties which is an indication of what they expect.  If they lasted longer they would offer longer warranties.  Passive speakers can last forever just like external amps.  Powered subs, yes.  Powered speakers, pass.  

erik_squires OP
17,539 posts
 

In my experience they are not worth the investment.  The amps eventually need to be replaced or repaired and when they do it’s usually an expensive and unpleasant process.  Most manufacturers offer relatively short term warranties which is an indication of what they expect.  If they lasted longer they would offer longer warranties.  Passive speakers can last forever just like external amps.  Powered subs, yes.  Powered speakers, pass.  

 

This is to me a very powerful argument.  ATC has a relatively stable lineup, which hopefully means you can expect to replace any amplifiers if needed, though I believe they also use linear amps, so they're actually easier to fix. 

preener2
23 posts
 

Hi,

Bryston has speakers that are set up for external crossovers. They have an electronic crossover and amplifiers to match. Best upgrade I ever did!

And for my PCs, I've been using Genelec's for years. Every once in awhile you see someone selling those at fire sale prices on eBay.

Happy Listening!

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