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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
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nogaps
169 posts
 

I heard a pair of ATC SCM40A(? I think..didn't stick around long enough to find out) yesterday at the Florida Audio Show. I was embarrassed for the host. 

Everyone has their own preferences..but, to me, they were very localized,  shouty-loud. Not a pleasant experience. The host was describing them to me and one other guy.. I had to excuse myself and walk away.  Yikes. 

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
15,054 posts
 

I must say the powered Edifier system i own is semi-active ( the main two speakers detect and adjust automatically the high filters cross-overs and it does not have any inconveniency: i can adjust manually the cross-over filter of the sub to block any boom  interference between the two speakers who gives some bass also. It is not perfect but extraordinary well done for the peanuts cost Edifier system.

 

The room acoustics controls devices and DSP matter more anyway  even in near listening...Even optimization devices matter more for me : Schumann generators for example and specific DSP ...

 Acoustics rules over ( because it come in a late stage)  and as much as any engineering improvement as the main control parameters...

joeycastillo
267 posts
 

ATC actives are a class of its own. My passive ATC are powered by X150.5 and it's an eye opener for me, as the previous amp that drove those ATC of mine where AHB2 in a Mono configure setup. The Pass has proven that it has control of my ATC and it rewarded me with sound that is a level up from the Benchmarks, which are not a slouch by itself. 

The Powered ATC delivered a sound that is on par with my current setup. will powered version best out my current setup? can't tell as the room i heard the actives were in a demo room. BUT the actives definitely will come close to the one I have, Is it worth it, IMHO, yes. if I was starting up all over again. But what I will lose is the ability to tweak things around, say a different amp in the future.

ATC are born for Studio, that is what they do best, people hearing will be the ultimate choice, I for one have both a "studio" centric monitor speaker and a English sounding audiophile grade speaker (LS3/5A). This dual setup of mine gives me a perspective of how music can be presented to me, when I feel like doing a critical listen, so again, it depends on one's perspective.

so, i can say, yes ATC actives are worth its coin, but only if you Like the ATC sound.

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