Yes, some of them really are, and have been for awhile.
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?"
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I purchased open box Kef LSX II wireless for my bedroom. With stands, furman conditioner, power cords, and ethernet cables, I am in for $2K. I just moved a 12 inch Dayton Titanic sub in and it integrated perfectly for an unbelievably balanced sound. It gives me 80% of my big rig of seperates. Ultimately it is 100% convenient and if it falis before I do then I am not out much. Perfect putchase. As for the big rig I am all about expense and inconvenience LOL. |
@singingg - The older I get the less I want my sound system to look like an engineering experiment and more I want it to vanish. |
@erik_squires We all have different needs. Of course my LOL comment was tongue in cheek. I have spent the last 6 years modernizing my system and ended up with seperates of the seperates, including a few beakers and test tubes. I still get the thrill of listening to each format and knowing that this is all I want. I have achieved my endgame and it is fun to reflect that I am the only person who can get music out of the thing! |
I bought a pair of Salon 2’s off AG and was so bummed at the lack of bass and dynamics using a parasound a21 and then hegel h360 that I decided to buy a pair of DSP 8000’s that showed promise with self power for each driver. M does deliver, but how many of us can set and forget? I lasted 3 years and I needed to start spending on my system again. I think actives are an excellent for those of us that are all about the music but tolerate the equipment. For those of us that enjoy upgrading and tweaking actives are a bit of a dead end. Regarding the available self powered speakers from the different brands out there, sure some brands go cheap some brands do their best and in a perfect world you get what you pay for. |
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