Thanks for sharing your journey. Good to read that you’ve found a powered pair of speakers that works for you playing the music you love in your room which is key. I’ve had a positive experience with powered speakers in setups where separate equipment isn’t optimal and where price is such that if they fail they can be replaced. I’ve not had a positive experience with higher end speakers with internal amps due to amp repair and replacement issues and cost over time. Hope your equipment lasts a long time. Enjoy!
So what about powered Speakers?
Given the quality of affordable speakers like those from Bluesound I decided to try a couple of powered studio monitors.
The first was the Yorkville YSM5 Studio Monitor. These I had for a year. They were most enjoyable, but lacked some bass
The second is the Focal Alpha 65 Evo 6.5 inch Powered Studio Monitor which arrived today - so I am listening to them as I type 
They improved the bass performance significantly, along with a nicer top end and larger sound stage
But this is only a part of the story - you can read about my journey in this thread
The impotus for this change was the realization that I had too much money tied up in my previous audio system and wondered if I could get close to it’s sound for a fraction of my previous system.
I believe I have succeded since I am finding the listening to this frugal system is providing more enjoyment than my old system did
Some may think studio monitors are for Near Field listening - true - but the Focal’s are equally as good at delivering a superb image in my listening room that is 17ft x 40ft
I think todays affordable electronics is far better than many believe it to be.
Powered speakers eliminate the need for speaker cables and since the amps are in the speaker the improvements in imaging, clarity and dynamics is significant.
Granted, this approach lacks the ablity to upgrade the amp or speakers seperately - but with speakers of this calibre, upgrading is the farthest thing from my mind
I would like to add that I using exceptional interconnects and power cables, which I have no doubt contribute to this wonderful sound
Hope some of you find this thread useful in your journey
Regards Steve
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I have a very good friend who has a pair of powered Focal speakers-I can't remember the model. He loved them until an amp went out. Not a simple thing to send a whole speaker back. He works full time which further compounded the difficulties. He still has the speaker-in the box. He bought Sonus Fabers to replace the Focal. He loves them. He swears he will never purchase a powered speaker again. Just FYI |
The DIY route to achieving this design is enabling a method that allows permanent access to the selected Amps, as the Speaker Cabinet is designed to have a recess to house the Amp, with the Amp's fascia flush-finished to the cabinet. An OB baffle can have an enclosure made to house the Amp; this can be placed local to the Speaker or mounted on the rear of the Baffle. Many Amp producers who supply an Amp for this role are keen to offer a 2-year warranty, which pretty much shows great confidence in the reliability of their product. A DIY build does not mean that one does it themselves; it can also mean that the support of others more adept in Cabinet Making and electronics can be commissioned to assist. Buying off the shelf is doing much of the same, but a Turnkey product has a premium in the costing, if compared to a design produced using similar quality material and electronic parts. Buying off the shelf does enable a pre-purchase demo if it is able to be arranged? Does enable user reviews to be read, if a review is able to be found?
The Link shows a full conversion Active of a Speaker produced by Troels Graveson that is a Passive/Hybrid design. https://www.stereonet.com/forums/topic/573796-troels-gravesen-3wc-15-active-version/ |
@rsure - thanks for the link to the ATC's - gonna do some research on them - they look very good and the drivers look "more substantial" than the Focal's but that look like it will be reflected i the price I like the super dynamics and imaging of the powered speakers right out of the box. Did you use "quality cables" on your speakers? Cheers |
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