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
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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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 |
@williewonka I think within the powered speakers space ATC have a much higher pedigree than Focal but of course do audition anything before you buy. I just went with the Grimm SQM XLR cables, I spoke with ATC and asked them if they had any recommendations and they just said any 'decent' quality cables are good enough for the speakers. One thing I can say about the ATC active 50ASL speakers is that they can play loud effortlessly and without typical distortion (?) you get with other speakers and I've found they can play any genre of music well. This was a key difference in the other speakers that I had zeroed in on (Devore O96 and Audio Note) which could not handle heavier music like hard rock, metal etc. anywhere near as well as the ATCs. With the ATCs I was amazed at how the music doesn't seem to change with higher volume, it gets louder but still sounds the same. It's hard to describe but if you do get a chance to audition do give them a go.
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