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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 laugh

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

Powered Speaker Approach

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 mindangel

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

 

williewonka
williewonka OP
3,174 posts
 

@rsure - RE:

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. 

I’ve found that many companies do not promote cables because cable performance may depend on the component they are attached too and they don’t want customers complaining that their recommendation *brand X" was not as good as "brand Y" 

But after 12 years of making cables of my own design and countless hours of listening to the many versions of my cables, I am willing to share that using more advanced cables will provide a noticeble improvement in dynamics, imaging and articulation in music. here’s a few companies used advanced designs, metals, connectors and insulations

  1. Advanced advanced geometries
  2. OCC copper and OCC silver in their designs
  3. Advanced connector

Some companies that spring to mind...

  • Zavfino - med-high end
  • In-Akustik - high end
  • Hijiri - high end
  • KLE Innovations 
    • Good cables
    • excellent RCA conectors

Take a look at this thread for my thoughts on cable design

And if interested in DIY, then take a look at

But if you are happy - no reason to change. 

The problem with cables - you can end up spending more on cables that the system cost laugh

Regards - Steve

rsure
44 posts
 

@williewonka would you have an idea on the Grimm SQM cables? I didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of cables because I know that's an extremely slippery slope! 

phusis's avatar
phusis
1,403 posts
 

The Absolute Sound review of the ATC EL50 active speakers. 

williewonka OP
3,174 posts
 

@rsure - This is the first time I have heard of these cables and as such have no idea as to their performance charactristics.

I did look at their web site and could see nothing that would lead me to believe they would perform significantly better than other brands such as Audioquest, Cardas etc.

There is only mention of their connectors (the connectors  they use are nothing special) and their sheilding. I’m not a fan of heavily shielded cables because sheidling imacts performance

Personally - I would not opt for this cable because they do not mention the use of  more advanced cable design features like

  • OCC wires,
  • insulations having a low Dielectric Constant
  • advanced cable geometry to eliminate noise

This doesn’t make them a bad cable. Many companies do not publish construction details to protect their product designs.

But companies like Zavfino, do publish the above features because they believe it helps sell their products to a more discerning buyer.

Sorry I could not be of more assitance

Regards - Steve

erik_squires
17,572 posts
 

I'm a huge fan of powered speakers, while at the same time really skeptical of the price tags on some of them.  Focal's residential models for instance make me scratch my head.  Their pro powered speakers seem much better values. Also prettier and with better cabinets.

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