Active Vs. Passive

There are active speakers, which include include at least one amplifier in the speaker, and speakers with active crossovers, which may or may not be active speakers.

The real advantages come from speakers that use active crossovers. That's when, as Shadorne describes, the crossover is inserted in the signal path before the amplifiers, so the amplifier sees only the simple impedance of the drivers in the assigned frequency range.

The best example of a speaker with an active crossover currently available is the Linkwitz Labs Orion, which calls for an amplifier channel for every driver. The Legacy Audio Helix is another example, but those are huge and expensive.

IMO, the advantages of active crossovers are real and audible. I'm less convinced active speakers, just because they have amps matched to the drivers, are such a big win.

All drivers are passive. If you do not use a passive crossover, you have an active speaker system, whether or not the amps are on board and whether or not the amps were furnished by the speaker manufacturer.

As an example, I would say that all single driver systems are active since they have nothing inserted between the driver and the amp, sometimes not even binding posts.

I have never heard a fully active speaker to my liking, that aside i do believe it is the ultimate way to get things done unfortunately the efforts to do so IMO have been weak, hence I prefer passive bi-amping , well for the moment..

Regards,

One of the many speakers I own is a pair of Meridian active speakers. They are dual mono and biamped with an electronic crossovers.

The amplifiers are perfectly matched to the drivers and you have the ability to tailor the sound with upstream cables and components.

My reference dynamic speaker is one of the more unique designs available, the Legacy Audio Whisper DSW. It is an option available on the Whisper platform. The crossover is configurable from fully passive, to hybrid active/passive, to fully active. In fully active x-over mode the speaker uses six channels of amplification.

I wrote a three part article on Dagogo.com about the speaker system and direct comparison utilizing the best means possible, one speaker with three different crossover modes. Easily, handily the active crossover mode won. Those interested in SOTA sound and differences between actively and passively crossed speakers may find it an interesting read. In short, as I indicate in the review, the speaker system performs best in active x-over mode.

You can see the speaker on my system pics.