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Active Speakers: The usual suspects ....

I'm interested in purchasing 'active' loudspeakers for a planned surround system. Although the "usual suspects" such as Quad, JBL, Dynaudio, KRK, Genelec, ATC, and PMC are ALL good/great speakers, I am wondering if there are other active speakers to consider that I haven't listed?

I did listen to DigiDesign RM2 active speakers designed by PMC. I felt, like many of the reviewers have stated, that they were overpriced at $3500 pr (and out of my price range).

Again, I'm seeking a suggestion or two concerning active monitors that might not be as well known as those I've listed.

Any and all comments appreciated.

Thank You
sedona
ojgalli
165 posts
 
Not only shouldn't we confuse powered speakers with active, we shouldn't assume all active speakers are powered. The ones I referred to above all have external x/o and amp. Although one should probably stick with the prescribed x/o, the amps are up to you. Many people criticize active speakers for having built-in amps, their reasons vary. I'm not sure whether it matters, but I can see the benefits of external.
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shadorne
7,333 posts
 
Many people criticize active speakers for having built-in amps, their reasons vary. I'm not sure whether it matters, but I can see the benefits of external.

Internal amps can suffer from microphonics - it requires choosing components and gain designs that are not microphonic (not that difficult). A tube amplifier stage, for example, would be a problem in a speaker. Some potentiometers and caps can be microphonic too. Single box guitar amp/speaker with tubes are well known for this issue - some guitar players insist to have the amp separate. Pink Floyd puts tube amps in an entirely separate room from the speakers. Active speakers started in studios with the amps separate from each driver in an air cooled amp rack. I believe they only migrated into the actual speaker box in the past 25 years or so...initially it was for portability. It certainly limits one to SS amps....
spenceroo
183 posts
 
I own the Focal Twin 6's. I use them in my recording studio, but recently had them in my living room form a while. They sound great and have plenty of low end for smaller rooms.
cdc
1,412 posts
 
Or you could go with single driver speaker with no x-over and a conventional 2 channel amp.
gregm
3,021 posts
 
For your application I'd recommend Klein & Hummel actives. ATC seems a bit over the top -- but great products nonetheless. BTW, the K&H above is wearing the ATC midrange driver.
K&H xover is digital so you feed it a digital signal direct & use its DAC. This is very important if you want to benefit from a dsp's delay facility (why else would you use a digital xover??? It sucks:))

The atc is analogue. So is Mr Linkwitz' Orion, one of the best (the best?) mid-sized active speakers. On the down side, the Orion is very complex.
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