Any thoughts on passive v. active speakers?


I'm thinking about ditching my amps and cables and just buying an active speaker with a balanced input. I have a Krell 2250 and a pair of 140 watt Atma-sphere MA-1MKII. I desperately need speakers and cables, but not sure if I want to go through the bother (and expense) of finding the perfect matching set.

Should I go with a speaker & amp that are already matched or keep building my system like a bespoke smorgasbord?
rogerstillman
Try auditioning some of the Meridian line of speakers. Each is right at the front of mixed systems in their price range and are absolute bargains at their used prices.
Meridian have been doing the active thing longer than almost anyone.
The DSP 8000 is truly worked class, the DSP7200 competes with Wilson Sasha/B&W 802 etc and the often overlooked DSP5200 is highly underrated.
Go listen see for yourself.
"09-30-15: Rogerstillman
zd542, I agree that change for the sake of change alone is not good, but wouldn't you rather have a system that you could grow into as your needs, taste, and budget change? I'm just proposing an alternate path to building a system. "

I already have this. You're assuming a line array is the best way to achieve your goals. It may be for you, and that's perfectly OK.

That said, I'll give you my opinion on this. If you start isolating certain features, giving them more importance over others, you're playing with fire. There's much more going on between the the amp and speakers that are beyond the scope of line array advantages/disadvantages. I would take a balanced approach and consider them all equally.

"Meridian have been doing the active thing longer than almost anyone. The DSP 8000 is truly worked class, the DSP7200 competes with Wilson Sasha/B&W 802 etc and the often overlooked DSP5200 is highly underrated."

I have some experience with Meridian. I've owned some of they're components, and my best friend is a Meridian fanatic. He's a scumbag lawyer and can afford the best stuff they make.

To make a long story short, we got into an argument when I told him my Vandersteen's sound better than his expensive Meridian speakers. They were at least 50k. I offered to put them side by side for comparison, and he agreed. He was also under the assumption that I was going to bring over all my best stuff. Instead, I brought over a pair of Model 2's, just 1 of my Ayre V-5's and my Wadia 302.(I also have an 861SE). Cables were 2 runs of AQ CV-8, Balanced AQ Cheetah, and 2 ESP Essence PC's.

The only things the Meridian could do better was play louder and go deeper in the bass. In every other aspect, we both thought my system was clearly the winner. And the reason I won is because my system had the better matched components. They just weren't inside the speaker. Meridian can't design an amp as good as my Ayre, and speakers as well as Vandersteen.
I just bought a pair of used Vandersteen 3A Signatures. I have them on my Krell (out of expediency) and love the bass, but I'm not getting a broad soundstage. Once I put my tube gear on that should change.

Anyway, it's a big upgrade for me!

Thanks to everyone for your comments.
"10-04-15: Rogerstillman
I just bought a pair of used Vandersteen 3A Signatures. I have them on my Krell (out of expediency) and love the bass, but I'm not getting a broad soundstage. Once I put my tube gear on that should change."

I have a pair of Model 3's myself. To get the soundstage you want, keep in mind that all of the components in the system, are equally responsible for this. You can have a bunch of great imaging pieces, but can still mess it up with just 1 poorly matched component. Also, tubes aren't required. The decision to buy a tube amp or preamp should be based on sound quality, not just because its a tube product. The best imaging I've heard from SS is Ayre. That's what I currently use on my 3's. When you are ready to upgrade, demo some Ayre products and see if they are for you.

When you get the speakers, follow the setup instruction listed in the manual. Its very important to do it this way if you want best sound. For cables, AQ Type 6 or Type 8 work very well with your speakers, and they are not expensive. Just make sure you double biwire with 2 separate runs of cable.
Here's an update:

I just got Paul Spelt's ZERO-Box with a custom built set of ANTICABLES & they are so incredible - even without the 100 hour suggested burn in period.

My Sound Stage just BLEW UP and I now have the system of my dreams!

It was like getting a free upgrade for every component in my system because everything sounds so much better - and that is saying a lot considering the gear I was already using.

My current system looks like this:

Cable Box or Apple t.v. (both using optical outputs)
Cambridge Audio DACMagic (not an expensive piece & probably my next upgrade)

Cary SLP-05
ATMA-SPHERE MA-1MKII rev.2
ZERO-Box
ANTICABLES
Vandersteen 3a Signatures

Life is good @ http://www.zeroimpedance.com