As per the title, talk to me about active vs passive.
I currently have 2 active monitors and a sub, so 3 things all with their own amp and all powered… I have an itch that needs scratching regarding swapping them out for a passive setup. Does anyone run one of these? and if so what are your recommended brands/products to roll with?
Hey @STU-C,
so I don’t think there is a real answer. I am running a couple of different set ups right know.
Some active ADAM T7V as monitors for my pc set up and some Passive Heco Celan 300 with an miss used Denon AVR x26000 but with an active sub.
I also run a passive set up in my living room.
Big advantage is the flexibility with a passive set up. I got my passiv boxes pretty cheap used and they sound fantastic. While i started out with some cheaper passiv ones I could swap them and hold my amp.
But amplifier on some active ones are tuned specially for those speakers. If you use passiv you have to be safe that the amp can give enough power.
I like my active and my passive boxes. But every box depends on the room itself. If you go high end, passive will give you more options. If you are somewhere in the middle, I think there is no real better, just different.
I was mainly trying to cut down on power chords, but seeing as most subs are active it would only be a single saving.
I’ve got a pair of focal shape 50s so may just stick with them. I would have liked something a bit lighter for mounting though.
Personally i prefer to have active, just in case 1 amp goes down…you only have to have 1 fixed or replaced! Totally a personal thing tho! I Do however feel that most audio engineers design their amps to fit the speakers they are intended for, so having the active i feel (personally) that it getting a better fit for the speakers.
So with your focal you have already many additional tuning options. Like the high pass filter. Since you have a sub. you can direct the low frequencies only to the sub and give your speakers more energy to “breathe”.
Some Amps give you these options, which lower priced active spreaders don’t have. So your focal are already pretty nice.
I mean there is no limit with speakers. Honestly, if they sound nice in your room and you don’t want to start a big experiment, stay with them.
If you want to upgrade look at booth options. If you want to upgrade more often you might go with the passive. But especially in the monitor area, you have more active alternatives (as I think). Also most near filed monitors i saw are active.
On a home cinema system, definitely passiv.
A subwoofer draws most of the time to much power in comparison to speakers. Thats why most subs are active. The cost of an amp to also fully power the sub and speakers would increase immense. Most amps have just a dedicated rca output.
Yeah fair enough, I’ll stick to the focals and sub for now. Just need to work out how to mount them on my new booth.