Active Speakers - will this time be different?

Mike

Mike

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I’ll be doing my Axpona 2022 wrap up video (2 parts) with one of my employees who accompanied me on the trip.

What nobody (accept me) is talking about was all the new active speakers we saw from well known companies like Avantgarde, YG, Marten, Piega and countless others. In fact, in many cases, the active versions of these iconic brands were some of the best I’ve ever heard their speakers sound! I made the comment to the VP of Sales for YG (Steve) who I know quite well from his days at Boulder that the active YG’s were the best I had ever heard YG’s, and he agreed.

On the retail side, I think active has a home (no pun intended), for those with compromised living spaces or WAF issues surrounding cables and amps.

We all love to play with amps, DAC’s, preamps, cables, etc. and I know the naysayers will say “active has been trying for years and has never taken off.” I know companies like Estelon, Linn, Dutch & Dutch, Goldmund and others have been trying to get active to take off. Linn and D&D seem to be the only ones gaining a little momentum.

With big names like AG, Marten and YG jumping into the fray, this time just might be different.

Thoughts?


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I'm probably a minority but some of us can swing the speakers, but can't afford the bottomless pit of component matching and guys like me will embrace fully active if priced realistically.
 
Hopefully, the potential of active speakers will finally be realised.

When done right, based on my ears, active speakers can and do sound more coherent, direct (transparent & less veiled?) and dynamic compared to passive speakers.

Many active speakers have thus far been offered by manufacturers serving the pro audio markets, for example, ATC, PSI Audio, Adam Audio (their discontinued Classic & Tensor active ranges), etc. Here’s an extensive list:

Aktive Hersteller (Stand: 10/2021) - aktives-hoeren.de

These are great speakers but may lack “audiophile” cachet because of aesthetics, drivers or parts quality, prestige, etc.

While it is probably a supply and demand issue, there is limited offering and choices of, for lack of a better term “audiophile approved”, active speakers.

The other limitation is that some active speakers are purely digital, like the Dutch & Dutch 8C or even the Avantgarde Zero XD that I used to own. While great in themselves, when digital technology advances, there may not be an easy way to upgrade the digital section of such speakers.

Generally speaking, amplifier and driver technology are more mature. Depending on the price point and quality, both can grow with newer digital technology.

Otoh, with fully digital systems, the manufacturer has more options / flexibility in terms of crossovers and what they can achieve compared to analog crossovers. In addition, digital room correction / equalisation can be offered too.

Different users may have their preferences.

To me, the interface, done right, between amps and drivers in an analog active speakers would be ideal, while still allowing me to have my choice of DAC and preamp to “flavour” to my preference.

So, the new offerings will offer more performance and choice. Exciting times.
 
steve59 said:
guys like me will embrace fully active if priced realistically.
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YMMV.
Interesting that some manufacturers (AG, Klipsch, etc) are making their flagship/top of line models active, priced where I think the customer would be least likely to be receptive to physically real technological and corresponding SQ advances. Time will tell...
 
I have a friend with the top of the line Meridian DSP speakers. He has upgraded the internal electronics several times at an expense that would purchase a complete modest system.

I see the future of DSP speakers as a way for manufacturers to push more and more MKII, MKIII, MKIV etc upgrades. An owner might not swap speakers every time there is an upgrade but may be enticed to upgrade the DSP and internal amplification.

I am not questioning performance or other listener's observations. With so many positive comments I have to assume there is something special there. I am just commenting that DSP is not an endpoint. It is the start of a different merry-go-round.
 
I have the meridian upgrade and buying the speakers used and shopping for a price on the se upgrade has me a very good complete system. I think meridian pricing has always been arrogant which now shows. That, hopefully won’t be the accepted business model. D&D did a great job bringing a full range speaker to market, they just need a separate preamp like legacy and M use.
 
Certainly active speakers solve a lot of technical problems and have the potential for higher levels of performance than their passive peers. A certain group of non-fiddly music lovers will embrace them and reap their sonic rewards.

Another group of equipment centric audiophiles will miss the opportunity to experiment with power amplifiers, preamplifiers, lots of interconnects, power distributors with dozens of outlets, massive racks, de-crappifiers, etc. Power cords and a few interconnects are still in play. God forbid an active speaker manufacturer admit to using a switching power supply. :)
 
W9TR said:
Edited for emphasis.

Another group of equipment centric audiophiles will miss the opportunity to experiment with power amplifiers, preamplifiers, lots of interconnects, power distributors with dozens of outlets, massive racks, de-crappifiers, etc. Power cords and a few interconnects are still in play. God forbid an active speaker manufacturer admit to using a switching power supply. :)
Click to expand...

And tubes. :thumbsup:
 
My experience going active with Naim SBLs about 25 years ago was that it was a significant improvement, but not cost effective. That is, I could get much better results spending the money to go active (amp, xover, cables, etc.) elsewhere in the system.
 
I mentioned YG in my review, they were very good. My prior AXPONA review included ATC which were impressive and Salk had a $2500 set that sounded outstanding. I get the impression KEF sold a ton of the LS50 powered.

It would seem in some geographical area the concept must be growing for manufacturer's to invest in a model to offer.

I would think the powered options may be a bit tougher to sell if ever wanting to change, especially with some age on them. There should be a way to upgrade the DAC and other areas as time goes by.

You know what they say about dusting off your own porch before complaining about the neighbor, or something like that. Meaning those of you bashing fellow audiophiles look hhypocritical without showing powered speakers in your own sig. And, just as long list of gadgets as those you poke fun at.
 
I have been all active for years with no regrets. however the killer gryphon amp on display at axpona did make me think twice....dang that was nice...
 
gordon said:
My experience going active with Naim SBLs about 25 years ago was that it was a significant improvement, but not cost effective. That is, I could get much better results spending the money to go active (amp, xover, cables, etc.) elsewhere in the system.
Click to expand...

Well, that was 25 years ago. Today, an audiophile power cable can set you back thousands not to mention interconnects, speaker cables, etc. You can look at it as if you were ahead of your time.
 
Active speakers are being used in automobile sound systems with amazing results. For example, B&O has developed a system (with 23 active-speaker and over 1,000 watts) for certain Audi models that sounds outstanding. Using DSP they can custom-tailor the sound for different Audi models. Hard to believe that you can now find car systems that sound way better than home systems costing a lot more money.

There will always be those who like to play with cables, cords, different boxes, etc. But AG and a few leaders are on to something: IMO, simplicity will win.
 
nicoff said:
Active speakers are being used in automobile sound systems with amazing results. For example, B&O has developed a system (with 23 active-speaker and over 1,000 watts) for certain Audi models that sounds outstanding. Using DSP they can custom-tailor the sound for different Audi models. Hard to believe that you can now find car systems that sound way better than home systems costing a lot more money.

There will always be those who like to play with cables, cords, different boxes, etc. But AG and a few leaders are on to something: IMO, simplicity will win.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is hard to believe which is why I don't believe it. Please name the expensive home system you heard and compared to the Audi system.
 
mep said:
Yeah, it is hard to believe which is why I don't believe it. Please name the expensive home system you heard and compared to the Audi system.
Click to expand...

You being a subjective audio reviewer, I am sure that you only trust your own ears. So here is some homework for you: Go to your nearest Audi dealer and tell them that you want to test drive an Audi with the B&O 3D Sound System. See how it compares to your own system or systems you have heard and feel free to report back.
 
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