What active speakers are you using? How do they compare to your last passive speaker experience?

Do to a change of living circumstances I investigating going from all tube and separates to a pair of actives. Top of the list are the Dynaudio Xeo 30s but I’m curious as to what the membership here is using and in building a list of quality actives. Thanks.

 

I know Actives aren’t very popular in audiophile circles but damn, no one

 

I do have a list of active speakers on my website, maybe it is of use: The Well-Tempered Computer - Active speakers

If it must be compact and affordable have a look at KEF LS50 Wireless

Some highly regarded models:
8C by Home - Dutch & Dutch - Accurate, Adaptive, All-in-one
KII 3 by Kii Audio :::

success

 

In the July 2019 Stereophile Jason Victor Serinus says of the Vanatoo Transparent One Encore that ""I loved the sound of these speakers" comparing quite favorably to his $6000 Dynaudio 200XD and John Atkinson that the pair "offers excellent measured performance." $599! I can't ever recall such positivity about even passive speakers at that price.

We had listened to some powered Dynaudios and preferred some passives-as a loudspeaker engineer I can say that powered, particularly with DSP, can have many advantages over passive. BUT it all still comes down to the final sound tuning. Speakers as I constantly say are wildly inaccurate, and that is still true even with powered DSP, so you may or may not like a particular design.

I think powered speakers are slow to grow due to ignorance and fear. Also perhaps a lack of desired inputs-not necessarily physical, as a friend uses Apple Music so I told him the only truly sensible thing is to get AirPlay2 speakers to avoid workarounds (because hey, life is short). Another kink pointed up by a B&W demo can be inability to mesh well with video/TV (lack of handling of HDMI and/or processing delay causing lip sync problems).

There are other powered speakers-Audioengine is a biggie-but it depends what you want. Meridian has some very nice much more expensive stuff. B&W Formation showed Formation Duo | Bowers & Wilkins at T.H.E. Show, much more impressive bottom end than I would have expected out of something their size, and I'd say a good value compared to a similar passive speaker + amp + streamer. $4000, with hopefully a tower version coming along. Soooo....
--> What is your BUDGET?

 

I’ve heard he LS50 passives. Nice speakers but I’m looking for something with a bit more bottom end and something maybe a step up from them.

The Dutch & Dutch and Kii Audio look interesting but the come in over 10K a pair here in the states. I’m looking to spend around 4K.

 

Currently using 5x ATC SCM 20ASL Pro mk2 in the "big rig" music & theater setup. These recently replaced a trio of Meridian DSP6000s up front and and a pair of DSP5000 as rears in the big rig which resides in a dedicate acoustically treated room. In the living/great room there is a mint pair of Meridian M100s. Scattered elsewhere in the house, our cottage/condo up north, and my business are Meridian M2, M3, and M20, and M30 actives along with a couple of pairs of Dynaudio BM6As. And yes I am clearly a fan of active loudspeakers- LOL!

 

Currently using AVI ADM 9RS actives. Haven't used passives at all for about five years now . No plans on going back. A regular preamp will handle additional extra inputs.

 

Here's a link to a list of actives I'd mentioned in another thread...

 

I hadn’t seen the Formation Duos thanks.

I agree about speakers being inaccurate. Music reproduction in the home in general only gets you a fraction of the way to the live event. That is partly what lead me down this road. I first heard the Dynaudio LYD 48s and was fairly impressed and their positioning flexibility and overall sound quality.

I’m looking to spend around 4K which is what the Xeo30s cost and now the Formation Duo.

Any other Actives out there in that price range that anyone has heard or knows of?

 

I've had a few. Couldn't stop futzing with them so,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, back to passive and I'm once again satisfied.

 

I use Dynaudio LYD 48 3-way active monitors in my main system and am quite satisfied with them. ~ 2300 for the pair. The room is about 21 feet by 15 feet by 9 feet and my listening position is 9 feet from the speakers.

If I were willing to spend ~ $ 4000 for the pair, I'd consider JBL 708P monitors ($ 4000) or Neumann KH310 ( $ 4400). Genelec monitors are rather pricey but might be considered too.

Getting the sound right in your room matters more than the amount of money you spend on speakers. A calibrated measurement ( ~ $ 100) and analysis s/w (REW is free) just be om your list. After you use them to find the best location of the speakers and your listening position, you may want to use DSP to corect remaining low frequency response problems. For that, you need a way6 to apply DSP along the playback path. The JRiver s/w that I use for music playback provides useful DSP functionality. The JBL monitors and some Genelec monitors provide DSP functionality in the monitors.

 

Well that will get you the Formation Duos, which were quite nice. Now, are they better than my friend's Focal 936s plus an amp? Maybe not. Are you just playing music? Or TV/movies as well?

 

Using a pair of Quested S7R MK3's with a BK XLS200 sub. Very happy since i got them, tried a bunch of actives from Genelec and Focal before landing on these.

 

Mostly music and the occasional movie. I’d love a pair of full range ATC speakers but alas my absolute cap is 4K. I am open to lightly used as well.

 

AVI DM10 or the new 12s. If they're anything like the ADM 9RS models I have, you'd be delighted.

 

Are you using a preamp with them? The LYD 48s are definitely on my list. There was a lot of discussion on one forum about a weird resonance problem they had at high frequencies but I didn’t notice it in my short audition of them.

 

The Swan m 300 active speakers sound verygood.

 

The DM12s look interesting. Do you have there sub?

 

No, it's quite a large beast apparently and I have a fairly compact and packed lounge Supposed to be very good though.

 

I read on Gearslutz about someone having such a problem. I have not had such a problem. Other using LYD48s didn't either.

No preamp.

Intel NUC PC -> USB DAC => LYD48s

 

If you are looking to go Active, you really should check out ATC Loudspeakers. They design and build everything in house including the drive units. The smaller ones should be within your budget. They are very revealing so your front end has to be up to the job. If you check out their website you will see they design and build a CD Player with built in Pre amp.

You can safely buy ATC on the second hand market, they build their products like tanks to last a lifetime. 4K will get you some nice used ATC Active Loudspeakers, they should come with their own power cords, but you will need long XLR cables as they are XLR input only, i have used them with RCA cables with Female RCA to male XLR Adapters with great results. When set up right in a good system they sound AWESOME.

For the record i am not an ATC dealer just offering honest advice from my own personal experiences with Active ATC Loudspeakers, I have owned their small stand mounts up to the huge ATC SCM300ASLT with P4 monos. Good luck i hope you get a nice pair, eBay is a good place to look.

 

SMC 300 ASLT

I have a pair of SMC35 (passive). My biggest problem is how to be able afford the ATC speakers I would like to have.

 

Speakers don't really wear out, at least not for decades. Once you get into the 2000s speaker measurement and manufacturing and especially design simulation technology had fairly matured, so used can be a great way to hit your budget.

 

I’d love a pair of ATC monitors but even used the ones the a decent low end come in around 6K.

 

These Active ATC's are in your price range, with the right electronics you will get enough bass for a normal sized room. If you wanted more bass you could add a sub woofer.

ATC SCM19 active loudspeakers in natural cherry veneer | eBay