Active speakers vs 'traditional' amp + speakers?

[JoeFrost]

Right, couldn't seem to get any opinions on this subject so I thought I'd do a quick poll. I've never heard either active hi-fi speakers or 'monitor' speakers, active or otherwise so what I would like to know is which set up would give me the best sound, with a budget of around £250 and buying second hand; active speaker's of some description + ipod, or the more traditional route of an amp and speakers + ipod?

I await the PH sound guru's to enlighten me

Cheers.

Joe

[RedLeicester]

A CD player.

[JoeFrost]

Please, someone who knows about audio kit please just help me with your opinions, saying 'cd player' does not help!

[RedLeicester]

JoeFrost said:

Please, someone who knows about audio kit please just help me with your opinions, saying 'cd player' does not help!

I know some things about audio kit. You asked what would give you the best sound.

A CD player will give you a better sound than an iPod.

[JoeFrost]

Yes, ok fair enough but just for the moment I am limited by space and money, so these are the choice's I have narrowed it down to (I personally cannot tell any difference between high bit rate music and cd's but that's by-the-by).

So, from the choice's, what would you suggest?

[spats]

Use a proper base, half decent cables to connect it to an amp. get a nice set of bookshelf speakers and try and put them a good distance apart and then enjoy

I find with active type speakers, you can never get enough distance between the speakers, and you have way more choice with equipment too

[JoeFrost]

Interesting. I guess I'm only looking at active monitors as a friend who does sound technician stuff (technical term ) suggested that not only do active monitors produce a more realistic sound, but would save space as the amp is attached, and matched, to the speaker.

I've always gone the traditional route but thought this might be worth investigating.

[RedLeicester]

spats said:

I find with active type speakers, you can never get enough distance between the speakers

Erm.... move them further apart?

JoeFrost said:

Interesting. I guess I'm only looking at active monitors as a friend who does sound technician stuff (technical term ) suggested that not only do active monitors produce a more realistic sound, but would save space as the amp is attached, and matched, to the speaker.

I've always gone the traditional route but thought this might be worth investigating.

He's part right - the amps would be matched to the speakers which is A Good Thing. However, if he's worth his salt, he'll be talking about speakers north of ten times your budget, so it's not entirely relevant.

Spats point is a good one - the traditional route does mean you can chop and change equipment with rather more flexibility. Personally my studio speakers are actives, my hifi ones are passive, but the latter are driven by amps identical to those fitted to the active versions of the same speakers.... so the point is rather moot.

[JoeFrost]

I'm looking at thing's like these...

Tannoy Reveal 5A's
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

..and these Fostex PMO.4n's
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

..or these KRK Rokit6 jobbie's..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

..or even something from the Behringer Truth range(?) were I to go active. Anything like this make it worthwhile? If not I'll got the tried and tested route.

Cheers for your input.

[RedLeicester]

The KRKs will be outside your budget...?


http://www.richersounds.com/information/hifisystem... - The Cambridge system for £150 is adequate, or you could get the amp and dock and some better speakers if you wanted to spend the whole £250?

[JoeFrost]

Er, yeah, just noticed the word 'single' there

Still, there have been a couple of pairs come up recently I am just hoping to give an idea of the range/quality of active speaker systems I'm looking at, and if that makes any difference to people's opinion's.

[toast boy]

You're sound technician friend is probably correct in suggesting that you will get a more faithful reproduction with good active monitors, however they are not usually that suitable for hifi use. I have a few friends that make music and they have some pretty decent active monitors and they are brilliant for making music with as they are so neutral and balanced but not really satisfying for listening for pleasure. There are active audiophile speakers but good ones tend to be silly money (think Meridian actives - £k's). Personally I'd just get a decent budget amp and whatever the best speakers you can find for the price, remember at that level you're going to get a higher quality standmount/bookshelf speaker compared to a floorstander but budget for a set of decent stands.

[Bullett]

I use active monitors in my office and they give a pretty pure sound but as others have said not the most musical.
I did buy them as studio monitors and they still get used for that so they are great dual purpose boxes.

Don't forget with studio style monitors you will also need a mixer or control matrix of some kind to sit in between them and the source. Furthermore check the acceptable input levels and methods.

[davepoth]

But at the end of the day, you aren't going to get audiophile reproduction from an iPod unless everything is ripped losslessly.

[JoeFrost]

Bullett said:

Don't forget with studio style monitors you will also need a mixer or control matrix of some kind to sit in between them and the source. Furthermore check the acceptable input levels and methods.

Now that changes things considerably. I did not know that. Look's like traditional is the way to go then.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Joe

[Seeker UK]

RedLeicester said:

A CD player will give you a better sound than an iPod.

Not if you use a decent dock and use lossless files.

[spats]

RedLeicester said:

Erm.... move them further apart?

Sorry should have been clearer there, I meant the ones I've used have a very limited length of cable to allow the speakers to only be placed a certain distance apart. Where as with normal speakers you can decide how far apart they are yourself.

[RedLeicester]

spats said:

Sorry should have been clearer there, I meant the ones I've used have a very limited length of cable to allow the speakers to only be placed a certain distance apart. Where as with normal speakers you can decide how far apart they are yourself.

So cheapie nasty actives which have one amp in one speaker, and a fly lead to the other.

A proper active set would have individual amp (or amps) on each speaker, so its up to you how long your mains leads and signal cables are.

Like this:

[RedLeicester]

JoeFrost said:

Bullett said:

Don't forget with studio style monitors you will also need a mixer or control matrix of some kind to sit in between them and the source. Furthermore check the acceptable input levels and methods.

Now that changes things considerably. I did not know that. Look's like traditional is the way to go then.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Joe

What rubbish. If you have one sound source, assuming it's pushing out line level, you plug it straight into the speakers.

[spats]

RedLeicester said:

So cheapie nasty actives which have one amp in one speaker, and a fly lead to the other.

A proper active set would have individual amp (or amps) on each speaker, so its up to you how long your mains leads and signal cables are.

Like this:

Now those look the part!

Serious question though. HIFI purists want the speaker to be mounted on stands to minimise vibration and distortion. If you were that way inclined, wouldnt having all that electrical stuff in there be a bad thing?

I can see though that offering a decent set of that type of active speaker could be better and neate than an external amp setup.