Why do most audiophile prefer passive speakers?

[Revelation]

On 5/15/2020 at 10:06 AM, Priaptor said:

Kai,

Very true.

 

As an old audiophile I am that person that you and others describe and I don't understand because in my situation and in the case of many, it's just too much of a pain in the rear end to compare, especially on some of the selected equipment we choose to own. Tough to teach old dogs new tricks.

 

My dad may he RIP would always buy a Buick. I would ask why don't you look an Oldsmobile, etc. "Because I like Buick". 

 

Many of us older "audiophiles" just go with the flow of "components" as we are most comfortable with that. 

Our decisions on what we buy has a lot to do with our feelings on company's and our experience with them. That's why company's pay a lot of money on marketing to grab people by their emotions.

[Raimund Heubel]

While I agree that all these brands offer active speakers do you know whether the Dynaudios, Brystons, Dalis, PMCs and Elacs come with or without DSP?

[firedog]

20 hours ago, Raimund Heubel said:

While I agree that all these brands offer active speakers do you know whether the Dynaudios, Brystons, Dalis, PMCs and Elacs come with or without DSP?

Depends on the company. Sometimes depends on the model within the same company.

[Raimund Heubel]

18 minutes ago, firedog said:

Depends on the company. Sometimes depends on the model within the same company.

I honestly thought neither of these companies are currently offering active speakers without DAC but I am maybe wrong.

 

BR,

Raimund

[firedog]

2 hours ago, Raimund Heubel said:

I honestly thought neither of these companies are currently offering active speakers without DAC but I am maybe wrong.

 

BR,

Raimund

I don't remember offhand all of them, but Bryston and ELAC make analog actives. input from analog amp. No DAC. I think PMC makes both types. 

[Raimund Heubel]

Thanks for your reply, firedog.

I checked the Bryston website and found the following: 'Bryston’s Active Loudspeakers leverage the incredible power of our DSP engine', so no luck with Bryston in terms of active speakers w/o DSP.

I moved on and visited the ELAC website, their 'Navis' series offers both DSP - if operated wirelessly - and without DSP - if wireless is off.

PMC do not offer any active speakers on their website.

 

BR,

Raimund

 

[HH_miller]

Going active in the past decade/analogue world was very costly, you would have to obtain the active crossover, power supply and enough amps for each driver etc. I went active with a Naim 500 setup on SL2‘s and the difference to me was worth it considering the effort and costs, I am still having this setup running in the living room. It is bulky as hell but all analogue and frontended with an LP 12 it does play nicely.

 

My other systems are full digital with a Roon/Lumin frontends, I am running active Genelecs with great results. The DSP offers room correction so you can balance out the nastiness of domestic living space.

 

Both setup types are very different and the analogue does have a nice touch of memorabilia, the digital one is super transparent and allows to dive into the seemingly endless world of streaming.

 

Once active converted it’s hard to ever go back, I’d say its more a curse that a revelation. In the end music matters most and even cans let you immerse… and they are active by nature ;-)

[firedog]

12 hours ago, Raimund Heubel said:

Thanks for your reply, firedog.

I checked the Bryston website and found the following: 'Bryston’s Active Loudspeakers leverage the incredible power of our DSP engine', so no luck with Bryston in terms of active speakers w/o DSP.

I moved on and visited the ELAC website, their 'Navis' series offers both DSP - if operated wirelessly - and without DSP - if wireless is off.

PMC do not offer any active speakers on their website.

 

BR,

Raimund

 

The ELAC are described as "pure analog" if you don't use the wireless.

PMC. Look again.

Active | PMC Speakers (pmc-speakers.com)

https://pmc-speakers.com/products/consumer/se-active-series

 

See models that specifically say they have analog input.

[Raimund Heubel]

I only checked PMC‘s German website and could not find any active speakers there.

Thanks for the link to their international site.

[Lone Mountain Audio]

ATC has been analog active since the beginning (80s) for the very reason discussed here: why active digital front end when the chips underpinning these ADCs and DAC's are constantly changing?  Would you really want your speakers to use a long obsolete chip 5 years from now?  And I'm not sure about everyone else, but all of these DAC's have a sound of their own- do I really want that across my speakers forever?  Seems like if I want to use a DAC, I want to choose it.  If I don't want to use a DAC, why would I want to be forced to accept it?  Why would I leave such a critical component choice, one that impacts everything I'm listening to, up to the speaker manufacturer?

 

Brad  

[GregWormald]

SGR Audio (Australia) has been using all analog (including in the user-adjustable signal processing) since they started making speakers and amps about 20 years ago.

[LuminProac]

Replying to the OP's original query. The reason I would always stick to passive over actives is...I am not chasing the perfect sound. I am content with the imperfections in the systems.. Imperfections that I chose and can live with eg: More impetus on mids and highs compared to lower frequencies hours well with genre of music I listen to. 

 

I have 4 pair of speakers. I like the mix and matching of components, trial and error to get a different flavor everytime I change up something including cables.. Its that variety that keeps me in this hobby. It would be boring for me to listen to a more technically proficient sound and be locked into it till I upgrade it.

 

I feel the same about everything in life. Prefer manual transmissions in my cars..like my bike to be old school where not everything is electronics based and you can fix your own goddamn bike. Helps me connect to my gear better and makes my imperfect gear seem like they are like us...with a heart and soul.