Studio monitors?

Myst and rain · #1 04-01-2008, 03:14 PM

Hi,

What is the difference between active and passive studio monitors and why would one choose one or the other?

Kind regards,
Alwin

jb4674 · #2 04-01-2008, 03:45 PM

Active Monitors have a built-in amp that is either mounted on the back of the speaker cabinet or inside it.

Passive Monitors are simply a pair of speakers (in layman's terms) and they need to be connected to some sort of power amplifier in order for them to reproduce sound.

Depending upon your budget and what you were looking for, you would choose one over the other, so price is one factor. Of course, some folks will tend to tell you that it's simpler to get an active speaker because all you have to do is plug it in to the board and you're done and you have the simplicity of it all.

For example, abby road studios use B&W speakers in their sound booth and they're passive. I believe they used to have 801's in there but that might be different now.

In the end, it's all about how much money you got that will determine what speakers you'll tend to gravitate towards.

On a personal note, I have a pair of B&W 602's that I'm going to remove from my 7.1 setup to be used as monitors when I setup a small studio just because I can't justify spending money on speakers when I have extra speakers I can use

Jimmy

Myst and rain · #3 04-01-2008, 03:53 PM

Wow, that's a very informative answer. Thanks.

So, will I be able to use passive speakers without the need for some sort of power amplifier, when I use a Lexicon Omega?

Alwin

gu1tar · #4 04-01-2008, 04:10 PM

Active speakers - built-in amplifiers.
Passive speakers - no amplifier included so you need an amplifier to drive them.

That Lexicon Omega would not work with passive speakers without an amplifier to drive them.

Myst and rain · #5 04-01-2008, 04:13 PM

Ok, then. I guess I'll look into those active Genelecs some more. Thanks.

Alwin

rty13ibz98 · #6 04-01-2008, 06:55 PM

go active. most engineers will agree with that. i use the krk rp8, which are active and sound phenomenal. the reason to go with active is based on the engineering of the monitors themselves. the manufacturers created those power amps specifically for the speakers/enclosures to try to achieve the best "flat" response possible. power amps inherently within the course of a listening session will alter the eq curve based on heat/time. unfortunately, i found this out after i had bought the krk's, but was lucky enough when i made the purchase, was within the 14 day grace/restocking fee period.

rich

Myst and rain · #7 04-01-2008, 07:11 PM

Thanks. I'm definately going for active ones. From the looks of things, I'm either going to go for the Genelec 8020APM or the 8030APM. I'm not sure which, yet.

Alwin

jb4674 · #8 04-01-2008, 09:08 PM

Get the ones with the biggest drivers. Personally, for monitors I prefer 8" drivers because you get more definition.

Jimmy

losgatosrg350dx · #9 04-01-2008, 10:28 PM

personaly i prefer passive on ly becasue you are limited to the headroom the built in amplifiers give you....nice low gain clean sounds and voice monitoring is suitable for just regular around the bend kind of stuff

but with passive i can choose the type of amp i want, the eq, the noise removal, the processors, and the mixer

at my house i built up a super stereo becasue we love to listen to records
we got a phenominal record player (i dont remember what it was called) it has a custom high gain needle meant for loud playing
it foes into a alesis 12r
and that goes into a dynamic processor for line noise removal, etc...its a old ev unit
and that goes into a eq, and then aural enhancer to give it some warmth and bring back the bass and treble seperation
and then it goes into a corssover(passive)
then it goes into two amps one for the 12 in the 3way monitors, and one amp to the 18 inch.... they are pa mains from the early 90s but are based on the 12trxb just a addeed woofer, and then theres another crossover controling how much bass goes to the 18 and how much uppers and mids go to the super tweeter and the 12

this way we get awesome sound

we can play the old jeferson airplane record and turn it up LOUD and you can hear the producers talking in the background

i love out stereo in our living room, and id doubles as a monitor when i was play along with stuff and crank my amp to stage volume!!!
i esspecially love having the option of a mixer, it really controls how much of the signal, trim, and voltage you give it..giving you much mroe dynamic headroom then just active monitors

Myst and rain · #10 04-02-2008, 02:52 PM

I've been looking into it a bit more.

Jimmy.. The bigger the drivers, the higher the price. I've looked at Genelecs with 6" drivers and the price tag would already become quite challenging for my budget.

I may go for Alesis MONITOR 1 MKIIs instead of the Genelecs, as they are somewhat more affordable.

The Alesis monitors have a frequency response of 45Hz - 18KHz. While the Genelec 8020As, for instance, have one of 66Hz - 20KHz.

What effect does that particular range have on everything?

Alwin

jb4674 · #11 04-02-2008, 03:05 PM

Generally, the human ear can't distinguish anything past 20KHz.

The Hz figure tells you how low a speaker is rated to reproduce lows (example, bass). The lower the number, the more low frequencies the speaker will be able to reproduce (technically speaking that is). The KHz frequency tells you how high of a frequency (think treble) a speaker will be able to reproduce.

Don't look at the ratings too much because the manufacturers sometimes like to sweeten the numbers to make people buy their product. The most important factor when buying speakers is to listen to them with a very discriminating ear to decide which one you like the best.

I hope this helps.

Jimmy

Myst and rain · #12 04-02-2008, 03:33 PM

Thanks, man. I'll let you know what I end up buying.

Alwin

spacebard · #13 04-02-2008, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myst and rain

Ok, then. I guess I'll look into those active Genelecs some more. Thanks.

Alwin

You should try the Dynaudio, they sound way better than the Genelecs.

Myst and rain · #14 04-02-2008, 07:02 PM

Really? Well, I've read in an interview somewhere that Joe Satriani uses Genelecs. So I thought "If it's good for him...". But I'll check out those Dynaudios, as well. Thanks.

Alwin

gee · #15 04-08-2008, 12:58 PM

My vote is to get actives over passives. Passives are great if you plan on leaving them in your studio or space for good. If you buy a set of NS10s and take them from room to room on different amps they are gonna react differently and sound differently so thats one factor not to mention room acoustics. Actives will be carrying the amp with it, and will also help with the portability factor and eliminate some variables as far as amp and crossover etc is concerned. Try to get bi-amped actives.

A good idea to guage what you might like would be to take a mix cd to a music store like guitar center that has a range of monitors so you can hear songs you know on a wide range of speakers, and then you can go from there.

Genelecs are great but can be a bit dark for my taste-other people love them. They are less fatigue-ing so you can mix on them for hours and hours.
Dyns are really cool too, but the high-end can sound hyped so make sure to listen to a set that has been used a while and is "burned in" so you can hear what they'll sound like over the long haul.
KRKs are cool, I bought a pair of the RP6s and love them for me. I take them everywhere. The driver size is an average size that most people will have in the "real world".... most people arent listening to huge ATC mains in their living room. Theyre ported and durable and arent too hyped in the highs and lows.
Lastly don't read too much about the 60Hz-18 range... Just cause it is stamped on there doesn't mean that it wont get flabby around 60Hz or brittle on the top end. You should definitely --->listen before you buy and listen to them alot after you buy before you start mixing.