Should I go active?
- Thread starter rbrown
- Start date
I saw them. I nearly went or them, then I though hell no. Bub would only have to get a pair.
ATC and ADAM have a very different set of priorities sound wise. Both good. The A5Xes I use alongside the ATC 100s are shockingly good VFM and show up a lot of HiFi speakerettes as a tad overpriced. General rule of thumb is aim for pro audio marques as they tend to be sensibly priced.
+1 Questeds. Older ones mind. The newer ones seem to use something like the Volt Mid Dome rather then the ATC Mid Dome. Its very different sounding.
www.proaudioeurope.com have a dem studio in London and have dem pairs for home trial and offer good discounts on their published prices.
Teddy Ray
pfm Member
OP, if you do not have the Cash for the ATCs,
I **highly** reccomend the Barefoot MM27, Event Opal, Trident HG3, Se Electronics Munro Egg, PMC Db1A, PSI Audio 17-2, Dynaudio BM-6, Genelec 8020s, Focal SM-9 (or 11), JBL LSR6328P, Adam S3X-H, Blue Sky SAT 12, or the Quested V2108.
I have heard each of these and they are all mind blowing good. Once you go active, you wont go back.
I know that I couldn't...Passive speakers (in same price bracket, same brand, etc) all sound muffled and , for lack of a better term, "incoherent" in comparison.
aside from the numerous *sound* benefits(IE Power Amps designed *specifically* for the drive units, drastic reduction in intermodulation distortion, the inherent superiority of active crossovers for starters..)
it is more tidy. Less cables, boxes, etc. (my main digital system is SBT>>>forssell MDAC2>>>Klein and Hummell 0300s..volume controlled via DAC which serves as a preamp...(I also have my Blu Ray Player, my XBOX 360, and my Television routed through the dac..makes em all sound so good!!)
I **highly** reccomend the Barefoot MM27, Event Opal, Trident HG3, Se Electronics Munro Egg, PMC Db1A, PSI Audio 17-2, Dynaudio BM-6, Genelec 8020s, Focal SM-9 (or 11), JBL LSR6328P, Adam S3X-H, Blue Sky SAT 12, or the Quested V2108.
I have heard each of these and they are all mind blowing good. Once you go active, you wont go back.
I know that I couldn't...Passive speakers (in same price bracket, same brand, etc) all sound muffled and , for lack of a better term, "incoherent" in comparison.
aside from the numerous *sound* benefits(IE Power Amps designed *specifically* for the drive units, drastic reduction in intermodulation distortion, the inherent superiority of active crossovers for starters..)
it is more tidy. Less cables, boxes, etc. (my main digital system is SBT>>>forssell MDAC2>>>Klein and Hummell 0300s..volume controlled via DAC which serves as a preamp...(I also have my Blu Ray Player, my XBOX 360, and my Television routed through the dac..makes em all sound so good!!)
Teddy Ray
pfm Member
yes they are! the Reflexion filter is one of my favorite pieces of kit that I own!! the z3300 A and the 2200 are staples in my studio along with a handful of others that I consider to be "the most versatile , useful mics ive ever had"
the others are Audio Technica 4050(theres nothing it wont work on)
MXL v6 (probably my favorite mic of all time...like the 4050, nothing it cant be used for.and many things it sounds *amazing* on(Tenor Sax, any woodwind)
Sm57, SM7, Electrovoice RE-20, RE-15, and Beyer m130/160
I do have the obligatory Neumanns, Gefell, DPA, Coles, and Royers, and Schoeps.... but
Give me two of those others(SE, AT, MXL, Shure, Beyer) each... and not a single fuk would be given about any "high end" mic ever again.
same with Preamps. I use DAV preamps. Designed by a former tech for Decca (for 27 years!) and who now makes preamps for David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, etc. I use his preamps exclusively. They are the *princely* total of 700 bucks for a two channel mic pre! (peanuts!). I have 3 8 packs of them...
www.daveletronics.com
sorry for the sidetrack, OP! I am a recording geek!
Tony L
Administrator
I'm becoming increasingly curious about the ME Geithain RL906. Not at all cheap for a such a little speaker (5" bass, >£2k), but I've not read a single negative comment from those who have tried / use them. I really want to get to hear a pair at some point. Might be just the contrast to the big old Tannoys I've been looking for.
OP, if you do not have the Cash for the ATCs,
I **highly** reccomend the Barefoot MM27, Event Opal, Trident HG3, Se Electronics Munro Egg, PMC Db1A, PSI Audio 17-2, Dynaudio BM-6, Genelec 8020s, Focal SM-9 (or 11), JBL LSR6328P, Adam S3X-H, Blue Sky SAT 12, or the Quested V2108.
I have heard each of these and they are all mind blowing good. Once you go active, you wont go back.
I know that I couldn't...Passive speakers (in same price bracket, same brand, etc) all sound muffled and , for lack of a better term, "incoherent" in comparison.
aside from the numerous *sound* benefits(IE Power Amps designed *specifically* for the drive units, drastic reduction in intermodulation distortion, the inherent superiority of active crossovers for starters..)
it is more tidy. Less cables, boxes, etc. (my main digital system is SBT>>>forssell MDAC2>>>Klein and Hummell 0300s..volume controlled via DAC which serves as a preamp...(I also have my Blu Ray Player, my XBOX 360, and my Television routed through the dac..makes em all sound so good!!)
Could you direct me to cables needed for an ordinary hifi preamp w/RCA phono out going to say new Adams F7 or the like
Ordinary RCA>RCA for Adams
or ordinary RCA>XLR mic wire. (Single Ended)
You do not need special wire. Its all off the shelf and a few quid by the meter.
Teddy, +1 for Microphone geekery BTW. I use an sE Tube 2200 for flute and anything airy spacious in a nice room. It has its own power unit and with the SSL Preamps... he-l-oo sweetie. Been meaning to get a few condensers of theirs (B1a). That said I hired me some Shoeps Mics on a recent project and I was very very impressed with them. You know I am soon to be a Soundfield SPS200 user, brah?
or ordinary RCA>XLR mic wire. (Single Ended)
You do not need special wire. Its all off the shelf and a few quid by the meter.
Teddy, +1 for Microphone geekery BTW. I use an sE Tube 2200 for flute and anything airy spacious in a nice room. It has its own power unit and with the SSL Preamps... he-l-oo sweetie. Been meaning to get a few condensers of theirs (B1a). That said I hired me some Shoeps Mics on a recent project and I was very very impressed with them. You know I am soon to be a Soundfield SPS200 user, brah?
Teddy Ray
pfm Member
dv247.com
Pound of pound, inch for inch, active is better. The only people who move on from active speakers typically upgrade to something much physically larger. The smaller the driver, the more it benefits from being run active.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the Adams and remain impressed daily by the combination of a valve pre and the baby Artist 6 which has rather come to dominate all comers in our dem room. However, as others have said the Barefoots, Focals, Events and others are all very good: if you can listen to a few in your own home, you'll likely be shocked by how much performance you get for the price. That's why 'hi-fi' dealers don't generally sell them!
If you wanted to borrow a few for free home trial, just give me a shout. We send these all over the place all the time.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the Adams and remain impressed daily by the combination of a valve pre and the baby Artist 6 which has rather come to dominate all comers in our dem room. However, as others have said the Barefoots, Focals, Events and others are all very good: if you can listen to a few in your own home, you'll likely be shocked by how much performance you get for the price. That's why 'hi-fi' dealers don't generally sell them!
If you wanted to borrow a few for free home trial, just give me a shout. We send these all over the place all the time.
Know that LP well and the scuttlebutt has it that those old Calrecs were not even calibrated and tone equalised on the recording machine just set up roughly by (damn good) ear. The SPS200-SB is distant cousin of that fine fine mic (which we had at Uni and when I heard what the Calrec did I just heard my future), whereas Calrec did all its A to B format conversion in discrete hardware (!!), the SPS200-SB does it all digitally in software. A>B-format conversion and surround processing in TDM, RTAS, AU, whatever so its a small tiny little thing that can record very wide array of sounds. As I record int he field and assemble later, this is perfect.
Because its unnecessary to add a further gain stage to an already perfectly loud enough signal? The NAC52 is a transparent volume knob and channel switcher and imparts very little "character" on the sound (why on earth would one want that in a preamp?), thats why it was such a good pre for analogue-fronted setups as it was so clean -- but in the digital domain why place stuff in the way that isn't needed? He could release funds for a better DAC and buy even better actives by selling everything and get a DAC with an adjustable analog knob. Its not hard too see he'll be quids in.
rbrown
I think therefore I think I am
Yes that makes a lot of sense - the Lavry does have adjustable output but no analogue inputs or remote control. So I guess I'll move this on too. The new Audiolab DAC looks tempting, I haven't heard one though but imagine it is every bit as good.
Thanks for the recommendation of dv247.com and to Item Audio for offering kit to dem at home. I'll give you a ring tomorrow.
Cheers,
Rich
Thanks for the recommendation of dv247.com and to Item Audio for offering kit to dem at home. I'll give you a ring tomorrow.
Cheers,
Rich
The "preamp" I am using might work.
http://www.dspeaker.com/en/products/20-dual-core.shtml
Most people think its only a sub crossover/integration tool with room EQ and while it is that its a hell of a lot more... its also a 2-input DAC (USB/SDIF) and has Balanced or Single Ended Analog inputs, and volume. I've been using one for a while now and getting my thoughts together but the DAC side of it is very very very good and yes its does active room EQ as well, serving 2 x (and soon 4 x ) ATC100s and a Monolith sub via an SPL 2control switcher. This setup bridges my home and "pro" audio active setups.
So for you, you'd have your Mac mini plugged into this and out to the actives pref via Balanced out plus use the analog in for whatever you need it for.
I have been getting my thoughts on this together rather than blow my load on arrival, but its a keeper. The remote is however shit. And needs addressing.
http://www.dspeaker.com/en/products/20-dual-core.shtml
Most people think its only a sub crossover/integration tool with room EQ and while it is that its a hell of a lot more... its also a 2-input DAC (USB/SDIF) and has Balanced or Single Ended Analog inputs, and volume. I've been using one for a while now and getting my thoughts together but the DAC side of it is very very very good and yes its does active room EQ as well, serving 2 x (and soon 4 x ) ATC100s and a Monolith sub via an SPL 2control switcher. This setup bridges my home and "pro" audio active setups.
So for you, you'd have your Mac mini plugged into this and out to the actives pref via Balanced out plus use the analog in for whatever you need it for.
I have been getting my thoughts on this together rather than blow my load on arrival, but its a keeper. The remote is however shit. And needs addressing.