Nice, perhaps we can all follow that lead and avoid work! If you're going to have a bookshelf or monitor on a stand, you may also consider having it in a cabinet. That way, it will be less prone to being hit, run into or someone putting their glass on top of it. While the cabinet may bring other audio issues, it may be cleaner in the long run.
Cabinets are really tough. Wall mounts are great though.
Speakers like Revels (this wasn't intended to be a plug and full disclosure that I own Revels) have compensation switches on the back to adjust the speaker for stand or flush mount in a cabinet and adjust the speaker response accordingly.
Yeah, the dynaudios do also. Otherwise same thing can be done using the pre-processor.
And plug away, Revel's are great. Like I said, the speaker thing everyone will have an opinion.
Thanks for the information you have provided. Can you please explain to me what is the difference between your option 1 and the below option?
View attachment 11739
It's upside down?
Just kidding. It's certainly another option. Do you have any photos of the space?
What are the main differences between active and passive (Pros and cons) and how do these fit in my environment - are there any benefits?
Big question, so, understand that I'm generalizing a bit but I'm happy to get into more specifics upon request.
Active vs Passive
Active 'monitors' (speakers) means that they have internal amplification*. To generalize (someone will correct me lol): Those listed have amplifiers which are optimized for the speakers themselves, protection may be built into the amplifier/servo's, great dampening which helps clarity (try pressing on the driver of a good active monitor, it will literally fight back), etc. Active speakers are also more efficient, so you'll notice the wattage of these is lower than recommended for a passive varient, that's because they don't have crossover losses (which can be 20-30%).
*Technically, a speaker might still have an outboard amplifier and be considered 'active.' For example, there are some large Genelec inwalls I've used for installations which have small external rack mounted amps with a high frequency out and low frequency out. But for the most part they are built it, especially in near field.
Biggest downside is you have to run power to them. For some, that simply prevents using them, or perhaps limits them only to the front.
For large rooms there are more downsides (price gets astronomical, for one)'
Fitting your Environment
-Nearfield monitors are designed mainly for studio use, where someone is pretty close 1-2.5m. Some home speakers require some distance to sound good due to the crossover (but not all).
-This let's you sit closer, which means your volume can be lower.
-They generally have narrower dispersion, causing less reflections off sidewalls and mixing boards (or floors and ceilings in your case).
-All the options I listed are from brands (Genelec, Dynaudio, Bag End) who believe in time-coherency. I'm a strong believer in the significance of this...here is a tid bit from bag end about it:
The PM6 Time-Aligned™ loudspeaker system designed for critical nearfield studio monitoring applications. Designed as a Nearfield Monitor™ the PM-6 offers accurate time and frequency information within the near field listening area. Despite its small size it has high acoustic output and unsurpassed clarity and resolution of detail. Attachment points are provided for Bag End mounting bracket (BRKT-1) and other popular mounting hardware. Time-Align® assures that the fundamental and overtones of a complex, transient, acoustical signal are presented to the listener in the same relationship as the electrical signal at the input terminals of the loudspeaker. The conventional loudspeaker spreads out the sound in time: when a rapid series of transients occur the results are blurring and lost detail. With Time-Align®, a transient is presented as a tight package of energy, with the same time relationships as the natural sound. This means that a rapid series of transients will be heard clearly. True Time-Alignment™ requires much more than just physically lining up the loudspeaker components. It requires consideration of the driver placement, driver delay and adjustment of the crossover delay parameters. This achieves the precise simultaneous acoustical arrival time.
Also for option 1 (yours or mine) can you please advise where should the treatments be placed?
Thanks
Yep! Gotta do a few things, this afternoon I'll take a peek at some acoustical treatment options.
