Powered Speakers

[RX-V2400]

<font color='#000000'>In my search for top end speakers for my Yamaha system, (I've been looking for something to match the old NS-1000's,) I find that in the USA the only pro or top-end speakers Yamaha sells are self powered. In Yamahs professional website they say words to the effect &quot;For the absoloute best sound an amplifier needs be designed for a particular speaker. In our powered speakers the amp is perfectly matched to the speaker for maximum sonic quality.&quot;

Thinking on this it seems very logical yet home audiophile speakers, even very expensive ones, are never powered except for sub-woofers.

Why is this and who considers the Yamaha statement to be wrong?</font>

 

[goodman]

<font color='#CCCCCC'>The lower the frequency of sound, the greater the amount of air that must be moved, and consequently the greater the amount of power needed to move that amount of air. &nbsp;For example, it take four times the amount of air to produce sound at 20-40 HZ as it does to produce sound at 40 to 80 Hz. &nbsp;So, because of the high power requirements at low frequencies, it really makes sense to power a subwoofer with a separate amplifier, thereby taking that load off of the other amp that powers the mids and highs.
However, to a lesser degree, it also makes sense to tailor the power and resistance of an amplifier to a specific speaker. &nbsp;I know Paradigm sold active speakers for a while and then dropped them. &nbsp;I would guess that cost has something to do with the scarcity of active speakers, as well as the fact that the owner of a receiver, or the owner of separates with amplifiers, would be paying again for something he already has.</font>

 

[Yamahaluver]

<font color='#0000FF'>Mike,

The MSP-5 and MSP-10 are the replacement for Yamaha's legendary NS-10M monitors of which around 170,000 have been sold worldwide. As monitors go, the MSP series had to live up to the expectations of their predecessors and they have been received quite well, quite a few famous names including Grammy winner Elliot Scheiner, they are also a huge hit with the studios and unlike other monitor speakers, the MSP series offers way more low end which is a must for today's HT mixing.

The logic for using powered speakers as monitors was to avoid the dreaded amp/speaker mismatch, many complain of Yamaha sounding overtly bright and this procedure takes care of that quite well, plus the low frequency and high frequency charecter are fully optimized. Also these speakers were never made for room or HT use, they are strictly for studio use in nearfield monitoring position.</font>

 

[RX-V2400]

<font color='#000000'>Yes, I know - thats what I said but why?

Now we all have six, seven or eight channel amps so why do we not have a plain preamp processor and eight powered speakers. Seems that would illiminate the amp/speaker match totally and speaker makers to make their speakers sound good would need put in a decent amp.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>If all speakers were powered/active for a typical HT system, the end user would need to ensure outlets be available for all locations.

In a typical 5.1 or 6.1 the HT room would need 3 outlets either on the ceiling or high on the walls.  This is a problem for 99% of HT buyers including myself.  

Personally I like and own active speakers(front) but this is a logistic issue when one purchases speakers that require wall outlets for power.  
Haveing said this, the more options available to the consumer the better, which in turn should spark new ideas and hopefully new and better products.

Regards,

Scott</font>

 

[RX-V2400]

<font color='#000000'>Your logic regarding power outlets for HT is sound but your conclusion must be wrong as stereophiles don't have this problem and they seldom used active speakers.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>It would seem you answered your own question with your last statement.</font>

 

[Yamahaluver]

<font color='#0000FF'>Mike,

The MSP speakers were made for studio moitoring purpose only and in that situation they are higly effective, however I know one friend of mine who is using them directly connected to his CD player and in nearfield position and he swears by their sound.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>

RX-V2400 : Thinking on this it seems very logical yet home audiophile speakers, even very expensive ones, are never powered except for sub-woofers.

Why is this and who considers the Yamaha statement to be wrong?

Professional powered loudspeakers are usually bi-amped, so there is more involved than just a single amp.  Bi-amping cost more so in consumer audio it is usually reserved for &quot;flagship&quot; products, and audiophiles that buy top-of-the-line loudspeakers prefer to pick their own amplifiers (usually &quot;by ear&quot.  As a result there are very few high-quality consumer loudspeakers that are powered.  It's simply a matter of the manufacturers meeting the demands of the marketplace.

I'm not aware of anyone who would see Yamaha's statement as wrong.</font>