Like capacitor with air or vacuum dielectric is no more evil than a coil without magnetic core. But if you add a core to the coil it is more evil than dielectric in the capacitor.
Powered speaker can be passive, if power is used to create constant magnetic field only. But speaker with the amp inside can't be passive. I did not describe powered speaker. I described exactly active speaker.
Go lower impedance and then the value is reduced proportionately. But don't go too low or losses become significant. I've started playing with passive line level LC quite recently and an impedance of 100-200 ohms seems to work. But its very early days yet in winding my own inductors - perhaps longer term stability is going to be an issue. I'm not using air-core as one of my values is 11.4mH
@Wave - what's the SRF of the primary of your 12H trafo? IOW, what's the parasitic shunt capacitance? Also what core material?
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I know that, but that is the input impedance of my amps. I'm not going to change that.
dave
Yes it can. Lots of cheap storebout monitor speakers that are 1 amp channel built in driving a 2-way with a passive XO.
dave
Then they are active speakers.
Honestly, I don't like this terminology, even if it is domestic. It is confusing, artificial. Call me anti-patriot, but I prefer international terminology accepted by the outside of the forum world.
I don't remember. But core material is fantastic! Huge inductance for such tiny size.
You'd need a jolly beefy buffer though to drive 20R at normal line levels. Better to put in an amp (30dB or so) and run well below normal line levels (say 100mV peak). That way the core losses of the inductors don't become so significant at HF. But the optimum level depends rather on the core materials chosen.
No they are passive powered speakers.
Honestly, I don't like this terminology, even if it is domestic. It is confusing, artificial. Call me anti-patriot, but I prefer international terminology accepted by the outside of the forum world.
The biggest discussion i've seen on this subject was on an australian forum... that is pretty international. I even dug up somesolid references.
dave
The amps are many and not all that special. Tube, Solid State, Classes A, AB and D. I do like my speakers (Altec VOTT A5) and I think I did a nice job on the crossover.
What helped me get over my fascination with active crossovers was to stop listening to the system and start listening to the music. The music comes thru a passive crossover just fine. The illusion remains intact.
Yes, I like a L/R difference with delay in the rear channels, too. It does change the front image, usually for the better. I have an old Yamaha DSP-1 that can generate all sorts of sounds fields in 4 channels from the front 2 channels. What sounds best? The difference channel in the rears speakers, simply enough. Go figure.
I disagree. I would call "passive powered speaker" a speaker with magnetic field coil only. Period. It is powered, but it is passive, since all input energy goes directly to the moving coil, with no amplification.
Speaking of crossovers, the difference between "active" and "passive" may be taken from definition of active and passive filters. And even here difference is very diffused, because a filter that uses passive RLC components between amplification stages that match input and output impedances also may be called active.
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Dave... my 20 ohms was driven by the amp that drives the mid and the tweeter, then the signal over the resistor was padded down and digitally DSP shaped so it via an 1KW amplifier could drive a subwoofer 4X12" drivers in a carbon cabinet down to 15 Hz.
The result was a rather big semi active speaker with an incredible power and dynamic range, but I must say not as good as my current purely passive big speaker...
The result was a rather big semi active speaker with an incredible power and dynamic range, but I must say not as good as my current purely passive big speaker...
guys, you are making clear water muddy
active speaker means multiway with active crossover, and simple as that
doesn't mean its got anything built in at all
but if its sold commercially, ofcourse its built in
selling a speaker with drivers only wouldn't make much sense
whether you call it powered or active...doesn't change anything
it will come with amps ofcourse, and I doubt it will have anything other than active filter
powered will ofcourse means built in amps
active speakers for studio or high end could ofcourse be bigger setups where its all seperate units
please don't make it such a mess
it might sound like great fun, but really only looks very foolish
I don't agree, but it's an entirely untapped market. Speakers could be sold with a few extra 4mm sockets and link pieces on the back, allowing the user to select the drivers-only option. Then it would be all systems go for the industry to sell us two or three times as many amplifiers and cables as they do now, plus a field day for the magazines mixing and matching amps, active crossover boxes, line level crossovers, passive crossovers, software - the speakers could come with ready-made cal files for digital crossovers. A new industry in Class A tweeter amps would be born. Mixing solid state and valves between drivers would be possible. The 'high end' would encourage the use of six or eight monoblock amps.
Anyone with passive speakers would begin to feel somewhat inadequate, or at least curious, and would be tempted to buy a system just to see what all the fuss was about.
It would be completely different from standard 'active speakers': a tweaker's paradise.
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