Powered Speakers?

[ProAudioX]

Any advice on this vs. regular speakers fed by a two channel amp? Not sure what the bennies may be one way or another, opinions welcome.

[Centurion]

Well the main advantage is that in powered speakers that are of proper quality, the amplifier in the speaker is actually tweaked specifically for that enclosure. Just think how well that compliments the response of the driver, etc.

[stubbie23]

I concur with what Centurion said, but I will a couple of other things. The passive monitor + amplifier situation can lead to a lot of wiring, especially if the monitors have the ability to power the drivers separately. If you have active monitors you can usually go straight from the mixing desk or your choice of outboard gear, but with passive monitors you would have to go from the desk or outboard gear to the amplifier to the monitors. Add a crossover and possibly another amp if the drivers can be powered separately. Plus, if the monitors are residing in a final mix down room, those amplifiers usually must reside in another room or closet so their fans do not color the sound of the room. So, you can see the potential of a lot of extra wiring, and it can also be a lot of fun trying to trace that wiring when something goes wrong.

[Centurion]

Exactly, stubbie23. Powered monitors will typically only have a single XLR cable for audio and a power cord which is all that is needed. So you are working with a +4dBV signal which is the pro-audio line level which mates right up to anything else in your rig right out of the box.

The cables to feed speakers between the amp and the speaker are very expensive when you try to get lossless cable and so when this entire path is inside the speaker itself it is also much more economical in most scenarios.