Has anyone switched from passive to powered speakers in their nearfield/small listening space?

[SoCal Sam]

The OP is asking about near field listening which is typically on your desk sitting next to your monitor or mixing board. In this application, powered monitors are an ideal solution. Mono block amplification optimized for the drivers. No speaker wire and minimal signal path. Can a speaker such as my Yamaha MSP3 fill a room as well as a 12 inch woofer speaker? No, but that is not what the OP is asking. Can the MSP3 sound as good as a similar sized speaker with separate amplification? Sure can.

 

[tubed]

I haven't gone to near field listening but if I did I might use these Philips MFB 544s, however they'd make for good sounds, near or far.

 

[musichal]

PSB Alpha PS1 would be on my shortlist to consider for near-field listening.

 

[onepixel]

Our local Guitar Center has 2 plus dozen powered monitors from a broad range of makers. I've listened to most of them. I liked the M-Audio BX5 the best. They were well balanced and fantastic. Most of the keyboards at the Center were hooked up to the BX5s at the time. If you crank them near-field, you'll go deaf. They get deceptively loud for their size and they also come in a bigger size. They are inexpensive too. I've owned a lot of speakers and these rank very high.

Go check them and others out. Good luck.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/search?typeAheadSuggestion=true&typeAheadRedirect=true&Ntt=M-audio+bx5

 

[lini]

6.4_B: Don't know which Abacus speakers you might have in mind - have a link to a pic, maybe? Generally they have nice stuff, though.

And yup, "Das Gollier" was pretty nice - and I remember it to also have had a good choice of vegetarian food. I haven't been there all that often, though - the Schwanthalerhöhe never really was "my area", as finding a parking lot there has always been rather problematic. And in the meantime it doesn't exist anymore anyway, at least as far as I'm aware.

But there has been a lot of change anyway during the last 10 to 20 years. Hardly any of my favourite bars, cafés and restaurants I used to visit in the 80s and 90s still exist - and also quite a few of my favourite shops (including hifi shops). And I don't know, whether you've also been to our "electronic mile", the Schillerstraße (and area around), when you were here, but that has also changed pretty considerably. And then we've also got quite a few new tunnels in the southern to western part of the Mittlerer Ring, where you've got to drive carefully, as they have installed quite a few speed traps/cams...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[lini]

Oops: Browser didn't react => double post... Sorry.

 

[spiette]

These have worked out nicely. I should get/make real stands for them.

 

[BMWCCA]

Count me in as another happy customer for the JBL LSR305s. For under $200 delivered they were so impressive I bought another pair as a backup. Never had those out of the box. You just can't beat them at the price. Heck, for their current price you can try them and if you don't like them just give them away!

 

[vonclod]

Our local Guitar Center has 2 plus dozen powered monitors from a broad range of makers. I've listened to most of them. I liked the M-Audio BX5 the best. They were well balanced and fantastic. Most of the keyboards at the Center were hooked up to the BX5s at the time. If you crank them near-field, you'll go deaf. They get deceptively loud for their size and they also come in a bigger size. They are inexpensive too. I've owned a lot of speakers and these rank very high.

Go check them and others out. Good luck.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/search?typeAheadSuggestion=true&typeAheadRedirect=true&Ntt=M-audio+bx5

That is what I use for my computer/guitar setup, they sound pretty good.

 

[No Money]

I have a pair of Audioengine D2's which I use with my computer. https://audioengineusa.com/shop/poweredspeakers/a2-plus-powered-speakers/

I also run one of their DAC's https://audioengineusa.com/shop/components/d1-24-bit-dacheadphone-amp/

Sounds good to me for what I listen to at the computer.

 

[Poinzy]

I currently have a small integrated amp and speakers setup in my office. I'm happy with the sound, but would like an even more minimalist system since space is at a premium. It seems small active monitors are also generally more capable, at least at nearfield. I'd probably go with Genelecs or similar. Has anyone made this switch and decided to go back to passives?

I use JBL LSR305's on my basement studio desk, near my computer. I know engineers who use powered monitors for various applications, including recording studio work and home entertainment. I've never heard anything from them about the inherent inferiority of integrated amps, though these guys use powered and passive monitors -- whatever works.

Genelecs have a name, but they aren't the only name. You might want to check out Focals and Adams as well.

 

[6.4 Billion]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I put my integrated amp up on craigslist and will do some listening at the local guitarcenter.