Does it matter if my monitors are powered for mixing?

[xparkerx]

I'm looking into getting some yorkville ysm monitors for my home studio. I don't know if i should get the powered or unpowered ones though. Anyone help w/ some insight?

jay.

[ignition]

If you get the passive (unpowered) ones, you'll need a seperate amp to power them. So, unless you have a spare amp laying around (a home stereo amp is not ideal) I would suggest getting the active (powered) ones.

travis

[kylen]

Here's a couple of thoughts based on some stuff I read.

I use powered near-field monitors. Supposedly that way the amp can be matched to the drivers better and you can get an active crossover which could be better than a passive crossover.

http://www.alesis.com/products/m1active/

It looks like with your powered Yorks you also get an active crossover and some eq switches you don't get with the unpowered ones:

http://www.musiciansbuy.com/yorkvill..._mon_each.html

I included the link to my monitors above just for informational purposes - I can always learn something about my stuff by reading similiar manuals.

In the beginning I thought it would be cool to have powered monitors so I could mix/master something in the field. I've since reset my expectations on that one due to unpredictable room acoustics in the 'field' . I think a rough mix is the best I can do for a quick field mix.

I like the powered monitors I have so far - I'd go powered again for that price range.
kylen