Monitors Pwrd vs. NonPwrd. Thoughts?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jason James
  • Start date Start date
J

Jason James

New member
Hey Y'all,

I have a pair of Event PS5's that I'm not very happy with. I have a few options that I'm aware of. My question was is there a real difference between the sound of say the Event 20/20bas and the 20/20's with say an Alesis power amp? I'm having a hard time mixing with the PS5's and want to experiment with different monitors. (See Monitoring Woes thread). I'm going to check out the JBL's that were recomended, the Reveals with amp and the 20/20's. Bottom line, unpowered with an amp is cheaper than the powered units. Also, I like the fact that I can have the amp close by for volume control. Also, I could get a speaker selector and have multiple monitors (passives are pretty inexpensive) some day with one amp.

Thanks for any info or insite,

Jason
 
If you go unpowered, don't use an Alesis amp -- look into Hafler (TransNova series), Bryston, Crown, or QSC.

Bruce
 
difference between sound quality

Is there a noticable difference between the sound quality in these amps. Also, how about between the powered monitor vs the unpowered?
Jason
 
Whilst getting ready to run from The Bear, I will say.........go ahead and try an Alesis amp (I am with my Reveals but only because the Hafler was twice the price and I hope to eventually upgrade).
But remember that the quality of the Alesis both in manufacture and performance is likely to be less than that of a more expensive amp.
Personally, for what it cost me "I am as happy as a pig in shit" with my monitor/amp setup.

Peace........ChrisO :cool:
 
You will notice it in the "cleanness" of the signal of better quality amps... transients are heard clearly and crisply, at both loud and soft levels, bass response is tight and precise and doesn't have what I call "smearing", where the bass seems almost time-shifted relative to the rest of the frequencies.

(For a concrete "smearing" example, put a pair of Mackie and Behringer monitors side-by-side and comapre -- the Behringer's bass response smears all over the place)

If you haven't previously A/B'd the same signal heard thru a cheap amp and a high-quality amp, you won't recognize the differences -- once you do, you'll always recognize it....

But hey... YMMV - if you like the sound of the Alesis, go for it -- as your ears get more critical, you may find yourself disliking it more and more, meaning you'll have to fork out more money to upgrade... as Ed always says "...buy cheap, buy twice..." (which is a saying I think he got from his Grandma!! ;) :D )

Bruce
 
Thanks Bruce, I appreciate your explanation and understand where you are coming from. We have only been setting up for our own projects at the moment with the possibility of later pulling in some demo work. If the demand justifies it, I will definitely be upgrading.

ChrisO :cool:
 
Advantages of powered monitors:

The amps, speakers, crossovers, structure, etc. are all designed with each other in mind, and will work better together.

Another advantage is that they are usually bi-amped, in that there is a separate amp for each speaker and frequency range. (So, I guess that's really quad-amped, if you have a pair of monitors :D.)

Advantages for the amp - passive monitor approach:

You can buy more than one set of passives and A/B your mixes, using each as a different point of reference.

If you blow up either the amp or the monitors, the other MIGHT still work.

Queue
 
Nearfield monitors are almost invariably two-way speakers (woofer/tweeter). If designed correctly and executed with high quality components, two-way passive crossovers can have outstanding performance approaching that of biamplified active crossover systems. Multi-way speakers are another story. If you already have an amp, and you can afford powered monitors, it's a lot wiser spend all that money on a better passive monitor and use your old amp.

Amp quality is important, but speaker quality is much more important. If given the choice between a good-speaker/fair-amp combo versus a fair-speaker/good-amp combo, always go with the better speaker. A 20/20bas, for example, is a fair-speaker (I'm being kind) and a fair-amp (again being kind) combo.

Bruce mentioned some nice amplifiers, which you should definitely consider. But if your budget is too tight to afford both a very nice amp and very nice monitors, cut corners on the amp first.

I've posted these alternative monitor suggestions a few times before, so why not again? Speaker City has a few kits available that would make for incredible monitors http://www.speakercity.com/sc_kits.shtml . The Scanspeak 7, Revelator 5, Raven 7, or Scan Speak MTM-18 would all give you performance only available in very expensive, very high end pro monitors. I would choose one of these powered by an Alesis amp over a 20/20 powered by a Bryston, or even a 20/20bas any day. In fact, comparing these kits to 20/20's isn't like comparing apples to oranges, it's like comparing apples to dog turds. :)

barefoot
 
I've heard some good amps, and bruce I dont believe that the ALesis ra100 exhibit smearing. What I think their downfall is is that their bass is too small(albeit tight) and the highs are a bit sharp. They will do a good job if you match them to the right speakers though
 
I have a yamaha P2201 amp I've been using because of the front mounted volume controls does anybody know how it compares to a bryston or qsc
 
Barefoot, how about the L-6--a monitor most of can actually afford?
 
tdukex said:
Barefoot, how about the L-6--a monitor most of can actually afford?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't know anything about them. And the descriptions aren't very informative. I would stick with standard brands, rather than take a chance on these.

barefoot
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top