Which is more efficient really depends on your setup and needs. The passive with an amp gives you a centralized control station - you can turn everything on/off from one spot. They're usually better for a permanent installation.But if the cable lengths are extremely long or you need to be able to cannibalize one of the speakers for use in a different area (say a guest lecturer in a different room needs a speaker of his own), then at least one active speaker may be warranted.A mixer is usually used to combine multiple inputs together into one output. Not to modulate different output volumes to multiple outputs.
Sep 28, 2015 - When selecting speakers, consumers may find themselves confronted with the option of active speakers vs passive speakers, powered. B&O and HiFiBerry's DIY upgrade turns passive speakers active. By Becky Roberts 2018-02-15T13:24:30Z News. The £180, self-install Beocreate 4 Channel Amplifier can gift passive speakers wireless and active functionality. Even by you) into a pair of passive speakers. The board comprises a four-channel 24bit/192kHz DAC feeding digital.
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I don't think I've seen a mixer which supports (i.e. Has separate volume controls for) more than two independent outputs. They may have lots of different output ports so you can plug in a variety of different cables, but they're usually all hooked up to the single master volume slider.
When we needed different signal volume sent to different speakers, we usually connected one of the outputs from the primary mixer into a second mixer or an amp.
June 17, 2016One of the biggest choices musicians and pro audio enthusiasts make when purchasing speakers is whether they should spring for passive or active speakers. Just like with any equipment, the right choice comes from a combination of understanding the main components of each and finding the one that best suits your application. This basic guide will cover the main differences between active and passive models and help you choose which one is better for your needs.Understanding the BasicsBefore we launch into the passive vs active debate, it is important to understand the basics about passive crossovers, active crossovers, power amps, and AC power sources, so we are using the terms with the same understanding.A passive crossover is the device (or circuit) consisting of large coils, large capacitors, input jacks, and resistors in a passive speaker. It takes a power output signal from your power amplifier and splits it into separate frequency bands. These separate bands, which often consist of low, mid, and high in a 3 way speaker or low and high in a 2 way speaker, are then directed to the speaker component (usually call a driver) that is designed for that range of frequencies.
The passive crossover can be very complicated or it can be very simple. The level of complication usually goes with the cost or “pro level” where the cabinet is to be used.Note: With Carvin Audio and many other high end manufacturers, the passive crossover is designed for the particular speakers in the cabinet, the placement of the speakers in the cabinet, the protection circuits needed, and the extra EQ and level adjustments needed for the loudspeaker. Rarely does a crossover designed for a particular cabinet work correctly in other cabinets with similar, but different components and placements in the cabinet.Active crossovers or electronic crossovers, on the other hand, are placed before the power amps using small circuit parts. These can be analog circuits or digital in the form of DSP processing.
They can be in power amps, stand alone products placed before the power amp, or in an active speaker. The benefits of active crossovers are increased versatility for the designer, more advanced EQ and limiting, and lower cost to achieve these.Power amps, and AC power sources are common terms, but we want to make sure you know what we are talking about. A power amp is any amplifier that takes in a low level signal and amplifies it to a high power level able to move the coils in speakers. This can be a stand alone power amplifier, a powered mixer with built in power amplifiers, or a section inside an active speaker. The AC power source is simply the AC socket in the wall.
We are not talking about the power supply in the amplifier, just the AC wall power you wanted to put paper clips and flat screw drivers into when you were little. Ouch!Passive SpeakersIf a speaker is passive, it utilizes a passive crossover, and it requires an external power amplifier to create any sound. For an example outside the PA world, there is the guitar amp head and speaker cabinet, where the cabinet needs the head connected to it to put out any audio.The advantages of passive cabinets are numerous. They can weigh less and be more compact, but advances in lightweight power amps and power supplies have reduced this advantage for active cabinets. The fact that they only need a speaker cable from the power amp and not an AC power source plus an input signal, allows for more flexible speaker placement. This also cuts down on the total number of power cords running across the stage.
Multiple cabinets can be chained together with a single cable between each cabinet as long as the amplifier can handle the load impedance.The disadvantages of passive models are getting the right amplifiers for the cabinet, less efficient output due to passive crossover components stealing a little power, and less protection preventing damage to the speaker. If you provide active processing before your amplifiers, you can improve the last item. Bi-amping speakers can eliminate the passive crossover losses, but that’s a whole new can of worms outside this article.Active SpeakersActive models come equipped with a built-in amp and active crossover. Think of them as a cousin of a guitar amplifier combo. In the early days of PA gear many of them were modified guitar amplifiers or vice versa.
Each cabinet requires an AC power source. They generally reduce the overall time involved in setup compared with a passive system. This is due to the internal processing and more advanced circuits in the active crossover providing a flatter response and more ideal performance.The advantages are easier setup, because you don’t have to bring or setup power amps and speaker cables, and you can plug them straight into your mixer. Many active models can accept microphone level, line level, instrument level, and phone or playback device level inputs for an all in one unit.Disadvantages are the need for an AC power source at each cabinet, higher cost for each unit, although you can subtract the cost of a power amp, and two cables to each cabinet when connecting multiple active cabinets together.Active systems with passive cabinetsShowing up more and more are system level active speakers like the using the active subwoofer.
Here the subwoofer has an extra power amp output with processing to run the special top cabinets which are passive. These are usually considered an active speaker system. Although, the can run any top cabinet down to 4 ohms and has internal crossover to adjust for the external top cabinet.Which One is Better for You?The choice between active and passive will depend heavily on the nature of how you intend to use it. If you want a convenient all-in-one package that travels and sets up easily, a high-quality active model like will fit the bill. Home audio enthusiasts and bands who just want to leave a PA in their practice space will likely find that a set of passive speakers and an amplifier or powered mixer will work just fine.Bands where a higher number of input channels and monitors than box mixers can provide may find going the active route to be much easier. This reduces space taken on stage for power amps, because the active cabinets and active monitors plug right into the mixer.When adding subwoofers to any small to mid size system, it is usually easier to add active subs like the.
This is especially true with box mixer systems, where the amps are running the passive mains to their minimum loading and extra power amplifiers would not carry well with the box mixer.In larger systems, running active speakers boils down to preference. Even in the large line array systems some die hard passive users have switched to active.
Often times the processing and power amplifiers needed in complicated large bi-amped systems out weight the need to run an AC power source to each speaker.Neither active nor passive speakers are necessarily better and both have their essential place in the pro audio world. AaronJuly 11, 2016First off, I have to say I love these in-depth articles that Carvin is doing.Although I like the fact that the Active speakers are essentially an all-in-one package, I don’t see much advantage to them. As others have said below; extra cables, extra weight.
I’ve been a drummer/lead singer/sound man/light man for over 15 years. One of the problems I’ve run into with AC cords running across the stage is the AC hum that you can get. While there are ways around this in some cases, adding even more AC cords would seem like adding to the problem. Also, as I’m sure any musician with live experience can tell you, if an amp goes bad you just quickly grab a back-up or double up the other amps and you can continue for the rest of the show. I wonder how easy it would be to replace an amp in an active speaker while playing live?I may be old school, but there’s just something to be said about rolling in a rack case of 10,000watts of amps and seeing those lights dance all night long. Jeff CardinalJune 20, 2016I play in bands at smaller venues, almost always one night stands. I have a Carvin 750 watt box style powered mixer, sending a powered signal to (usually) 2 mains and 3 monitors.
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I just daisy chain the mains and daisy chain the monitors. If I were to go the powered route, I would have run a 110 v. Extension cord to each monitor and one to each main speaker. Also I would need to provide an XLR cable to each speaker (they can be daisy chained). Twice the number of wires to each speaker.
Setup and tear down is an unpleasant necessity, I like to make is simple as possible. Powered speakers are a big waste of time for no gain. The new QX Series loudspeakers offer the ultimate in versatility- they are designed to stand alone as a full range sound reinforcement loudspeaker, full range stage monitor, all in one PA system, or as a three-way extended low end system main with our subwoofer. Choose between the 15-inch active 1000W loudspeaker with DSP, Bluetooth™, and built in 3 channel mixer or the passive 15-inch 900W loudspeaker. The QX Series is ideal for club systems, houses of worship, DJs, auditoriums, band PA, solo performers, and as a satellite extension of an existing sound system.
QX Series loudspeakers are available now and ready to ship.