Analysis of the advantages of active speakers and passive speakers

Maybe when you buy speakers, the first thing you think about is passive speakers, because there are players and amplifiers, and there is already a complete system. But for friends who are new to audio and play from scratch, in fact, active speakers may be more suitable for them. Although passive speakers are the mainstream, active speakers also have many diehard fans. If you remove the differences in materials and design of high-end and low-end equipment, what are the advantages and disadvantages of "active" and "passive" designs alone? Let's briefly analyze it with you below~

Active speakers

"Active" speakers (ActiveSpeaker) means that the speakers have built-in crossover and amplifier circuits, which can be turned on by simply connecting to the power supply and inputting the music signal. Many studio monitor speakers and engineering professional speakers are active speakers, but don't think that ActiveSpeaker is synonymous with professionalism, because the common and commonly used computer speakers and Bluetooth speakers are actually "active" speakers.

Advantage 1: No need for later stage, simple system

One of the biggest advantages of active speakers is that they don’t need to be connected to the rear driver. You can play songs as long as you input the audio. This is the most suitable for friends who want a simpler sound system. You only need a "player" and a "speaker" to form it. Complete system.

Advantage 2: Save space

In addition, since the active speaker does not need to be connected to an amplifier, it can save a lot of space for placing equipment, which is quite suitable for the CAS system or desktop audio system that is very popular in recent years.

Advantage 3: Complete package, sound quality is "guaranteed"

Since the speaker itself has a complete drive circuit and is equipped with decoding and splitting, plus the digital interface input, the sound of active speakers will be more "stable", unlike passive speakers that are more affected by wires and amplifiers.

Disadvantage 1: Speakers need to adjust the volume independently

In the design of some active speakers, the output of the left and right channel speakers needs to be adjusted independently, so it will be a little troublesome to adjust the volume, and the left and right speakers need to cooperate and then fine-tune. But if your preamp has a volume adjustment function, there is no such annoyance.

Disadvantage 2: Need to connect power cord and signal line

Although the active speakers have one less amplifier connected, in addition to the signal line, each speaker needs to be connected with an additional power cord for power supply. If the speakers are placed far apart, the wiring will be more troublesome.

Passive speaker

The most common two-channel speakers are "passive" speakers, which are opposite to active speakers. They don't have a built-in amplifier circuit and need to rely on the output of the rear stage or the combined machine to drive sound. Compared with traditional active speakers, which are mostly bookshelf design, passive speakers have a variety of styles, such as floor space, bookshelf, satellite and so on.

Advantage 1: More flexibility in tuning

Since it needs to be driven by an amplifier, the sound of passive speakers will be greatly affected by equipment and cables. But this means that the sound tuning can be much more flexible, and the characteristics of the signal line and amplifier can be used to supplement or enhance the performance of the speaker.

Advantage 2: Only need to connect the speaker cable

Although it needs to be connected to an amplifier, on the other hand, passive speakers do not need to connect to an additional power cord. You only need to connect the signal line to the amplifier, and the latter can be used to directly drive sound.

Advantage 3: Diversified gameplay such as bi-amp driving, two-wire splitting, etc.

Some passive speakers can support bi-amp drive (Bi-Amp) and bi-wire (Bi-Wire) wiring to improve the performance of the speaker.

Disadvantages: need to be promoted by a later stage

Since there are too many types of passive speakers with different specifications, designs and materials, if you want to talk about a common shortcoming, it needs to be driven by an amplifier, which requires additional equipment and space.
Passive Speaker:Bluetooth Speaker