Soundhound,

As you may know, I use Mackie 824s in my ht. I originally used them only for their intended purpose: as close range monitors in my home recording studio but one day I realized that I was hearing playback that was very close to what I was recording. When I tried 'em in the theatre, especially in contrast to the Alesis powered monitors I was using as surrounds, I was convinced I was on to something. Now I understand that the active bi-amping in these speakers might be the secret. In any case, I heartily recommend Mackie 824s as primary speakers in a 5.1 setup. (BTW, the smaller Mackie's don't sound as good, IMHO. Also, I'm not sure whether the Mackie active sub might be an improvement over the Outlaw lfm I'm listening to now.) One other thing: they can be bought at your local Guitar Center at a steeply discounted price.

Jay

How can they both be local to you? The Orange County Choppers on TV is in New York. Jesse's shop in in Califorina. Maye it is
made possible using tube amps.

That's brain fade on my part. There is a custom motorcycle shop in Orange County CA that I thought was being referred to. I don't watch TV at all so I am completely unfamiliar with the shows, but I have heard of them. I've ridden past West Coast Choppers many times on my way to the Long Beach motorcycle shows every December. Jesse James ususlly has a bike or two on display there.

Maybe I should stick to cables.....

I have used the Mackie HR 824s many times and have been blown away by their sound - especially their low end. That kind of performance would not be possible without active crossovers and the electronic tuning that is done. The manin thing that characterizes active systems is the clarity and definition, along with lack of power compression.

sh, i guarantee you that active crossover network is not the greatest thing since the wheel. you can get equal performance from a good passive network inside your speakers, plus THE CROSSOVER IN YOUR SPEAKERS IS OPTIMIZED FOR YOUR SPEAKERS. i realize that you have more control for active crossover, but the goal is accurate reproduction of a source, if you fiddle with all kinds of crap you are defeating the goal and altering the sound (ideally it is unaltered). you have to know A LOT about your speakers before doing an active setup. i have personally used an active crossover setup in the past and compared it with my much simpler setup utilizing passive crossovers (using the same speakers, one set with crossovers taken out). the results were inconclusive, so having found no real advantage i scrapped the active and its headaches. everything in the two setups was the same except for active or passive crossover (well and amount of cables, which was neglible). just because something works for you doesnt mean it is the BEST THING EVER. you cant make broad sweeping statements about how active crossovers will make your system excellent and passive are crap.

Just because it works for the entire professional audio world is not reason enough either?

I would humbly suggest that you consider there might be other forum members that might find my information useful, and might want to experiment with an active setup.

Your points have been noted.


[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited May 13, 2004).]

another broad sweeping statement... and no its not. what works for professional audio is not always best for home. if it did, then their would be no difference between the two and their would be no need to label one as professional audio and one as home theater, because there would only be audio.
"I would humbly suggest that you consider there might be other forum members that might find my information useful, and might want to experiment with an active setup.

Your points have been noted."
You just added that, and I would agree, and if they do they should definitely talk to you about it.



[This message has been edited by curegeorg (edited May 13, 2004).]

I am all for talking about any audio topic - I just ask that you bring specific and direct personal experiences with these issues to the table. If you did not find your experiences with active bi-amping successful, please elaborate about the setup, the manner you calibrated the system (the RTA for example), and the amplification used - and the speakers themselves. That would help others and myself understand how you came up with the conslusions you do.

[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited May 13, 2004).]

funny that you say that, because at one time just about everyone thought that the earth was flat. if everyone had taken it for granted that this was true, then we would have never found out that it was round.

How do you guys feel about the 11AWG Canare Quad speaker Cables? I will be running a 950 Preaamp and 770 Poweramp. Will single ended bananas fit into the 770 nicely?