Does anyone have any experience with powered speakers? I am very interested in getting 6 identical powered speakers (such as Genelec). They can be found for around $1K per speaker, but that would come to $6K for six speakers and amplification (about what I would budjet for with unpowered speakers). I know that they were originally designed for close field monitoring, and are likely to be detailed and dry. I have only heard Genelec speakers once, and I was AMAZED (they should be awesome - they were $4K each, if I remember correctly). I don't have anywhere around here that I can go check them out, so I thought I would poke around to see if anyone had any thoughts or experience with them.

I am currently under the belief that I want 6 identical speakers, and room constraints keep me from having towers. Most small speakers are either too expensive, or don't offer the performance that I like. Any comment on that would be appreciated as well.

Take care.


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Benjamin King
benjaminking@yahoo.com

My favorite is the Mackie HR 824s which can be bought at most pro audio dealers like the guitar center.

Thanks, soundhound. I was hoping that you would respond. What do you like about those? Have you heard the Genelec's? Are there others that you think I should look at? And finally, what do you think about using these speakers in a home theater?

The Genelecs are used in the remixing of many film soundtracks for DVD so they could be considered a "reference" of sorts. I like the Mackies because they just sound amazing, with rich and deep bass response that is not muddy. I actually like the sound of the Mackies over the Genelecs, but as always, they need to sound good to you.

The only potential downside of using these speakers is the possibility of lack of sufficient output since they are made for close listening. Bass management would allieveiate this to some extent, but I would auditon them at the intended listening volume and in a room of similar size to your's to see if they have enough output capability for your listening tastes.

You can't go wrong with the sound quality though of either of these speakers.

They may be a little above your budget, but you might want to check out M&K speakers also. Their powered monitors are used in many, many post production studios around the world.

www.mksound.com

As with all speaker purchases, if you can listen to them before purchasing them, that's your best option. For example, all of the bookshelf sized Genelec speakers that I've heard have been very, very bright sounding to me but your experience may vary.

Good luck!

Benjamin,
I'm using five Mackies and I can tell you that either listening to music or watching videos in 5.1 is very satisfying. Since they are full range I have my lfm crossed at 40 hz. They offer xlr (balanced) inputs but, with the 950 I use rca to rca custom cables (made by Wicked Cable). On another forum I believe Soundhound described the benefits of the biamping in the Mackies. They're about $550 at Guitar Center, btw.

Jay

JMS - Thanks for your response. What else can you tell me about your system? What is the size of your room, and the listening distance? Do you use the Mackie's for all channels? Would you say that you like more detailed sound, possible erring on the side of dry or bright?

I appreciate the responses. Now I am starting to get a little excited about the possibilities... (we are four weeks or less away from moving into our first house).

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Benjamin King
benjaminking@yahoo.com

Benjamin,

Yes, I do use the same speaker on all five channels. (I have an Outlaw lfm subwoofer...) All six speakers are directly hooked up to the Outlaw 950. When I first set the system up I was using three Alesis powered speakers for the center and surrounds. It was very apparent that the speakers didn't match. I could easily hear a gross difference. I believe that using five identical speakers is the way to go especially if you're listening to sacd's or dvd-a's. Since my screen (for the projector in the back of the room) hangs down to about 3 1/2' off the floor I was easily able to mount all three Mackies vertically and 18" off the floor. My two surrounds had to be hung from the ceiling, tilted and aimed towards the "sweet spot" where I sit. This was due to doorways that had to remain passable. I'm a musician and this setup yields sublime sound. I first used the Mackies as close-field monitors for my home studio. When I was setting up the theater I realized that those speakers were giving me well-balanced, satisfying sound. Some free advice if you go this way: the small Mackies don't sound as good/the same. Mackie sells a center speaker and subwoofer with which I have no experience...they're expensive. Anyone have a comment about these guys?

Jay