lets get all the pros and cons once and for all! we've heard all the hype, let's get the facts. Is active that much better than passive?

 

 

For now I prefer the simplicity of a passive xover, for a new car/setup ill consider active

For subs it's without doubt active...

My real answer is hybrid (front passive, midbass & sub active)

 

I honestly prefer a passive setup, except for the sub, but active is easier to build, easier to tune, and more flexible. The smart money goes active.

 

Passive sounds a little warmer...could be from the distortion...kind of like tube amps, it's cheaper usually, a no brainer in terms of set up, and can still sound as good or better (depends on your taste) than an active set up.

Active is cleaner, more accurate, and can be tweaked until you find a sound you like. It's usually more expensive as it requires extra amps, electronics (cross overs), and tuning/set up can be much harder to get right and requires more time and effort. The real advantage is in the flexibility of tuning for those that love to tweak....like me!

 

Whats the difference between the two?

(i have no idea whats going on right now lol)

 

how do you wired a sub active ? well how do you wired a complete system when it's active and what you do with the crossover in the amp?

 

A good passive system is expensive and still inferior to going active. nuff said.

 

Without getting too technical, the 2 options make an amplifier behave differently. Think of wire and components as a sponge that sits between the amplifier and the speaker. The more components/wire, the less direct control the amplifier has over the diaphram movement. This affects how the combo sounds, but in many cases the effect is more desirable than the un-filtered response.

Probably the most prominent advocate of eliminating "crap" from between the amplifier and speaker is Meridian. They build home speakers that are a fed a digital signal direct from a controller, which is is then decoded and amplified by electronics mounted right next to each driver.

Personally I like well done active amplification, but you will have to spend a mint to surpass the sound quality of a well done passive setup with 1 quality amp. (Define amp quality however you may, I will term it here as having lots of power) I've used a few active crossovers that did more harm to the signal quality than a good passive setup. All of the active setups I've played with could play louder, and with seemingly greater dynamic range than a similiarily powered passive setup.

If you like cost effective SQ - Passive

If you like loud - Active

Unlimited budget with best SQ - High quality Active

Sure there a TON of incredible systems that use passive X..Os...but the question in my mind is: Could they be better with active control?

 

My preference is active.