Active Speakers
Active speakers build the amplifiers into the speaker system: an electronic crossover splits the music ahead of amplification, and each amplifier then drives only the drive units assigned to that channel. Audio Lounge presents active designs from ATC, the Gloucestershire specialist in studio monitoring, and from Goldmund of Switzerland, in compact standmounts and towers of real scale. Add a source with volume control and ask to hear a pair in the Wigmore Street showroom.
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What Makes an Active Speaker Different
In a conventional passive pair, one external amplifier drives the whole loudspeaker, and a passive crossover inside the cabinet shares the music between tweeter, midrange and bass. An active loudspeaker reverses that order. An electronic crossover divides the signal first, and each drive unit then receives a dedicated amplifier, designed for that job and connected directly to the driver with no passive network in between. ATC credits this arrangement with greater precision in level and timing, and with better control and dynamic range than a passive system.
Most of the active loudspeakers in this collection carry the amplifiers on the cabinet, while the largest ATC towers pair each cabinet with a matched rack-mounted amplifier. Either way, an active speaker system needs only a source and a means of setting the volume: a preamplifier, a DAC with volume control or a music streamer with a variable output. The rack-mounted flagships aside, every pair of active stereo speakers here also frees the equipment rack of separate power amplifiers.
ATC: Active Studio Monitors for the Home
ATC was founded by Billy Woodman in 1974 to supply drive units to professional sound engineers, and the soft dome midrange driver that followed two years later is a design ATC credits with revolutionising studio monitoring. Work on active systems led to the SCM50A and SCM100A, created after a contract with Danish Radio and described by ATC as industry standards. The domestic range keeps that discipline: ATC designs and manufactures the drive units and the electronics in-house, and every drive unit in the larger active models has a dedicated, individually matched amplifier.
These active studio monitors now serve living rooms as readily as control rooms. The collection runs from the ATC SCM19A through the ATC SCM50ASLT and the ATC SCM150ASLT to the ATC SCM300ASLT, a three-way tower with twin bass drivers, and several of ATC’s active monitors are also available in Special Edition form. The full range of ATC speakers includes passive versions of many of the same designs.
Goldmund: Swiss Active Design with a Wireless Link
Goldmund, the Swiss manufacturer, has developed audio equipment since 1978, and the Goldmund GAIA gathers that work into a single active stereo speaker: built-in amplifiers, digital crossovers and an internal structure that Goldmund designs to draw vibration away from the drive units. The Goldmund Asteria shares the same design language in silver-grey aluminium. Both take a wired connection or a wireless link from a computer through a Goldmund USB dongle, and both need a separate source to play, which is why these high-end active speakers sit here rather than among the wireless hi-fi speakers. The wider Goldmund collection at Audio Lounge also includes Telos amplification and the Eidos disc player.
Choosing the Best Active Bookshelf Speakers or Towers
Room size settles most of the choice. In a smaller room, active bookshelf speakers on rigid stands give a precise stereo image without crowding the space, and ATC states that the SCM20ASL and the floorstanding SCM20ASLT perform identically, so the choice between the two comes down to looks. Larger rooms reward active floorstanding speakers and active tower speakers with bigger bass drivers, from the ATC SCM50ASLT upwards, and the Goldmund towers suit a statement system in which cables and boxes should disappear from view.
Because the amplification is fixed, the partners around the speakers matter more: a source with clean volume control, balanced XLR cables for the ATC models and careful placement away from the walls. For audiophile active speakers of this calibre, an audition is the surest guide, and Audio Lounge can advise on stands, sources and set-up for a pair of active hi-fi speakers in your room. To compare passive designs, explore the wider range of hi-fi speakers, from floorstanding speakers to bookshelf speakers.
Questions About Active Speakers
What are the best active speakers for a home system?
For a home system, the right choice is the pair that suits your room, your source and your music, so listening matters more than any rating. In a smaller room, the ATC SCM20ASL is a compact place to start; larger rooms suit the ATC SCM50ASLT or a bigger ATC tower; and the Goldmund GAIA anchors a statement system. Ask Audio Lounge about an audition in London.
Do active speakers need a separate amplifier?
Active speakers need no separate power amplifier, because the amplification is part of the speaker system. A source that controls volume completes the set-up, such as a streamer or a digital converter with a volume control, connected to the ATC models by balanced XLR cables. The Goldmund models connect by cable or wirelessly through a Goldmund USB dongle on a computer.
What should I look for in the best powered speakers?
Look first at how the amplification is arranged. In a fully active powered speaker, the crossover works electronically ahead of the amplification and each drive unit has a dedicated amplifier, as on ATC’s active models. Not every design described as powered works this way, so ask how each one is built. Then weigh room size, the inputs your source provides and the finish, and choose powered hi-fi speakers whose cabinets suit the room as well as the sound.
Are active studio monitors suitable for a living room?
Active studio monitors suit a living room well when the model matches the space. ATC designs the SCM50ASL for studio monitoring and domestic listening alike, and the SCM50ASLT tower carries the same drive units in a veneered cabinet made for domestic interiors. Accuracy is the shared aim in both settings, and Audio Lounge can suggest placement and sources for your room.
Can I hear active speakers in London before choosing?
Audio Lounge welcomes enquiries about demonstrations at the Wigmore Street showroom. Choose two or three tracks you know intimately, and the team can set up an ATC or Goldmund pair with a suitable source so you can compare the active presentation with a passive pair on the same music. Model availability is checked when you book.