Can active speakers be connected to power amplifiers?

                         Can active speakers be connected to power amplifiers?

How to use active speakers? Can active speakers be connected to power amplifiers? Active speakers usually refer to speakers with power amplifiers, such as multimedia computer speakers, active subwoofers, and some new home theater active speakers.

Advantages of Active Speakers

Advantage 1: No power amplifier required, simple system

One of the biggest advantages of powered speakers is that you don't need to connect a power amplifier. You can play songs by inputting audio. It is best for friends who want a simpler sound system. Only the "player" and "speaker" can form a complete system.

Advantage 2: save space

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

Advantage 3: Complete package and "guaranteed" sound quality

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

Can active speakers be connected to power amplifiers?

It cannot be connected to a power amplifier. An active speaker is a speaker with its own power amplifier, as long as a low-level signal input is fine.

The power amplifier is a device that amplifies low-level signals. The output of active speakers cannot be directly connected to the input of other power amplifiers, because the output of active speakers is already a high-level signal, and you can directly push speakers or speakers. Causes the circuit failure of other power amplifiers to be damaged.

It can be connected in this way, the input signal of the active audio system is directly connected to the input of the power amplifier, so that it will not be damaged.

How to use active speakers

1. Connection

Before purchasing an active speaker, you need to see the input interface on the back of the speaker. For civilian-level active speakers, generally only RCA interfaces are provided, and a few high-quality models also provide XLR interfaces. For monitor-level active speakers, generally only XLR interfaces are provided. Therefore, you need to know whether the output interface provided by your front-end equipment can match the speaker before use.

2. Positioning

In terms of placement, there is actually no clear standard for speaker placement. However, we recommend that users adopt the equilateral triangle position. The so-called equilateral triangle placement means that the connection between the two speakers and the listener is in an equilateral triangle, and the radiation direction of the two speakers needs to face the listener. The advantage of this positioning method is to get as much direct sound as possible, to hear more details and lower sound coloration. As for the distance between the speakers and people, it depends on the specifications of the speakers. For general 2-way active speakers (woofer diameter is 5-8 inches), the distance is about 1 meter, and for large active speakers with three-way design (woofer diameter is 10 inches or above), the distance is about 1 meter. It is about 2 to 4 meters.

3. Adjust the output sound pressure of the left and right channels

After setting the position, you need to adjust the output sound pressure of the left and right channel speakers to be equal. Active speakers generally have a volume adjustment function. At this time, you need to place a sound pressure meter at the listening position, and then play the pink noise test audio signal, combined with the pre-amplifier (or other controllers) and the speaker’s own volume adjustment. The function adjusts the sound pressure of the two speakers to be the same. At the same time, referring to the sound pressure value, we recommend that you maintain a sound pressure level of about 80dB when listening to music. In addition, the international studio standard monitor sound pressure level is 80dB to 83dB, this standard can also be used for your reference. But the prerequisite is that your speakers must maintain very low distortion at this sound pressure level.

4. Proper use of Room EQ adjustment

Most active speakers provide the Room EQ function, which provides the ability to adjust the frequency response curves of high frequency, medium frequency and low frequency, and can be fine-tuned in different usage environments. For example, if the speaker is placed directly on the desktop, the desktop will cause too much low-frequency reflections and make the low-frequency muddy, then the user needs to attenuate the low-frequency band; if there is not much acoustic treatment in the room , the high-frequency emission sound is too much, then the high-frequency needs to be attenuated. However, the Room EQ function can actually play a very limited role, and it needs the cooperation of the room to get a good sound.