Differences Between Passive, Powered and Active Speakers
The terms "powered" and "active" have been used interchangeably in regard to loudspeaker designs, however, a differentiation may be made between the terms:
- In a passive loudspeaker system the low-level audio signal is first amplified by an external power amplifier before being sent to the loudspeaker where the signal is split by a passive crossover into the appropriate frequency ranges before being sent to the individual drivers. This design is common in home audio as well as professional concert audio.
- A powered loudspeaker works the same way as a passive speaker but the power amplifier is built into the loudspeaker enclosure. This design is common in compact personal speakers such as those used to amplify portable digital music devices.
- In a fully active loudspeaker system each driver has its own dedicated power amplifier. The low-level audio signal is first sent through an active crossover to split the audio signal into the appropriate frequency ranges before being sent to the power amplifiers and then on to the drivers. This design is commonly seen in studio monitors and professional concert audio.
Hybrid active designs exist such as having three drivers powered by two internal amplifiers. In this case, an active 2-way crossover splits the audio signal, usually into low frequencies and mid-high frequencies. The low-frequency driver is driven by its own amplifier channel while the mid- and high-frequency drivers share an amplifier channel the output of which is split by a passive 2-way crossover.
Read more about this topic: Powered Speakers
Famous quotes containing the words differences, active and/or speakers:
“The mother must teach her son how to respect and follow the rules. She must teach him how to compete successfully with the other boys. And she must teach him how to find a woman to take care of him and finish the job she began of training him how to live in a family. But no matter how good a job a woman does in teaching a boy how to be a man, he knows that she is not the real thing, and so he tends to exaggerate the differences between men and women that she embodies.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)
“So hills and valleys into singing break;
And though poor stones have neither speech nor tongue,
While active winds and streams both run and speak,
Yet stones are deep in admiration.
Thus praise and prayer here beneath the Sun
Make lesser mornings when the great are done.”
—Henry Vaughan (1622–1695)
“The problems of society will also be the problems of the predominant language of that society. It is the carrier of its perceptions, its attitudes, and its goals, for through it, the speakers absorb entrenched attitudes. The guilt of English then must be recognized and appreciated before its continued use can be advocated.”
—Njabulo Ndebele (b. 1948)