Studio 40's +Amp or Active 40's? (1 Viewer)

[Evan S]

OK, in the search to make the move to 7.1 I can take either of two routes and I was hoping for feedback from the board.

I have an Anthem MCA-5 5 channel power amp and an AVM-20 processor. To go to 7.1, I would have to get another 2 channel amp and a set of Studio 20's for rear surrounds (Currently have Studio 40's for fronts, CC in the center and Studio 20's as rears). I could do this by either buying a cheap two channel amp to power the surrounds or buy a great used two channel amp to power my mains and run the surrounds off the MCA-5.

Or, I could get a pair of Active 40's for the front. I know they have been discontinued, but have seen them for $2K used. I figure by going this way I can get slightly better two channel performance (for I have heard the Active 40's are AWESOME) and not have to worry about finding rack room for another amp.

Which way do you suggest? Any Active lovers out there? Seems like I could get a great used Classe amp for around $1K and a set of Studio's for less than the Actives alone but some people swear by the Actives.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Brian Fitterman]

My friend had the Active LCR450's and 20's (version 1). They sounded good, but I thought they were a tad birghter than the rest of the studio line.

One thing you have to think of is plugs. Don't forget you will need to run power cords and long low level cables to the speakers. That is not that big of an issue if you are using them for fronts, but if you end up using them as surrounds it can get complicated.

BTW, that friend ended up trading in the Actives (sold on ebay) and got the Version 2 Ref Studio system.

 

[James Tg]

Evan:

I am also on the way to 7.1. IMO, the fronts are more important. You'd better have amps from the same company to power the fronts.

 

[Evan S]

James, the amps in the Active 40's ARE the same amps. Paradigm owns Anthem and uses the MCA technology in those Active 40's. The differences between the active line and the Studio line is the use of the active crossover which is perfectly tailed to the powered speaker. I'm not sure I understand the jist of your post.

 

[Greg_R]

I would strongly suggest going with the Active 40s. This will outperform a high-end amp + Studio 40s due to the active crossover and amplification that is custom tailored for the design and components. IMO, there is a significant improvement when you go from passive to active crossovers. The main drawback is that you can't use external amplification and you'll need to run power to each speaker. I would have gone with the Actives in my setup (except for the outlet issue).

Greg

 

[Randy G]

Evan,

Greg is right on the money. I've listened to the Active 20s on numerous occasions and they kicked the crap out of the passive 20s by a decent margin. But 's that's just MY ears. Trust your own. If you do some research, you'll find that all things being equal, an active version will beat the passive version of a speaker every time.

 

[Evan S]

Thanks guys. What did these retail for originally so when I search for a used pair I will know what kind of price I can expect/ask for.

I wonder if any Paradigm dealers have any still kicking around. Doubt it.