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When researching loudspeakers, the simple desire for quality audio can quickly get bogged down in the vast selection you’ll encounter. One distinction worth discussing: most speaker systems will be described as either “powered” or “passive.” Knowing the difference may be key in helping you narrow down these choices and find the right speakers for your application.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POWERED AND PASSIVE SPEAKERS
How Speakers Work
Loudspeakers use one or more electromagnetic motors (usually called drivers) attached to a cone to broadcast sound waves. Speakers must be attached to another electronic source, which sends a signal that is programmed to replicate specific sound waves. Based on this signal, the driver pushes the cone back and forth, which causes the air molecules in front of the cone to bump into each other and eventually domino through space. When the molecules eventually reach your ear, they vibrate against your eardrum and send a signal to your brain that is interpreted as sound.
All loudspeakers require some sort of power source (or amplifier) to send power to the driver. That’s where the “powered” and “passive” terminology comes in. Powered loudspeakers (also called active) include built-in amps, so all you have to do is connect it to your sound source, whereas passive loudspeakers require an additional connection to add that power separately.
How to Identify Powered vs. Passive Speakers
Powered and passive speakers tend to look nearly identical on the outside—particularly from the front. To tell what type a speaker is, you can usually check its back panel, where the model number is typically listed: many manufacturers add a “P” or “A” to the end of the model number to indicate its powered/active categorization.
Another way to determine the type of speaker is to look at the connections on the back panel:
Powered speakers tend to be heavier due to including more features in one module, including the amplifier and DSP which passive speakers do not have. For this reason, powered speakers tend to come at a higher price point than passive speakers—but remember that even if a passive speaker is less expensive, you’ll also need to purchase an amp, mixer, or other components that are sold separately.
Keeping Subwoofers in Mind
Subwoofers (“subs”) are a common subcategory of speakers that are specifically built to handle extremely low-pitched audio frequencies (bass and sub-bass, generally 20-200 Hz). This gives your audio more accurate stereo imaging, enhances dynamics, and enables more immersive listening. A must for miking low-frequency instruments such as kick drums or bass guitar, subs are also great for background music (particularly bass-heavy genres), stadiums, concert halls, theaters, studios, and more.
Subwoofers never work alone—they’re designed to work in partnership with loudspeakers that handle higher-pitched frequencies. Like their loudspeaker counterparts, subs come in powered (built-in amp) and passive (requires an external amp connection) versions.
One important thing to remember is that you cannot mix and match types of subs and speakers (i.e., connect a powered speaker to a passive subwoofer, or vis-versa); always connect a powered speaker to a powered subwoofer or a passive speaker to a passive subwoofer.
Powered Speaker Considerations
Because powered speakers already have an amplifier system included in their construction, these types of speakers are extremely easy to set up right out of the box. Many models include other built-in features such as effects, compressors, and more to make one powered speaker virtually a standalone PA system! The amp component of powered speakers is designed to coordinate perfectly with the driver, and they also are simple to pair with powered subwoofers. Since you don’t need to connect any additional gear, they’re generally compact and portable—which makes them great for environments where space is limited, such as smaller live performance venues, outdoor presentations, or mobile DJ gigs.
However, powered speakers come in a more limited selection of sizes and styles. “What you see is what you get”—which can be great, but also means less flexibility if your sound system needs to evolve as your audio needs change. Also, the amp component takes up room inside the speaker’s build, sometimes at the cost of driver size. With a smaller driver, the clarity and precision of the sound might be affected.
Passive Speaker Considerations
The benefit of using passive loudspeakers is their customization options. You can mix and match components to fit the specific needs of any given project, which not only makes passive speakers ideal for people who like customizing their sound setup, it also makes it easier to adjust your setup over time, such as scaling to fit a larger space or adding surround sound. Additionally, because there’s more space inside the speaker’s housing, passive speakers can accommodate larger drivers for a more pristine, accurate sound reproduction.
Because they don’t provide built-in amplification, passive speakers need external gear to be connected, including external amplifiers or stereo receivers, speaker cables, and possibly an outboard crossover or other signal processing gear. As opposed to powered speakers (where the amp and driver have been specifically optimized), there is no guarantee that the components you choose will work well together to produce the best possible sound.
For assistance in tackling the complexities of passive speaker setups, contact the SoundPro experts by emailing info@soundpro.com or calling 800.203.5611.
BEST USES FOR POWERED SPEAKERS
Powered speakers are excellent for mobile users because they’re affordable, easy to set up, and simple to use as standalone sound systems. With fewer components to pack, they’re a great choice for professionals who need portable gear, such as mobile DJs, independent performers, outdoor events organizers, and so much more.
Powered Speaker Recommendations
Powered Subwoofer Recommendations
BEST USES FOR PASSIVE SPEAKERS
Passive speakers are generally the best bet for situations where you need flexibility and customization options. Often this means professional applications, such as venues where the sound system needs to be scalable and versatile, or for audio projects that require the most accurate and reliable sound reproduction. Boasting the capacity to grow to meet the needs of small to large venues, passive speakers are ideal for clubs and entertainment venues, houses of worship, auditoriums and theaters, arenas and stadiums, and business PA systems.
Passive Speaker Recommendations
Passive Subwoofer Recommendations
MAKING AN INFORMED SPEAKER PURCHASE
Understanding the basics of loudspeakers can help you avoid getting caught up in the terminology and make a better-informed purchase. Whether you’re a professional audio engineer, a novice listener, or anywhere in between—nobody wants to spend their valuable time digging through thousands of options before finding the speaker that’s right for them! By knowing whether to filter by “passive” or “powered” options, you’ve already narrowed down your search significantly.
Looking to find the right loudspeaker
even faster? Get personalized suggestions to meet your specific application when you
reach out to one of our knowledgeable
Account Managers at info@soundpro.com or 800.203.5611!
Laura Strommen – Web Content Specialist
Joining the SoundPro team in July 2021, Laura brings her English degree and over five years’ experience as a content writer and copy editor.
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Hold Up, What are Active and Passive Speakers?
Good question! Let's back up a bit and explain the differences between each type of speaker. In the simplest terms, an active speaker is one that has its own amplifier built into the cabinet. A passive speaker draws its power from an external amp and is connected to that amp via speaker wire. Passive speakers tend to be for home use. Active speakers are commonly seen in pro audio for pa systems and monitors but also are used in consumer audio for subwoofers, bluetooth speakers as well as some other home audio speakers. There are also differences between the crossover configurations of these speakers, more on that later.
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OK Got It. Which is Better?
As usual, which speaker will be best for you depends on what you'll be using it for as well as your specific needs. So to answer the question of which is better, we'll have to cop out with a noncommittal, "it depends". Instead of over-simplifying things, let's take an in depth look at the advantages of both passive and active speakers.As usual, which speaker will be best for you depends on what you'll be using it for as well as your specific needs. So to answer the question of which is better, we'll have to cop out with a noncommittal, "it depends". Instead of over-simplifying things, let's take an in depth look at the advantages of both passive and active speakers.
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Passive Speaker Benefits
With passive speakers you just need to run a speaker wire connection. With an active speaker it needs to be plugged into AC power, so you'll need to make sure that it's close enough to a wall outlet, unless you want extension cords running all over your living room. Since speaker wire typically comes in 100 foot spools , it makes passive speakers a bit easier to place. But another thing to keep in mind is that if you are using a powered speaker for home theater use, you'll need another cable coming from the preamp/processor . So that means you'll have two cables going to the speaker, one from the wall outlet and another from the pre/pro. Now if you are just wiring directly from a phone or some other device that is close by that's not a big deal, but if the source of the audio will be a distance away you're looking at twice as many wires going to an active speaker in comparison with a passive one.
With a passive speaker if you want to get more power or maybe go fromsolid state to tube or Class A/B to Class D, it's easy, you go out and buy a new amp and then hook it up to your new speakers. Boom, upgraded! With an active speaker it's not so easy and in some cases may actually be impossible. Now in terms of upgrading an amp, that doesn't usually come up because the amp that is included should be the best match for the speaker's specifications. Perhaps you could improve on it, but there's a good chance that the manufacturer included the particular amp because that's what the speaker needed to perform optimally. However, when an amplifier in an active speaker ceases to function, you'll need to replace that amp in order to avoid having a very expensive doorstop. Hopefully the manufacturer has replacement amps on hand and it's not too difficult to replace without damaging the cabinet. Sometimes both are the case, but often times one or the other is not, especially when dealing with a speaker that has a few years on it. If it's a model that has been discontinued for a while, there's a decent chance that parts are no longer available. In that scenario the speaker is probably out of warranty and you're looking at replacing the entire unit. In other cases the manufacturer may have replacement amps but they aren't really easily swapped out and you'll have to send the speaker back for a technician to install the new amp. When that happens, you may be on the hook for shipping costs as well as parts and labor if you are out of warranty and you'll also be without your speaker for however long it takes for shipping and the repair. In short, since a passive speaker doesn't have its own amplifier, there's no complicated electronics that can fail, and you get to choose the amplifier you use to power the speaker.
Since passive speakers don't have built in amplifiers they tend to be lighter than active speakers. This is a more pronounced difference with traditional Class A/B amps than with Class D amps like the ones we use in our active speakers here at Aperion, which are actually quite light. So if an active speaker does use a Class A/B amp which will typically have a heavy heat sink, it may not be so easy to wall mount in your home.
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Active Speaker Benefits
As we mentioned, with an active speaker you are usually going to be locked into the amp that was included in the enclosure. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact in a well designed speaker it is a very good thing. Because the drivers, crossover and amp have all been specifically selected to work together, you shouldn't have to worry about over or under powering the speaker. For more information about crossovers and how they work, read The Aperion Guide to Crossovers . While it's always possible to blow out a speaker, it should be much more difficult when using an active speaker that has an amp that was engineered or chosen just for that speaker. Furthermore, since they are all part of one coherent design, you can get increased performance from an active speaker, especially in terms of bass extension and overall output. In general you can drive an active speaker relatively hard without worrying about damaging the amp or speaker.
Finally, and this is becoming more and more of a crucial advantage, you can send a wireless signal directly to an active speaker. The reason is that we do not yet have the ability to send power wirelessly, we still need to rely on those pesky cables to send any type of amplified signal. Now wireless power is something that always seems to be on the horizon, yet never quite materializes. Check out this article from 2014 saying that wireless power is here. And yet, neither you nor I have wireless power in our house. While I'm sure it will happen at some point, until it does any wireless signal, be it Bluetooth or WiFi, needs to be amplified before it can be heard by our ears. So if you want to have a simple set up of just your Bluetooth enabled device and the speaker with nothing in between, that speaker needs to be active. Now these days many A/V Receivers feature Bluetooth capability, but a lot of people don't want to invest into an expensive AVR and just want to stream audio right to a speaker. Which is where the myriad of Bluetooth speakers out there come in to play, including our own Allaire Bookshelves . Since they are active, you simply plug them in, connect to your phone and stream away.