Pro Audio Review - June 2008 - (Page 30) STUDIO | Feature MONITORS Continued From Page 28 time to time, a powered speaker will fail. But passive speakers also fail: they fail because an external amplifier that is too small to provide adequate power delivers distorted audio to the speaker and damages the drivers. Conversely, overpowering drivers can cause them to fail. In a powered speaker, amplification is optimized for each transducer. To ensure reliability, JBL powered speakers must survive a torturous100 hour power test playing at full output before the design is frozen. BILL BUSH: The benefits of an active powered monitor get even more critical as you get into the realm of more “affordable” monitors. The more the drivers, amplifiers, enclosure and crossover can be designed together as a unit, the higher the performance can be for a given budget. Active crossover cost does not rise significantly with increased complexity allowing the designer to use the crossover shape, slope, and frequency that makes the system work best, whereas passive crossovers tend to be very “limited” in an “affordable” system. These “limited” passive crossovers tend to have looser tolerances and higher distortion with increased playback levels (in addition to the increased driver distortion that all loudspeakers have active or passive) Response shaping is very easily accomplished in an active system helping to allow design decisions to be made for lower distortion and increased linearity as opposed to flat frequency response. Thus combined with the active crossover the final system can have flat frequency response and lower distortion than could be achieved with a passive system. PAR: What markets do your active and passive studio monitors serve these days? PETER CHAIKIN : Virtually all music production studios and commercial studios use powered near-field monitors. Some high-end commercial recording facilities still use passive installed systems, although many of them now use active crossovers and bi-amp or tri-amp those speakers. JBL’s passive LSR 6332 is used in DVD mastering and sound design applications where soffit mounting, extraordinary SPL and very linear response are required. Cinema applications are still largely passive, primarily because the infrastructure is set up for passive speakers. Amps with processing and fans are installed in an outboard room, and the speakers behind the screen and the surround speakers are passive. JBL ScreenArray® Cinema systems are widely used in theaters are also used on dubbing stages to emulate what the audience is going to hear in a theater. With the increasing demand for 5.1 surround sound programming, TV and post production facilities are installing our LSR43000 Series networked powered speakers, designed for surround sound production. BILL BUSH: We have four lines, three active and one passive. The active line starts with Rokit, which is targeted at home and project studios, but we also see them in DJ booths, front-of-house setups and smaller rooms in pro facilities. Our VXT line serves a more discerning audience in these markets, and is also gaining popularity in broadcast and post-production facilities. The Expose is SUPERIOR SOUND NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD Introducing the latest additions to the Violet Design family Versatile large-diaphragm studio condenser microphone Wedge shape effectively reduces plosive sounds and wind/pop/breath noises Innovative free-standing design results in more open, detailed sound from any angle First stage circuit is close to the capsule for improved sound quality The Wedge Pearl Ultimate handheld vocal condenser microphone Newly developed suspension system reduces handling noise to an absolute minimum Medium-sized single diaphragm capsule provides high acoustic transparency Handles sound pressure levels up to 144dB Vocal violetusa.com 30 | ProAudio Review | June 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://violetusa.com http://violetusa.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
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