Active vs Passive Speakers | Do You Need An Amplifier?

if you're wondering if you need an amplifier for your speakers the short answer is yes every speaker requires an amplifier although some speakers have an amplifier built in so in this video i'll help you determine if you're using an active speaker with a built-in amplifier or a passive speaker that requires an external amplifier like i said there are two basic types of speakers when it comes to how they get their power active and passive an active speaker has an amplifier built in and accepts line level or sometimes mic level signals a passive speaker accepts a speaker level signal from an external amp the easiest way to tell the difference is to determine if the speaker connects to power or not if your speaker has a power cable that connects to the wall or if it's battery powered it's an active speaker if your speaker's passive it will receive its power from that external amp the input connectors used on a speaker are also a good indicator active speakers will commonly have xlr inputs quarter inch inputs 8 inch or 3.5 millimeter inputs and some even have the ability to receive signal via bluetooth or wi-fi passive speakers on the other hand will usually have a positive and negative terminal quarter inch inputs or speak on inputs you'll notice that a quarter inch input could be found on either a passive or an active speaker the important thing to note here is that although these inputs look the same the type of cable you should use is not the same when connecting an amplifier to a passive speaker you'll use a quarter inch speaker cable and when connecting a mixer output or some other output to an active speaker you'll use an instrument cable or a trs cable the main benefit of active speakers is simplicity and ease of setup you just connect the speaker to power or charge its battery and then connect the output of your mixer or other signal source to the speaker's input if the speaker has a mic level input you can even connect a dynamic microphone directly to the speaker when using a passive speaker the external amp will connect to power and the line level signal from your mixer your receiver or your source will be sent to the input of the amplifier amplified and sent out of the amplifier at speaker level to the speaker another benefit of active speakers is that the amplifier and the digital signal processing or dsp built into the cabinet is oftentimes specifically designed for that speaker on the other hand passive speaker manufacturers often produce their own amplifiers with presets for their speakers passive speakers have traditionally been more common because they're generally more lightweight than active speakers and they don't require power outlets at each speaker location like active speakers do however active speakers have become much more common over recent years amplifiers have become much lighter allowing for more power output with less weight and also poe or power over ethernet has made it possible to send signal via a network protocol like dante and power via a network switch over the same cable to lightweight speakers distributed through a building active and passive speakers both have their place and it's ultimately up to you to decide which is best for your situation if you want some help choosing the right speakers visit audio university audiouniversityonline.com speaker specs guide to download a free guide to the most important specifications you should consider

Channel: Audio University

Views: 109,349

Keywords: active speakers, passive speakers, active vs passive speakers, active vs passive subwoofer, active speaker setup, passive speaker setup, do i need an amp, do i need an amplifier for home theater, active speakers vs passive speakers, active speakers setup, passive speakers setup, amp and speaker setup, amp and speaker matching, active subwoofer, passive subwoofer, speaker cable vs trs, powered speaker, active speakers vs passive speakers sound quality

Id: ltMPK8gN3X0

Length: 3min 30sec (210 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 13 2022