powered towers....

[f0rge]

did a search and counldnt find what i was looking for so...

assuming we're talking about good quality stuff here, what do you guys think about powered towers and how they compare with standard 3-way towers?

if powering the speakers was not a problem which would you think would be better for stereo/HT(without standalone sub)? (mostly stereo)

do powered towers tend to have a gap in the low mids?

basically i think i like the deep hard hitting bass you get from powered towers but somehow they seem gimmicky to me, not sure why...

[topspeed]

assuming we're talking about good quality stuff here, what do you guys think about powered towers and how they compare with standard 3-way towers?
That's like asking which do you prefer, blondes, brunettes, or redheads? It's different from person to person


if powering the speakers was not a problem which would you think would be better for stereo/HT(without standalone sub)? (mostly stereo) A powered tower can potentially save you some dough as you won't necessarily need a powered sub like you will with passive speakers in HT apps.


do powered towers tend to have a gap in the low mids? Depends on the design. I've listened to the Energy Audisey 5+2's at length and they don't exhibit any such deficiencies. HOWEVER, if some doughnut wants to crank the beejeezus out of the built-in subs, I can easily see how the lows could simply overwhelm the rest of the speaker.


basically i think i like the deep hard hitting bass you get from powered towers but somehow they seem gimmicky to me, not sure why... There are some VERY good companies that are designing speaker w/ built-in subs such as DefTech, NHT, Energy, Von Schweikert, Coincident (not sure on that one), Martin Logan, and probably a ton of others I'm forgetting. The design is attractive to marketing types because it allows the buyer to save floorspace that would otherwise be lost to a sub. Whether or not the design is right for you can only be decided by you.

Good luck

[JSE]

did a search and counldnt find what i was looking for so...

assuming we're talking about good quality stuff here, what do you guys think about powered towers and how they compare with standard 3-way towers?

if powering the speakers was not a problem which would you think would be better for stereo/HT(without standalone sub)? (mostly stereo)

do powered towers tend to have a gap in the low mids?

basically i think i like the deep hard hitting bass you get from powered towers but somehow they seem gimmicky to me, not sure why...

I have Boston Acoustic VR965 towers with built in subs. I love them. Unfortunately they are no longer made. The subs provide nice deep accurate bass without the need for an external sub. However, this will depend on your room as with any sub, external or internal. They are a bit fussy in terms of placement but once dialed in, they are very nice. As Topspeed mentioned, you can crank them up and they will overpower the rest of the speaker but who would do that? I have the subs pretty dialed down and they provide plenty of bass for me. They will easily shack the walls with DVDs. Built in sub are not gimmicks. Some like them, some don't. I am sure I could get more bass with a big HSU sub but how much bass does one need. Like I said, these give me all I could ever want.

JSE

[Geoffcin]

did a search and counldnt find what i was looking for so...

assuming we're talking about good quality stuff here, what do you guys think about powered towers and how they compare with standard 3-way towers?

if powering the speakers was not a problem which would you think would be better for stereo/HT(without standalone sub)? (mostly stereo)

do powered towers tend to have a gap in the low mids?

basically i think i like the deep hard hitting bass you get from powered towers but somehow they seem gimmicky to me, not sure why...

The Cambridge Soundworks T500. And it makes a BIG difference when your using a receiver. Most receivers, even good ones are underpowered. With a powered speaker your recievers amp is less likely to clip on dynamic passages. For me the big plus was that I don't need to have a sub for my HT, as I've already got two subs in the room, and there's just not enough room for another one.

[Woochifer]

did a search and counldnt find what i was looking for so...

assuming we're talking about good quality stuff here, what do you guys think about powered towers and how they compare with standard 3-way towers?

if powering the speakers was not a problem which would you think would be better for stereo/HT(without standalone sub)? (mostly stereo)

do powered towers tend to have a gap in the low mids?

basically i think i like the deep hard hitting bass you get from powered towers but somehow they seem gimmicky to me, not sure why...

In general, I'm not a fan of powered towers. A lot of the ones I've heard have an overly boomy sounding bass, and they are not as flexible as using a subwoofer. First off, the placement for main speakers is typically along the middle of the front wall where you have the least bass reinforcement. You can always turn up the gain, but what that could wind up doing is accenting the frequencies where you have standing waves, which leads to a boomy sound. At least with a subwoofer, you have some flexibility to find a different location where the bass response is more even.

Because powered towers are full range speakers with a built-in subwoofer, you won't get the kind of lower midrange frequency gap like you typically find with mini satellite systems.

Powered towers are not gimmicky. They can pound out very deep bass, and they have the flexibility to take a separate LFE output or crossover signal. With home theater, the extra range can come in handy because so many DVD soundtracks now have sounds that extend well below 25 Hz. With music, you typically have less of the deep bass, and the more subjective advantages of relieving the receiver and main speakers from having to handle the lows is up to your ears.

You might want to try out several different powered tower models and see how they compare with the nonpowered versions. In general, I preferred the nonpowered ones, but on the other hand, I did not take any time in those demo rooms to tinker with the settings, so the demos might have gone better with more time spent with the setup.

[f0rge]

thanks guys, i guess i'll just have to do some more listening

powering whatever i buy shouldnt be a problem, i have an adcom gfa555 that powers everything i've ever owned/tried

i was looking pretty seriously at some deftechs that were pretty awesome, now if i could only get to the B&W dealer that's out by my way

[N. Abstentia]

Powered Towers have their place. They certanly will run circles around any passive 3 way system, but are not anywhere near as good as a stand-mount bookshelf with a good subwoofer. Of course if you have no place to put a sub then the powered towers are a good alternative. The problem lies in the placement. When you place the towers where the mids/highs sound right, it's usually the worst place for a sub. Then if you stick them in a corner for the sub's sake, then of course your mids/highs are junk so you have to find that balance.