Visit a pro audio retailer and almost every studio monitor speaker you see will have amplification built in. But visit a high-end audio store and you’ll see mostly old-school passive speakers, which have to be connected to an amplifier. Audio production professionals might wonder why the consumer audio industry hasn’t embraced a technology that’s been the norm in studios for at least 20 years—but audiophiles have their reasons.s..
Pros switched to powered (also known as “active”) monitor speakers primarily because of the precision they offer. With