John Gatski is the Publisher & Executive Editor of Pro Audio Review.
With all the buzz about Digidesign getting into the powered studio speaker market and the zillions of other powered monitors seemingly coming out of the woodwork, I wanted to mention companies that still make models for those who still like to use passive speakers. You remember passive speakers? You hook them via speaker cables to a separate amplifier, which is, in turn, hooked to your mixer or other monitor source.
PAR gets very few new passive speaker products for testing anymore, except for the ones I go out and actively (pardon the pun) track down. Many are from the hi-fi side of the business, which audiophiles and a number of high-end mastering engineers use. Most of these companies that still make passive speakers do not push those versions to the pro market that hard, figuring powered speakers have taken over the business.
Long-time manufacturer Westlake Audio still produces pro models in the LC series, which includes six models such as the outstanding LC 265.1 center channel; it delivers about the best dialog sound I have ever heard. The company makes numerous other passives under the Hi-Fi series. None of the Westlakes are cheap, but their build-quality is first rate as is the sound.
With all its active speaker success with the LSR Series, speaker giant JBL also manufactures some pro passive speakers. The premium LSR-6332 3-way is still produced and has been updated with the latest driver technology. TC Electronic-owned Dynaudio offers the BM5, BM6, and the BM 12 among its passive monitors. Tannoy also has a number of amp-less speakers.
I know a lot of high-end mastering engineers who use audiophile/hi-fi speakers for monitoring. Lipinski Sound offers the excellent L Series and accompanying subwoofer. And you can even make them active by adding their separate amp-stand mounted amplifier.
Legacy Audio produces a full line of passives — main speakers and surrounds including the acclaimed Classic, Focus and Studio — that are upgraded for 2007. Miller-Kreisel is another company you don’t hear much from anymore, but they still produce outstanding passive speakers to go along with their state-of-the-art subwoofers. I also have to mention that active speaker players, such as ADAM (H Series) and ATC and K-H, also manufacture passive versions of their powered speakers.
If you want to stick with passive monitors, many models are still out there — pro and hi-fi models — but not as front and center as in the old days.
What Is Old Is Not Always Gold!
In the pro audio industry, new technologies come and go; some products hold their value while others go obsolete quickly. We can all sympathize with the “what I paid then and what I sold it for” syndrome.
I recently did a scan of previous generation digital recorders just to see what they are worth on the used market. How about the high-end PCM standard from the 1990s — a Sony DASH multitrack PCM-3324 or 3348 machine — which many a major label recording was captured on. They had a retail price up to $200,000. I just found a used one on an Internet site for $6,000.
How about my trusty Sony PCM-R700 DAT machines from the ‘90s: made in Japan, four-motors, monitor head, switchable SBM and about $3,000 new. I just found a good used one for $299.
What about the multitrack for the masses — the VHS tape-based Alesis ADAT? A couple of grand new, I’ve seen some black faced ones for $100 and silver XTs for $250.
How about high-end standalone CD recorders? Remember when the real-time recorder was the only burn-a-CD game in town? Computer burners were barely a blip in the mid-‘90s. My Fostex CR-300 was more than $2,000 in 1997. I recently found one used for $200; a new old stock unit was selling for $699 (and good luck with that).
Some products, such as vintage mics, processors and even analog multitracks, can hold and sometimes increase in value. But in this fast-paced world of lower cost, new digital product introductions and new technologies, the guy who does not mind using last year’s (or the year before that) model benefits greatly. Now where was that Mitsubishi X80 I saw for $300 (and what is 50 kHz sampling)?
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