Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
What Hi-Fi?
What Hi-Fi?
Technology
Ketan Bharadia

Active vs passive speakers: what's the difference? Which is better?

ATC SCM20ASL active speakers.

In their simplest form, traditional stereo hi-fi systems consist of a source component, an integrated amplifier and a pair of passive speakers. Pretty straightforward, right?

But if you break down the signal path, it can be split into a greater number of distinct sections, most of which are lumped together in this simple set-up.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.