Comparison Cabasse Eole 4 vs Dali Fazon Sat 5.1-1

— Active. Acoustic systems equipped with their own built-in power amplifier. A line-level signal (from the preamp) is sufficient for these speakers, making them extremely easy to use. On the other hand, the built-in amplifier requires power, so these speakers have to be plugged into an outlet as well.

— Passive. Speaker systems that do not have a built-in power amplifier. Accordingly, you need to connect such speakers to an external amplifier (or a device that has such an amplifier — for example, an audio receiver), while paying special attention to component compatibility. On the other hand, passive acoustics are considered more suitable for creating high-end audio systems than active ones: it allows you to choose a power amplifier of your choice, moreover, there are no “extra” electronics in the speaker cabinet, which reduces the likelihood of interference.

— Passive / active. Acoustic systems combining passive main speakers with an active subwoofer. For a number of technical reasons, active subwoofers are more convenient than passive ones: in particular, they save the user from having to look for a specialized low-frequency amplifier, and they provide more tuning options (the latter can be useful for “fitting” sound into a particular room). Therefore, many manufacturers produce passive-active kits.

The number of individual speakers provided in each speaker. Do not confuse this parameter with the number of bands described below — several speakers can be responsible for one band; it is believed that this can improve some of the sound parameters, in addition, it allows you to achieve high power with relatively small speaker dimensions. Otherwise, the number of speakers is more of a reference than a practically significant indicator.

If there are speakers with a different number of speakers in the set, the maximum value of this parameter is usually indicated (most often — by the front speaker). In this case, passive radiators(if any, see "Design Features") are not taken into account in the calculation.

The number of distinct frequency bands into which the sound is divided when played back through the speakers. For each such band, a separate speaker is provided, and sometimes several (for more details, see "Number of speakers").

Among multi-band consumer-level models, the most common options are 2 or 3 bands — LF / HF and LF / MF / HF, respectively. A larger number, usually, indicates a high class of acoustics, because. it is more accurately capable of reproducing the signal and, accordingly, is more complicated. But there are also small satellites with one speaker ( single-way) for the case of an undemanding listener.

Note that, in addition to integers, models are also produced with a fractional number of bands — for example, 2.5 or 3.5. This marking indicates the presence in the design of a speaker that is responsible for two bands at once: for example, model 2.5 has separate speakers for bass and treble plus a combined bass + midrange (similar in design to bass, but also loaded with mid frequencies).

Speaker sensitivity.

This characteristic is indicated on the basis of how loud the acoustics are capable of producing when a signal of a certain standard power is applied to it. Simply put, the higher the sensitivity of the speaker, the louder it will sound at the same output power of the amplifier. Thus, sensitive acoustics can be effectively used even in combination with relatively low-power "amplifiers". On the other hand, low sensitivity also has its advantages: it allows you to achieve a more uniform frequency response and reduces the likelihood of overloading the amplifier. In the least sensitive modern speakers, this indicator does not exceed 84 dB, in the most sensitive it is 95 – 96 dB or more.

Note that in fact, you have to pay attention to this parameter when acoustics are planned to be used with a separately selected power amplifier. Therefore, for active systems (see "Type"), sensitivity is purely a reference value, and, usually, it can be ignored when choosing.

Impedance is the nominal electrical impedance of a speaker system. Nowadays, a set of standard impedance values are used; the most widely used speakers are 4 ohms, 6 ohms, 8 ohms and 16 ohms.

This parameter is of primary importance for passive acoustics (see "Type"). When connecting such speakers to a power amplifier, it is highly desirable that their impedance matches the speaker impedance for which the amplifier is designed; in case of a mismatch, either overload and distortion in sound (if the speaker impedance is below optimal), or a decrease in power (in the opposite case), are possible.

As for active acoustics, here the impedance is mainly of reference value — the speakers in such systems are initially selected for the corresponding amplifiers. However there is an opinion that a higher resistance reduces the level of interference and has a positive effect on the purity of the sound; however, the difference in impedance between different models is usually not so great that this effect is noticeable against the background of other factors that determine sound quality.

The crossover frequency provided in the speaker design.

A crossover is installed exclusively in a multi-band model (see "Number of Bands"). This is an electronic filter that ensures the division of the incoming audio signal into separate frequency ranges and directs each range to "its" set of speakers. And the crossover frequency shows where the boundary between these ranges lies. If there are more than two bands, there will be several such boundaries: for example, for a four-band system it may be specified "0.15 / 0.8 / 2.8 kHz" or "0.12 / 1 / 3.8".

In most cases, this parameter has mainly a reference value: the frequencies of the built-in crossover are selected to match the operating characteristics of the speakers installed in the speaker system.

Rated power of one front speaker. See "Total Power Rating" below for details on power rating. Here we note that the higher the power, the louder the system component can sound — of course, with a properly selected amplifier. In addition, this parameter is very important for matching with the amplifier: it is desirable that the output power on the corresponding amplifier channel be less than the power of the speaker. If the incoming signal is more powerful, distortions in the sound and even damage to the speakers are possible, and if it is weaker, then the sound volume will decrease (in other words, it will not be possible to use the full potential of the acoustics), but this moment will be critical only for listening at maximum volume.

Rated output of the rear speaker. See "Front" above for details on power rating.

Rated power of the centre speaker. See "Front" above for details on power rating.