difference between passive,active and powered monitors

hey all i've just been looken at some monitors, and posts on the forum and it seems the dicission for me is between truth(b2031) , event TR6, and alesis mk2, the pending decission lies in the price, but theres the question,im not exactly sure what the difference between (active), (passive) and (Powered) monitors, and how they affect the sound and how or what they run through.

Passive tend to sound better when coupled with decent amps.

i have the Alesis Mon 1 MK2 (cheap) with a Crest Audio FA2401 series amp, which changes the sound of the alesis monitors to something very special.

bustalot wrote:hey all i've just been looken at some monitors, and posts on the forum and it seems the dicission for me is between truth(b2031) , event TR6, and alesis mk2, the pending decission lies in the price, but theres the question,im not exactly sure what the difference between (active), (passive) and (Powered) monitors, and how they affect the sound and how or what they run through.

Active (powered) is when the monitors have their own amps inside.


Passive (non-powered) is when you need an external amp to push them.

i kind of figured as much, cheers for that. are the amps in these models adequate enough to bypass the amp. (maybe run directly from my 24/96 audiophile), or am i full of it.