# What is a passive studio monitor and can it be used for home theater?



## goodears (Jan 2, 2013)

I saw in another thread somewhere where they recommended Behringer studio monitors for cheap fronts for a limited budget. What I saw was a "passive" monitor. What does "passive" mean and can you use that for home theater? Thanks for any insight.


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

An active speaker will typically have a built-in amplifier (this is common for stage and studio gear). A passive speaker requires power from an external amp such as a receiver. Almost all home audio/home theater speakers are passive, so the Behringers will work in the same way.


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## goodears (Jan 2, 2013)

Peter Loeser said:


> An active speaker will typically have a built-in amplifier (this is common for stage and studio gear). A passive speaker requires power from an external amp such as a receiver. Almost all home audio/home theater speakers are passive, so the Behringers will work in the same way.


They don't seem to have regular speaker hookup posts, so maybe it won't work anyway.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

What do you mean by regular hook up posts? I believe the Behringer's have a pretty standard 5 way binding post. Which speaker are you considering?


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## goodears (Jan 2, 2013)

nova said:


> What do you mean by regular hook up posts? I believe the Behringer's have a pretty standard 5 way binding post. Which speaker are you considering?


I was looking at lots of monitors at Guitar Center and they all had plugins like for a guitar or something. I think I had them confused with powered monitors. I did an image search and saw you were right. Thanks.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

goodears said:


> I was looking at lots of monitors at Guitar Center and they all had plugins like for a guitar or something. I think I had them confused with powered monitors. I did an image search and saw you were right. Thanks.


Which models were you looking at? Both JBL and Dynaudio both offer Active Monitors starting at around $400 a pair that are quite nice. There will be no binding post as the connection will be the choice of an XLR (Balanced) or RCA Connector that is connected to the Preamp Output of an AVR/SSP. In addition, they require a nearby power outlet for the amplifier in the speaker. Passive Monitors do have Binding Posts of some kind as there is not a built in amplifier.


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