That’s a good one. I reread my posting and I realized that without the context of EMG pickups knowledge many would be lost, 
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In general, the cheaper the pickups the more volume it produces right off the bat a good example of this would be the Sterling ray 4. It’s just loud. It makes sense in the way entry level or student model is usually paired with entry level amp with Lowe power output, so it helps to have some strong signal from the get go.
Anyways back to the question, most active system are the combination of passive pickups and active preamp that boost the signal, that’s the closest to the EMG X series. The regular active EMG’s magnet is much less powerful than the one you see on the normal passive magnet, this is a really good thing because you can now get much less magnet interference from magnet to strings. And you get more tonal spectrum out of it.
18v power plant is not just about doubling the volume power but at least on the EMG. It increases the volume ceiling so you get more range when you dial the knob and at the end of the knob range you don’t get clipped. The Aguilar OBP-2 and 3 is doing the same thing as well as Delano Sonar system running 18v. It’s very useful in a live performance.
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Thanks 
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Generally the loudness difference Al describes is due to using ceramic magnets rather than AlNiCo. Ceramic magnets are stronger and less expensive than AlNiCo and also produce different tonal properties.
Note that this does not mean they are low quality. I actually greatly prefer ceramic pickups for bass - usually they are punchier and richer in the mids, everything else being equal. They make excellent rock and punk pickups.
I am even considering buying another SBV-550 because I prefer its ceramic YGD R202 P pickup over the AlNiCo A202 in my SBV-800MF. Both are outstanding but I just prefer ceramic.
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I was re-reading about the difference between ceramics and AlNiCo this afternoon.
I am thinking about some ceramic jazz pickups in my cheap bass which currently has very quiet lipsticks (AlNiCo I think)
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I also find that the X system is not as loud as the regular active EMG. Also not as loud as EMG GZR, if I remember correctly.
I was very irritated about that first.
There are two major differences:
- the extended headroom: it sounds like the EMG X can go lower and higher at the same time, which gives it a very rich tone.
- Sensitivity: it sounds less compressed, and you need to be a little more be carefull with touching the strings (fingering / plucking). I had to get used to it, but it’s really great, as you need to be more disciplened. And you can always use a compressor to correct mistakes
I don’t see a reason for having more that 9v … it already sounds impressive!
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And somehow this tread went from “don’t change yer pickups “ ….
to “aftermarket pickups I like”
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I’m quite happy with my pickups!! As the video states, a lot of tone is in your fingers, the type of bass and the effects / amplification chain…
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Actually, as a bit of a case study, I have a ln Ibanez EHB1000S. It’s a short scale and one of the often cited critiques of this bass is that they sound “muddy”. I’ve heard of people changing out pickups to chase away that muddiness. The reality is that it’s pretty easy to get it sounding dark and brooding, but it’s also pretty easy to get it sounding brighter. It’s all in where and how you choose engage with the strings, how you set up the on board EQ, and what you play the bass into - the effects chain and amp / cab (sims). Granted, it will never sound like my Dingwall, but then it is a different bass, with far shorter stings. But it is versatile, in its own right.
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Absolutely, just like mr Sklar’s producer switch that you can find on this forum 
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The DiMarzio Model J is a good ceramic, noise cancelling pickup set
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I have an EHB1005MS with the Bartolinis (same as yours) and an EHB1500 with the Nordstrands and the Nordys have a log more clarity.
But not enough for me to swap them out of the 1005. Which has a lot of useful tones on its own. But the Nordy is a much better pickup.
The Nordy is basically a split pickup in soapbar form, so you get something akin to a double P sound which is nice.
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That switch is GOD tier 
LMAO
Amazing the tone you get from it
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That’s probably because it’s likely muddy in comparison to other pickups
Totally true, where and how you play will affect the tone to some extent…
…but this sentence is not true. It’s simply a fact that a brighter pickup at the source will always sound better and brighter than a muddy one; all of those things in the effects chain affect it too, and most of them are more effective in a subtractive way than additive. Even if you boost the treble EQ, if the higher harmonics weren’t so good to begin with, it will still have limited utility compared to a better pickup.
The simple fact is, a pickup swap is probably among the cheapest and most effective serious upgrades you can do for an instrument if you have issues with the stock tone.
So, while I am sure you are right that there’s a lot of useful tone wih he stock pickups, if the stock ones are a bit muddy, there will be even better tone with better pickups.
But the real question is how much does this really matter. And I agree with Josh on that one; to some extent, pickups DO get winesnobbed a bit and once in the mix, this matters a lot less to anyone except the bass player and producer doing the mix.
So, we change pickups because WE like the new ones better, not because it’s really necessary.
I certainly have had many outstanding stock pickups before; in fact more than I have had bad ones. It depends on each individual model. The only ones I have felt really needed to be swapped were all Fenders
I believe this.
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We’re beyond help 
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Forgot to add at $170 for the set they are reasonably priced as pickups go
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And I think that’s the point. The basses are different and generate different tones.
There’s a lack of internal logic in your response here, @howard. You agree that where you play on the string affects tone, but then disagree with a sentence that starts by making that point. Perhaps you think I’m saying the pick-up on a particular bass is irrelevant…?
Of course there are brighter basses and ‘darker’ basses. My Dingwall can be very bright, too bright in some cases. The Ibanez can be ‘dark’, but can also be brightened. Clearly not to the extent that the Dingwall can be, but there are many differences between these basses, including string length, pick ups, pick up position, onboard preamp etc. They each have their use case. I actually enjoy both.
Totally agree. Last band practice, I was playing a bass that normally sounds pretty good. The problem was the amp in the practice studio, it was as muddy as hell, if hell can be muddy . No matter what I did, it didn’t sound good.
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I think you missed the bit that went “if your cheap pickups are shitty, better pickups are moar betterer”
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Actually, this reminds me of cycling. Middle aged blokes arguing about upgrades that actually make very little difference in the real world, when most of us are somewhat beyond our ideal ‘racing weight’
Edit: there a phrase, to get faster, don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades. Guess it’s the same with the bass, to get better, don’t buy upgrades, just play more 
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Band practice last night. My Rumble 2x10 wide open and I could barely hear myself over the drummer and 3 guitarists.
I wasn’t thinking about pickup tone at that point.
It was fun though.
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