[/quote]With the passives in, sound can be heard coming from the speakers, and the soundstage lost focus, but was more.....engaging actually. It's interesting.
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With the active Meridians I sold, the sound always came from the speakers, no outside imaging at all. I still liked the speakers. With the MS-442's and a David Berning amp, the sound was huge, one of the largest soundstage I have ever had. It was very transparent and 3D. The speakers totally disappeared.