OK, we get it -- you love active speakers, but you're taking it too far. Most speaker designers would probably disagree with you. Even if you were right, there's a million reasons why most audiophiles would still choose passive speakers over active ones, namely due to cost and complexity.
Thanks EB. While I appreciate JLM's apparent experience and insight, the broken-record gets old. Let's stop beating dead horses around here. Right now, JLM's answer to every question is "active speakers". Frankly, most of us are in this as a hobby, which involves experimentation and system-building. This is much easier with discrete components rather than speakers with built-in amps. If we wanted active systems, we could use active outboard crossovers. Besides, the last time I looked I didn't see too many active speakers with SET amps.
I have gone the way of integrated components in the past (and present). While I appreciate the space-efficiency, I generally regret it for a number of reasons:
1. Component failure - I have had a number of sections of an integrated component fail while the remainder worked perfectly fine, forcing me to abandon or work around a partially functioning component. If the amp or crossover in your active speaker fails, you are left trying to rig a solution. How many of us search for a plate amp retrofit for a subwoofer?
2. Functional Obsolescence - This is particularly prevalent in the HT world. While a high-end HT receiver is a great all-in-one solution, the processor section can be rendered useless while the amplifer section is still perfect.
3. System Flexibility - I currently have three system in operation, with the ability of putting 5 or 6 together with a little effort. With each stage broken into discrete components, I can mix and match when changing up systems, when components fail, or I simply wish to experiment.
If "active speakers" were the correct answer to every question, there would be far fewer questions asked, and what is the fun in that? We also must be careful of our own personal bias; most of us have some recency bias, in which whatever we prefer personally at the moment is the "best" solution until, of course, we discover the next "best" solution.
In the history of HiFi, we have constantly "improved" technology, yet some of the most respected and high end systems extant comprose not only technology but actual components of 50 - 60 years ago.
