Active or passive?

As to why there aren’t more active speakers available, I think it’s due to the flexibility of picking your own amp at your comfortable price point and also being able to upgrade in the future. So you have both flexibility of sound characteristics as well as being able to spend less upfront with the option to improve your system later as funds allow. But that’s just my guess.

A pretty good guess and something Andrew Jones pointed out yesterday in his presentation to the San Francisco Audio Society. He admitted the amplifiers in his active speaker design takes away consumer flexibility, but he also talked about the benefits from a design perspective, especially removing the crossovers you that do nothing but color the sound with their "EQ". The presentation also included a demonstration of two ELAC Navis active designs, a book shelf and floor stander, neither use DSP in the design. Both were quite good and are priced very reasonably at approximately $2500 and $4500 respectively per pair.

Active...over 'n out. ;)

The best crossover is no crossover. Having said that I have not ever heard a speaker do low bass well. Maybe there is one out there but I have not heard it. So, we are stuck with subwoofers. I am going to side with George on this one. If you have not heard a subwoofer managed by a digital crossover with phase and time alignment as well as room control you are missing out on an incredible experience. The only other way to integrate a subwoofer is by shear luck and hours of tinkering. I have to say I was never real lucky in this regard. I can integrate any subwoofer in a few minutes with comprehensive digital bass management. 
Most of our program sources are now digital and in digital there is no distortion just numbers. You do need two more DAC channels and a way to match volumes (The amps I use for subwoofers have gain controls for each channel.) 
Now what about no crossovers elsewhere? My Acoustats have no cross overs now. I use a single Sowter transformer to drive each speaker. Sound Labs speakers have no cross over and I am sure there are others.
I think this is part of the magic with full range ESLs. A subwoofer however is even more mandatory with them although the manufacturers will argue otherwise. It takes a very large subwoofer system to match up with an 8 foot tall ESL and again digital bass management is essential.

I'm on the other side of the no speaker does bass well argument.  I own Vandersteen Quatro's as I've said.  Vandersteen is the only manufacture I know of who integrates the sub amp the way he does.  The amp takes on the same sound characteristics as the main amp.  All his subs integrate an 11 band analog eq, which smooths things out in most any room (I have a difficult room for bass and it worked like a charm).  IF I had the money adn ability to use two more of his subs, it would be what's done with the Swarm system.  The best of all worlds.  

If you want to talk highest of high end, I have heard the Vandersteen sub 9 system in Ft Collins, CO and it was amazing.  I've heard the highest end Wilson's, the top end Tidal as well as many other mega high end speakers, but the Vandy hit the perfect notes.  It's not cheap, but bass in any of our products is the most expensive part of the build for many reasons.

I personally have yet to hear DSP that I have liked.  You do hear the difference if your system is set up properly.  It's easier of course, but I know I'm not the only and even one designer of a major brand who uses it, told me that 'of course you can hear it, but that is a compromise I made, because it will sell better."

All designers make compromises and we just need to figure out which ones we live with when we make our decisions.  

I would assume that Jone's shared that and I'm not surprised in the least that his active speakers sounded very good.  Most of his designs aren't my cup of tea (I have liked a few of the lower priced Elac's when mated with the right amp as they are not forgiving), but he does great job and has since his AE days.  Most speaker designers are concerned with the US market wanting to 'match their own electronics' and also competing with their partners who make components to drive their speakers.  It's a bit political to say the least.

Think about it.  If all speakers were active, then we would just go in and listen to speakers and figure out which ones we liked the best without tuning and playing around.  We would then have to find the best sources to go with our active speakers and cables to hook them up.  Hey, we would still be able to get better power cords, lol....

Fun debate as there is no right or wrong.  

Actually one of the benefits of active is it makes all the gear in front of it much easier to hear.  I have never heard as much difference in cables, preamps, DAC's, turntables as with actives.  With Passives the finer details of different preamps and cables are often obscured as many of these changes are subtle-  image, resolution, reverb tails, [original recording] room sound, etc.  The very things that become easier to hear from passive to [properly executed] active.

I think active will cause one to change the front end much more than before and make discussions and evals of DAC's and cables much deeper.  
Brad