Alex: Bypassing most ( if not all ) of the internal crossover parts can do wonders in terms of clarity, detail and dynamics. The exceptions to bypassing would be if the designer has built in zobel networks and / or notch filters. One would have to experiment to see if these were truly necessary after switching to an external active crossover.
As such, going "active" with an unknown commodity such as store-bought speakers can be a real learning experience. Obviously, the first thing that one should do in that type of situation would be to consult the designer of the speaker being used and discuss the variables with them. Quite honestly though, my experience is that many designers of passive speaker systems have very little first-hand experience with an active array. Finding speakers that have a very simple passive crossover would be easiest to "disect" and convert to full active models. Sean
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