Many commercial loudspeakers speakers are active designs. Think concerts, studio monitors, etc.
I think digital actives like those from Meridian are really impressive and worth a listen. You have to remember that you are getting a dedicated amplifier for each speaker driver. Everything is matched by design. The older Meridian speakers like DSP5000s, 5500s and 6000s all use class A amplifiers, and are available on the used market at a fraction of their original prices. It can be a lot of trial and error (and $) to match speakers, amps, components and cables in a conventional system.
To address an earlier point, the components need not be in the speaker cabinet for an active speaker design- NHT had an active model where the electronics were in a module separate from the speaker cabinet.
