Shadorne: Thanks for the in-depth info, although I'm not sure I totally understand everything.
One of the reviewers of the DigiDesign RM2 by PMC stated this: "Unlike analog active speakers, the Digidesign/PMC speaker converts the analog to digital to enable high frequency and low frequency control, as well as the crossover, bass-port emulation and speaker gain. The digital signal is converted back to analog before the final amplifier stage."
He goes on to say "Many speakers companies convert analog to digital in their active speaker systems, and I can attest that many sound very good. But I have talked to high-end engineers who say that multiple stages of digital conversion within a speaker could have a subtle, perhaps audibly degrading effect that could offset the excellent crossover performance capable in a digital design."
I believe you are saying the same thing. I am going back and forth between the Focal, DigiDesign, and possibly one of the baby PMC monitors.