active speakers, Paradise? Trouble in paradise?

With a tight budget, KRK VXT8 are amazing active speakers for under 1200/pr. It gives active-newbies a slight taste of what full fledge active speaker system can do.

Active x/o actually solves loads of problems. What's the logic (or benefit) of taking the amplified signal and dumping it into yet another circuit? Passive is for the plug-n-play crowd.

Blindjim, I can appreciate that you're always asking questions, always seeking new angles on the audio game. It's that kind of curiosity which leads to some great breakthroughs.

I also wondered just what the difference would be between active and passive crossovers, so I conducted an informal experiment to find out for myself. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of active x-over to a degree I did not expect. I now use the speaker - you'll see the setup and test criteria in the review - in active mode for reviewing; it's that much superior to passive x-over mode.

When you read the article you will find that I am not yet a fan of active amplification; I find that I prefer to have complete flexibility in matching the amp to the rest of the system. This is especially so with Class D amps. I requested Legacy Audio not put the Icepower amps in the speaker but that it use all outboard amplification, a decision which imo took the speaker to a much higher level of performance. The influence of outboard x-over design is pervasive and powerful on the speakers.

http://dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=816

There's currently a pair of Paradigm Active 40s listed for sale on this site @ $950. These may not quite compare with ATCs, et al, but offer an opportunity to "go active" with a (nearly) full range loudspeaker for a very low price of admission. Some time ago, I had the bookshelf Paradigm Active 20s in a second system and thought they represented great value.

Good Luck,

Marty

The best for the budget so fare are Event Opal nearfield active monitors powered by over 400Wpc of continuous power.
It's mainly sold in pro-audio stores but performance is on the reference level of high-def standards. They retail for $3000/pr.

Disclosure: I do not sell them nor authorized dealer. They're for purchase at fullcompas.com or bhphotovideo.com.