I Was Considering Active, Then I Watched This ...

Unfortunately phusis, your view towards active speakers is simple, just the replacement of passive crossover to active crossover. There is far more possible in terms of active speaker development that cannot be implemented in this piece-wise fashion.  Not to mention very few have the tools, knowledge, or space to develop their own crossovers effectively. It is not something that can be done by ear, and done well, requires either a large space for effective gated measurement and/or an anechoic chamber. The goal is not "okay" it is great.

Further, so now it’s being said that you can have an "active" speaker without the amps in the box! 

The JBL M2 doesn't have the amps in the speaker. GGNTKT builds active speakers with all the DSP, amplification,  DAC in an external box. 

Russbutton, you present like a savant.  These posts wander and I find the lyrics “frequently wrong, but never in doubt” apropos.

My ATCs came by way of a deal struck with a high end shop showing interest in the line.  I committed the finances for a deal cut with an agreement to leave them in the store for two months before taking possession.

In those two months they scared customers with all of the positive attributes of active.  Every one loved them...no one ordered a pair.  A confusing outcome for the owner and sales people.

The true listening test is simply within one’s own space, not at a show.  Those of us in the active camp are simply trying to share our excitement of conversion.  After all, rare is it that someone has lived in the world of true quality active and then changes teams.

celtic66

Honestly, I was moved by your post. Thank you for sharing.
I didn’t realize the there was so much passion regarding this subject. Obviously, more than I imagined.
I thank you all for contributions. A lot of the technical jargon is over my head, but I am just happy that my post has generated so much interest and discussions. I really look forward to reading more of all your thoughts on this subject and learning from the more vested.

Just an update on the Buchardt as they now offering mastertunings  for
the A700. They even have amastertuning which the A500 does not. Being a 3.5 way speaker the A700 does not need as many variations of the mastertuning programs according to Buchardt. They will be releasing a new app that has an advanced EQ so you can create your own sound profiles for them. When this is released they would also delete many of the balance mastertunings for the A500. The mastertunings are meant to do dramatic design changes such as 2.5 way or 3 way design on the A500, Cardioid or standard on the A700. From there the rest can be done via the app much faster and easier.
Sounds intriguing...