Thoughts on Active/Passive Speakers? Looking for pros and cons.

Boy I must be living on a different planet. You guys are talking about having an active VS passive crossover. That has ZERO to do with active loudspeaker that have the amplifier/Amplifiers built into the speakers with electronics to provide not only the crossover but also to EQ the speaker. Sonos speakers are an example of "Active" loudspeakers. Active crossovers and bi or tri amping have been around for decades. Whether doing this is better than a well designed passive crossover is a toss up and depends on who you talk to. You are using passive loudspeakers. As long as the amps and crossovers are outboard the speakers are passive. If you think you can do better using an active crossover than the designer's passive crossover you might be sadly mistaken. 

Nope, not at all. You bypass the passive crossovers entirely. Eliminating resistances of the inductors and phase shift and delay of the caps. Solid wire between voice coils and amplifier outputs. You can still use you DSP for corrections if you like...

Eliminating resistances of the inductors and phase shift and delay of the caps.

Nope, you can't eliminate phase shift even with active.

fiesta25, I have been biamping speakers with active crossovers since 1978. I have had no passive crossovers in my system since I got rid of the Divas around 2000. I have said on numerous occasions the best crossover is no crossover. There is a difference in a passive speaker owner selected electronics and an "active" loudspeaker with built in electronics designed specifically for that speaker and for which the owner has no say in the matter. Some of them are only partially active requiring an outboard amp usually to drive the midrange and tweeters. Again, My Sonos 3's are a good example of an active speaker. You just plug them into the wall and you are ready to go (they are also wireless) My Soundlabs are passive speakers and they are driven by JC1's after an active crossover at 120 Hz along with room control and digital EQ. It seems some people here would call them active loudspeakers. That would be incorrect.

@andy2 , sure you can, as long as your active crossover is digital there is no distortion or phase shift.

djones, Using active crossovers is quite simple. You start with the same slopes and crossover points used in the passive crossover and if things sound fine you leave them there. The only danger you have to be aware of is trying to run a tweeter too low down and damaging it. It is difficult o harm a driver with too much power. It will distort like crazy before it blows.
It is underpowered amps clipping that blows drivers. You burn up the voice coils. In my case you burn up the brilliance controls:-)

mijostyn - This is fiesta75 or maybe there is a fiesta25 too. I've been active crossover bi-amping for a couple years longer, but that's not the point. Seriously, you should know by now that an active system is superior in ALL resects, that kinda why you are bi-amping. In this most recent post you indicate that your speakers are active, I understand that. They are plug & play, not really an active SYSTEM. You say the "brilliance controls" are what would get burned up incase of an amplifier failure, isn't adding a control or resistance after the amplifier outputs counterproductive? Is it a digital control? An active bi-amp system is with the crossover at the INPUT of the amplifiers and nothing but wire after the amplifier outputs. A passive bi-amp system is with the crossover after the amplifier OUTPUTS. Your system has active speakers, the crossover could be active or passive, correct? So which is it, do you know? It seems like you've been at this long enough to realize that a system with an active crossover sounds better than a passive one. PS. I totally agree that the best crossover is no crossover. 
andy2 - As for phase shift you understand the concept correctly, capacitors add a 180 degree phase shift. But when they are coupled with inductors and the variable impedances of drivers the entire "system" becomes unpredictable and only roughly stable. Phase shift will not remain constant with the changing frequencies. That's another reason that doing the crossover at the INPUTS of the amplifiers is better, so much more stable and predictable. I'm not wanting to argue, just trying to convince some people to try a "real" active bi-amp or better yet, tri-amp system that allows YOU to make some decisions on the sound outcome. Best to all.