@phusis , horns are a very alluring proposition. They are efficient and there is no question they can play louder than any other type of system with low levels of distortion. You can also control the radiation pattern to limit room interaction, another big plus. Unfortunately they fall short for a number of reasons. There is no such thing as a full range horn. You are forced into having a crossover somewhere in the midrange or upper bass. Many horn systems run a dynamic woofer well into the midrange, so much for low distortion. It would be a complicated mess trying to make a line source horn system.
Line Source systems are the only way to get into the first 10 rows. ESLs can cover 100 to 18 kHz no problem, no crossover. They maintain the lowest distortion levels throughout that range. Crossing to a sub at 100 Hz is much less of a problem especially if done with steep digital filters. The only disadvantage ESLs have relative to horns is that they are much less efficient. The fact that they won't play as loud is not a problem because they will do 105 dB and anything louder than 100 dB is certainly damaging your hearing.
I am a huge proponent of actively driving loudspeakers. This does not mean that all the wizardry has to be within the loudspeaker. You can actively drive any loudspeaker with outboard components. I have been doing it for 20 or so years. There is no other way to get the absolute most out of any system and this is not IMHO. I have seen, heard and measured enough to know this is a fact. If there are any downsides to this they are far outweighed by the benefits. Trying to maintain a totally analog system is like owning a vintage Corvette. If you are a track junkie you will go a lot faster in a C8. I'm not into owning antiques. I like driving fast.
