Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused

@donavabdear , No problem, glad you liked them. Since you like Oscar you should get the whole box. What is REALLY fun is I use Channel D's Pure Vinyl to make 24/192 PCM files of other peoples records. It is a great way to collect out of print recordings. The program has a built in 80 dB/oct  10 Hz rumble filter and built in pop and tic removal which is done prior to the application of  RIAA correction. I keep the raw files and apply RIAA correction, rumble and pop filters on playback. You can "render" the album by applying RIAA correction with or without the filters. The rendered file can be played back by anyone just like any FLAC or ALAC file. The only kicker is you need a phono stage with a flat output. (No RIAA correction)

I'm sure there are active speakers that surpass the performance of many of the passive speakers on the market. The environment of a concert tour is so different than what you will find in a home. We baby our equipment in comparison. These kinds of speakers are modular and are stacked to form very large linear arrays which works well in the bass and lower midrange but fails dismally in the treble because the tweeters are way to far apart. Ultimate sound quality is usually not the goal here. The finest concert system I have ever heard was used for Return to Forever's "Where have I known You Before" tour. It was a totally passive system performing in real 2 channel stereo. Stanley's bass played through a stack of bass cabinets 20 feet tall which was place right next to him center stage. It was a mind bending performance. RIP Chick. 

To me, everything you say about active speakers sounds like marketing. I do not hear any specs and usually do not see any.  All I see available for home active systems is little point source speakers. I do not like little point source speakers. They do not produce a convincing sound stage and they usually spray sound all over the place leading to more room interaction. 

Confused, nope. Just recall all the junk powered speakers sold, Peavy, Sharper Image crap.

I am sure there is some real nice stuff out now. But I will stick with what I have now. Tubes, Class A and Class A-B with well matched passive speakers by Sonner and QLN.

Not slamming the door on powered speakers but I am not making any changes.

@mijostyn the  specs for my active speakers are all linked in my profile (no class D amps). Remember, this is about confusion about actives, not a contest. The OP owns both passive and active systems as do I.

@toolbox149  @kota1 

The benefits of the active Magnepan system were snappier transients, increased dynamics, the ability to tame the ribbon tweeter’s aggressiveness, and the ability to do phase/time corrections, especially with regards to integrating the subwoofer. But my effort had much more to do with bypassing the arguably weak Magnepan crossover than finding optimum amplifiers for each of the Maggie’s drivers. I have since gone back to a single amplifier setup with the speakers’ original crossovers. They don’t present as snappy, dynamic or as “live” as they did with the active crossover configuration. Excuse this clumsy attempt to describe what I’m hearing now, but it’s like the edgy corners have been rounded off slightly and the overall presentation is a bit more well-mannered albeit without the sharper imaging within the soundstage. The "rounded corners" may very well have more to do with the potentially weak ADAC in the speaker management unit adding a harsh digital signature than the choice of amplification or any other variable. 

Which is better? The answer to that question changes frequently. But in both configurations, it’s very, very good.

@sixfour3 that is a great post, my hat off is to you, obviously hot rodding the Maggies is a great idea trying active.