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@audioman58 , this also is a matter of taste, you like Bricasti amps, you should use them, you will be happy, NP.

For the $20K of a Bricasti and I could get the JBL M2 active speakers, would you consider those reference level?

If you wanted to use Bricasti amps, NP, just don’t buy the Crown amps they are usually packaged with, get the speaker,the external crossover/DSP and you have an active speaker driven by whatever amp you choose.

Don’t like JBL you can do the same thing with Bryston Actives, buy the speaker, the BAX crossover and BYO amp.

https://bryston.com/model-t-active/

@holmz it is possible I guess, but for a beer budget of $200 this is tough to beat. Look at all the controls on the back of it as well, you can tune it for your setup and no need to buy speaker cables saving more cash:

Past weekend I auditioned these.

I was blown away by their sound. Open, rich, tremendous separation of instruments and placement, sound stage wider than the speaker distance, deep yet tight punchy bass, clear highs. Tastes can differ, but these suit Me.

And I like their philisophy ... keep the sound digital until the very end where it feeds the loudspeaker. The speakers feature 4 internal amps and a DSP, via which tuning to your liking is possible, also via a room acoustics measurement system.

I thought they are fun to listen to, and will probably be fun to tinker with.

Big plus ... no discussions on the effect of cheap or expensive speaker cables ... there are no cables. :)

And I like their philisophy ... keep the sound digital until the very end where it feeds the loudspeaker,

kinda doesn’t work for tape of LP then…

@sokogear, They are a powered recliner just like any Lazy-Boy. They are not specifically designed for theater use although I use three of them in a theater set up. There is a second row behind up on a platform. It uses a Stessless love seat. I am going to have to get creative to make a foot rest for it as there is no room for ottomans. The problem was that I could not find any theater seating that could be made with the kind of leather I wanted. Most of it is not built very well. 

@donavabdear , I am agreeing entirely. The only difference is I prefer to be the one to choose the amp. I use two types of drivers, ESLs and subwoofers. Never is a long time but it is highly unlikely I will ever use anything else. Both types of driver have very specific requirements and are demanding to drive. The ESLs are very reactive being nothing but large capacitors with very low impedance at high frequencies. Then there are the subwoofer drivers that have huge magnets and 4" double layered voice coils which throw enough back EMF to light a city. Although there are some amps capable of driving both types it turns out the best amp for driving the ESLs is not good at all for subwoofers. 

Another point is that the room is an essential part of the loudspeaker system. I use microphones and computer programs to measure the result and apply digital equalization to get what I want.