Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused

"Active is not about where the amplifier is, it’s about where the crossover is."

IMO the speaker setup in your room is free and the proper specs to follow are available for free. You just need to take a half a day to move stuff around. What knee caps a HT once you get the room right isn’t the source or the processor, it’s the power. Did you ever wonder why a company will sell a 2 channel amp for more money than a 5,7, or 11 channel amp?
How can a traditional power supply provide the equivalent SQ to MCH amps as a 2 channel amp? This is like putting a 4 cylinder engine in a Lamborghini IMO. Whether you use a receiver or separates your speakers are still knee capped. To light them up proper those speakers would need to be bi-amped with proper power. Good luck fitting 22 channels of amplification for a 7.1.4 system into your room.

Now, enter the elegant and dare I say BETTER solution. Unhobble those wobbly knee caps and add rocket thrusters like I did with active speakers in the HT. Free up space, free up budget, add a frigging lightning bolt of power and get out of the way :).

The SQ you get per dollar spent using the active HT is mind boggling.

You can go with 5 pairs of Yamaha HS8’s and a single one for a CC and a Yamaha CX-A5200 processor (or their next gen when it comes out) for less than $10K.

You could go with 5 pairs of Emotiva Airmotiv 4’s and a single for a CC and their RMC-1L Processor for less than $10K.

Of course you would want to add some subs (of the active variety) and you have simplified the entire HT process. Anyone reading this thread who wants a SOA home theater would be hard pressed to do better without paying 3-5 times the price. You get matching amps, speakers, and processors and all you need is a shelf for your gear, not a 6 foot tall rack. Take the $ you save on speaker cables and spend it on your sources and you are done!

If you got more than $10K get a JBL SDP-58 and 8 pairs of JBL 308P or their 7 Series monitors and stop agonizing about mixing speakers/amps, or whatever. 
 

Now, if you got more than $50K you got more matched/active options like:

Processor- JBL SDP-75

L-C-R speakers- JBL M2 (active)

surround bed channels- JBL 708P (active)

height channels- JBL 705P (active)

OR

You can get a matched active system by Focal:

Processor- Focal Astral 16 processor

Speakers- Focal Immersive Audio 7.1.4 monitoring system