There are pros and cons with active, and with passive crossovers. In a perfect world, active crossovers have some distinct benefits....especially if starting up from scratch, but many of us get to the bi-amp situation once we’re already well invested in our current systems. Sometimes it just not feasible to backtrack to square one.
@unsound reiterated some of the benefits and situation need for passive crossovers. There are certainly active crossovers that can perform some, if not all, of the compensation requirements of some drivers, but what if you already own a really nice pair of speakers that you love and that have excellent, well designed passive crossovers with top shelf parts, and you want to dip your toe into bi-amping? I’d think even a serious audio buff would hesitate before proceeding to gut the crossovers from a pair of Magico, Wilson, or Sonus Faber speakers so they can experiment with active crossovers. Not everyone has the knowledge, expertise, or the will power to actually make such a bold move.....in many cases it’s simply not wise to risk the destruction of a wonderful pair of speakers to pursue an active crossover. If a great pair of speakers sounds good with passive crossovers in a single amp situation, they’re very likely to sound even better with a good bi-amp setup, even with the passive crossovers.
