Came across this thread because it came up while searching for who manufactures the amplifiers in KEF active speakers. Does anyone know who manufactures the amps for various active speakers?
My $0.02 is that active speakers sound better than passives. The thing I like best is how much more dynamic active speakers are than your typical passive setup. Clean sounding high powered amps are expensive. What one would have to spend on amplification for passives to match the level of dynamics of actives is, IMHO, cost prohibitive for those on a typical budget.
Technology has advanced to the point where there is now a large market for buyers who want a simple setup that they can get up and running without having to be an audio expert. Just look at the proliferation of the market for bluetooth speakers. Times have changed and the kids growing up these days just want to buy a box/boxes that work straight away; An all-in-one solution so to speak. As those same buyers age and their buying power increases they will tend to continue to look for the all-in-one solution at whatever price point they can afford. I suspect that will drive the market for even higher end actives for consumers.
As noted, in the Professional space it's ALL actives. Live sound is the same. Active crossovers in front of the amps because they want to lose as little power as possible between the amplifier and the transducers and running the juice through a passive crossover is just plain stupid from an efficiency perspective. Ask any reasonable person if they're willing to collect their paycheck through a process whereby an intermediary robs them of 30% of total. No one in their right mind would take that deal. And so it should go with amplification. Who wants to buy an amp and have 30%+ power loss by routing through a passive crossover?
The reason I ended up coming across this thread was because I recently re-acquired a pair of Paradigm Active 40v2 speakers and was curious who manufactures KEF's amplifiers for their active line. For Paradigm, Anthem was the supplier for their Reference Active line. Anyone that knows Paradigm's history knows the Active 40v2's were the best speakers Paradigm ever produced prior to the Persona series. It was a crime that Paradigm discontinued the Active line because they were a ridiculous bargain, and they still hold up. The reason more folks don't know about the Active 40v2 is because Paradigm discontinued them far too early, and those who purchased them don't sell them very often. They won't compete with the likes of ATC, K&H, PMC, etc. in the Pro space as they are more 'consumer hi-fi' sounding. And by that I mean they're not as dry and precise as you'll tend to find with studio monitors. However, if Paradigm were to produce a fully active version of their Persona speakers that use the Beryllium tweeters I suspect they would have a massive hit on their hands.
Beyond the Active 40v2's I'm hoping my next step up will be ATC SCM50ASLT's and then I can stop buying speakers. Actives are the way to go if you can afford them.