Active Speaker Choice

verdantaudio. Boy, do those SA's remind me a lot of the Buchardt's. Even down to the specs, Ram tweaks (Buchartd's Master Tunings), and country of origin!

totem395, thanks so much for this, I will definitely check it out.

Just watched today a live comparison on Alpha Audio
of 3 active speakers, ATC SCM 40A , Dutch & Dutch 8c and 
a Grimm. Granted not cheap, but a perspective on what
you can expect.

 https://alpha-audio.net/2021/03/live-stream-test-grimm-atc-dutch-english/

Check out System Audio.  Scandinavian company that make glorious sound song speakers that aren’t crazy expensive.  
I am putting together an opening order in the next month as I think I want to start working with them.  Nice finishes and plenty of power.  

csmgolf

These look super interesting, but as you say, they look difficult to set up. Maybe to techie for me?

http://http//www.bambergaudio.com/products/series3/3tmw.php

phusis, csmgolf, all good stuff gentleman. Between you and the others here, I can see I have my homework cut out for me. Thank you. 

http://http//www.bambergaudio.com/products/series3/3tmw.php
Another option to consider. I purchased the pair pictured on the website. Very much worthy of consideration. The Mini DSP studio adds about 1k to the price. I am still playing with target curve in Dirac and some minor PEQ adjustments. I definitely have a bit of a learning curve in respect to the possibilities that these have.

@high-amp --

Some interesting choices out there with active all-in-one speakers. I can certainly vouch for active ATC's - they're very good, honest sounding, no nonsense speakers. There also the intriguing Geithain RL901K that emulates a point source and packs a punch with its 16" woofer. For a separately boxed, active solution there's JBL M2 with external Crown amps and build-in, preset DSP. An even more all-out, all-in-on solution for the individual who can lay off audiophile conventions is Meyer Sound's Acheron series. Don't let their pro origins fool you. 

You can buy any speaker and make it "active" by getting a room control preamp like The DEQX, Anthem STR or Trinnov Amethyst. ...

+1 to poster mijostyn's suggestion here. Active-as-separates is what I do myself, but there's a (potentially steep) learning curve involved setting up filter values by yourself (if they aren't preset, like Sanders Sound's ESL hybrids), and so it's not plug and play. 

djones51: Thanks for the info on the A700s' . I also thought the Buchardts' may not be for me. Your confirmation of that save me a whole bunch of time and money! I will check out the Devialets'.

jdbsi: I actually saw a couple of pairs of the Meridian DSP’s for sale here on AG, thanks. I will check out them out as well. Just starting a major remodel on my house so definetly have some time to shop. 

You can take a look at Meridian DSP speakers.  If you are open to buying a set used, the floor standing DSP5000s have plenty of bass for their size.  Depending on budget, you could also look to the DSP5200s which are the newer model.

If you want small package full range you might give Devialet Phantoms a look. 

The A700 are the least expensive of the ones you've mentioned. I tried  but returned them. The bass was to boomy not well integrated in the speaker. If you like a lot of bass and want to spend time I imagine they could be tamed but my wife didn't care for them so i didn't really bother. I liked the Dutch and Dutch but they are a lot more expensive. One of the best measuring down to 100hz I've had in my room. They sound exceptional as well very easy to use REW to integrate them, I had one null at 60hz I believe was floor bounce.  There are a couple more you might look at, Genelec 8351b and Mesanovic RTM10. I ended up with the 8351b I preferred the narrow directivity  my listening position is only about 2 meters and they were the most neutral of the ones I tried. I like accurate neutral speakers. I haven't heard any of the others but I doubt you would go wrong with any of them.  

Thanks Jon, Ya, my room really sucks! Lots of hard surfaces, big windows, irregularly shape, etc, etc, etc. I'd love to tinker around but that will cost a bunch of money. I was hoping to just spend once and get the full meal deal in one small package. Subs would add more cabling and take up more room in my case.

Nothing can take the room out of the equation.  DSP can help some situations but if you've got a resonance at 60hz DSP can't eliminate it. 

I've got some big active ATCs that I got used for relatively cheap.  They aren't DSP but they are unusually easy to integrate into a room.  I think there are two main reasons for this.  Firstly, they have small diameter midranges which makes for better dispersion.  They don't have wildly varying off axis response so the reflected sound isn't a lot different than the direct sound.  Secondly, the bass starts to drop slowly at a relatively high frequency.  Most companies like to advertise as low of a -3db point as possible.  In my opinion, this causes more problems than it solves due to room problems.  My ATCs have 2 9" drivers in each box.  That's enough for plenty of punch and dynamics but the gradually reduced output at lower frequencies means room nodes aren't excited nearly as much.  I think the combination of large woofers and gradually reduced low frequency output is the way to go for main speakers.  Fill in the missing deep bass with a sub or subs.  

Thanks mijostyn. I honestly DON'T have a bunch of room for separate components and cabling here. As much as I love all that stuff, I think for this particular place, active may be the best route to take here. 

High-amp, the Europeans love these because they are very efficient space wise. The amps are in the speaker so you don' have one or two more ugly boxes hanging out. You can buy any speaker and make it "active" by getting a room control preamp like The DEQX, Anthem STR or Trinnov Amethyst. But, if you like the all in one solution all of these speakers you mention are fine.