Active Speakers Better? No, per Michael Borresen

@ricevs , that is an interesting direction to go, DIY. I know GR Research and Crites have kits for speakers. Do you think you could take an off the shelf $ amp and and $ speaker, do a little DIY and make it sound $$$?

@johnk , my Paradigm active spekaers have an LED light that makes the logo glow green. When you max it out they turn red so you know to turn it down.

@kac32 

I have not heard them but keep in mind RBH is a sponsor of Audioholics. 

I don't know the size of your room but those RBH towers seem  huge. If I were shopping at that size and price range I would compare with the JBL M2's and the Bryston Active Model T. I am sure all three measure and perform exemplary.

I own both active and passive speakers. If you listen to acoustic music at low volumes I don’t think you could tell the difference. Dynamic music and music at higher volumes sounds better to my ears with active speakers. This is the active speaker I own and it has a passive counter part (Paradigm Active 40 vs passive 40). Guess which one Paradigm says is better (and has measurements to prove it):

"But active loudspeakers have some distinct advantages over their passive counterparts. In fact, when I asked the designers at Paradigm which technology was better, active or passive (since the company makes both types of speakers), I couldn’t even finish my sentence before the word "active" was rushed back at me. There was just no second thought about it. But why?"

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/paradigm_active40.htm

Each designer has to work with what they got, for Michael, passive must be better for his designs.

@invalid , the active speakers have the amps inside, like a studio monitor. They have both XLR and RCA inputs, a high pass filter that can be engaged when using them with a sub, and knobs to adjust the volume and contour bass and treble. The controls are useful to really dial in the speakers when you place them.

The center height channel is connected to a Dayton monoblock with a crossover setting and volume control. This helps me blend it the the active center channel. Here is a shot of the amp on the back of all the active speakers:

@onhwy61 , +1, I agree with all of the advantages you mention about active speakers as well as the space and savings on separate amplifiers and speaker cables. Each of these speakers are internally biamped and I have a lot of speakers. It wouldn't have been practical to biamp 13 speakers with external amps and the long runs of speaker wire. 

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/paradigm_active40.htm

@lonemountain +10, that is a lot of great info, are you an engineer or designer? Interesting point about speaker and amp designers as my vendor, Paradigm, does happen to make both (Anthem amps and Paradigm are owned by the same group). 

@4krowme , you mentioned Bryston, check out their active speakers:

https://bryston.com/active-loudspeakers/

@russ69 , IDK about choices being limited, maybe not as common though, yes.

You have the pro gear and you have the new "simpli-fi gear" being offered now by more vendors all the time which bundles everything into the speakers like these:

or these:

Dynaudio sells both versions, here is their take:

If you want full range the JBL M2:

@dynamiclinearity, I agree, active speakers properly done is superior AND less expensive than a speaker/amp/speaker wire traditional route. Did you ever wonder that back in the day dealers found they could make more $$$ selling a sperate amp/speaker package so active speaker weren't given the time of day (except by the pros who used them in the studio)?

@esarhaddon , as for the value of going active here is what Soundstage said about the speakers I eventually bought when compared to a much more expensive speaker (without including the additional cost of the amp and speaker cables. YMMV):

And when you compare a much more expensive speaker, such as JMlab’s $7000 Mini Utopia, you’ll find that it has a much more luxurious appeal with a nicer finish (and given the price difference, this is to be expected). But when it comes to comparing the sound, again it is more about differences than one being better (although the Active/40s do have much better bass extension). The Mini Utopia is a bit more incisive, visceral and lively in the midrange and up top. The Active/40s, on the other hand, don’t jump out at you quite as much, and they are not quite as precise, but what they do well is play music superbly across the board with top-to-bottom coherency and balance.

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/paradigm_active40.htm

@rajugsw , I understand your point about the benefits of external amps. You can adapt the sound of a lot of active speakers with built in controls on the plate amp (volume, treble, bass, crossover point, etc). For example, look at the back of this speaker in the pics on the website, you won't get that on a passive speaker:

Bryston uses the same type of approach, active speakers with the crossover and amps external giving you some flexibility:

@lonemountain I could tell you were not a typical customer, now I get it. I checked your profile and you don't have a system posted. Would you mine sharing? Do you know how the virtual system page works? Thanks

@lonemountain

Some people want it to sound like it’s supposed to, the way Fleetwood Mac decided or Tom Petty or Lenny Kravitz. ATC enables you to get that, and you cannot get that with passives.

I set up my home theater with the intention of replicating to the degree that is practical what the mixing engineer of a movie or album heard on the soundstage. I exchanged emails with the owner of the Dub Stage and Galaxy Studios. Both were very helpful in advising me on how to treat my room. Wilfred Van Balen from Galaxy Studios and founder of Auro 3D emphasized treating the ceiling and suggested bass traps. I am using a combo of absorption panels and Geofusers from Auralex which are diffusors that can be backfilled with rockwool or polyfil to double as bass traps. Both studios use active monitors and while I am sure they sound much better than my home theater, active speakers gave me the ability to bi-amp each speaker AND have that power go to the driver, not just excess heat. With 13 speakers that is roughly 26 channels of amplification. Even if I had that many amplifiers in a biamp configuration it still wouldn’t be as efficient. If you listen to acoustic music at low to medium levels, no worries. If you listen to concerts and action movies at reference level like I do, totally different animal. Look at these specs:

http://www.cain.cainslair.com/Paradigm%20Reference%20Active%20Series%20Specifications.htm

@lonemountain , that would be awesome, you run in some high profile circles and I would appreciate checking it out. There is a "Virtual Systems" area here, you just go to the page and their is a link to Create System to start your system, you can list components, add comments and add pics. If you are able to upload measurements that would be a plus.

I notice you use 7 channel bed layer, have you tried adding wide channels at 60 degrees before for 9 channels? I find it much better for music in immersive audio.

@celtic66 , that is exactly the same thing, the benefits of an active sub apply to active speakers. 

@jhw9 , all speakers have room interaction issues, need proper placement, and can often benefit from DSP. Many active speakers have controls in the back unlike passive speakers, similar to a subs controls only more appropriate for the type of speaker.

@lonemountain , I haven't used an ATC active but agree that my Paradigm Active 20 is far more revealing than the Paradigm Studio 20 which is the passive version. 

I found my choice reduced when it came to speaker cables, which saved me money (yay), so I focused on upgrading the power. All of my speakers are internally biamped so that is a power hungry system when you have as many active speakers as I do. MCH music is sublime in my system, so much that I use it 90% of the time. If my speakers were less revealing MCH wouldn't be as satisfying.