Blindjim, I can appreciate that you're always asking questions, always seeking new angles on the audio game. It's that kind of curiosity which leads to some great breakthroughs.
I also wondered just what the difference would be between active and passive crossovers, so I conducted an informal experiment to find out for myself. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of active x-over to a degree I did not expect. I now use the speaker - you'll see the setup and test criteria in the review - in active mode for reviewing; it's that much superior to passive x-over mode.
When you read the article you will find that I am not yet a fan of active amplification; I find that I prefer to have complete flexibility in matching the amp to the rest of the system. This is especially so with Class D amps. I requested Legacy Audio not put the Icepower amps in the speaker but that it use all outboard amplification, a decision which imo took the speaker to a much higher level of performance. The influence of outboard x-over design is pervasive and powerful on the speakers.
http://dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=816
I also wondered just what the difference would be between active and passive crossovers, so I conducted an informal experiment to find out for myself. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of active x-over to a degree I did not expect. I now use the speaker - you'll see the setup and test criteria in the review - in active mode for reviewing; it's that much superior to passive x-over mode.
When you read the article you will find that I am not yet a fan of active amplification; I find that I prefer to have complete flexibility in matching the amp to the rest of the system. This is especially so with Class D amps. I requested Legacy Audio not put the Icepower amps in the speaker but that it use all outboard amplification, a decision which imo took the speaker to a much higher level of performance. The influence of outboard x-over design is pervasive and powerful on the speakers.
http://dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=816