Opinions on Audioengine speakers?

I had bought Audioengine A2 speakers and I thought they were pretty amazing. I sent them back because I could not control the volume remotely... and I didn't have a receiver.

So, would there be any conflict with connecting a powered speaker to a receiver? The powered ones are ironically cheaper than the passive ones.

Has anyone owned the Audioengine? Is there a comparable speaker for a better price?

Opinions on the Denon 1911 are welcome as well.

Would a amp set up suit me better? I could only hook up one device at a time, correct? I would need to hook up to the TV and hook up the amp. Could I control the volume remotely https://vlc.onl with this type of set up?

I consider myself the type of person who can figure things out but this home theater stuff is like a foreign language to me. It has been six months in my new apt. and I haven't got a setup because https://getappvalley.com/ I just don't know what the best option is. Also, I am more of a music person than a movie person if that will help in any way.

Thanks for any advice. It is appreciated.

I got this,..

I had an older (non wireless) pair of  Audio Engine A2s in my garage gym - they produced great sound totally at odds with their size. Was using a Topping DX3 Dac/pre for remote control and blutooth connection to my phone. Unfortunately my daughter swiped the A2s for her bedroom music setup.☹

I’ve had the P4’s in my kitchen system for a few years now. My kitchen is also a large family room. No desire to change to anything else, as the WAF is high with these. They sit on a mantle and as a result all listening occurs off-axis. The idea is simply to bring tunes into the family setting. I would say their tonal balance strives to be detailed at low listening levels. For my application they are perfect. 

As my great-niece testified to 4 years ago, Audio Engine active speakers combined with an Orbit turntable with built-in preamp totally slayed her Crosley system! What more do you need to know! WOW!

Vantoo Transparent Zero (good) or Vantoo Transparent One Encore (better) are great choices if you need a compact system that has volume control. They are active speaker systems. They include multiple inputs (USB, Toslink Optical, Coax, analog and Bluetooth wireless) and a remote.

I do not own these speakers, but I've read the reviews and there are some trustworthy owners here on this forum. Hopefully they will reply, or you can do a search on "Vantoo".

This is what I would buy if I were in the position you described.

If you want an active (powered) speaker, but you want volume control, you wouldn't need a receiver, you could just use a preamp, instead.