For HT, active speakers seem to make a lot of sense. invest in a high quality processor vs. amps/receivers.
But for 2 channel, there is no match. In my (limited) experience, the active Focal speakers I heard were "clear" but completely lacked 2D or 3D soundstage. Even my shitty Klipsch Forte IVs with my Krell amp can create the illusion of 3D staging where sounds are not only placed across the left to right stage, but have height and depth. The depth part is when it gets fun!
It really hit me the other day when I was listening to some studio Phish. I've always been a critic of my favorite live band studio recordings, thinking their sound was jumbled and too center weighted. But on this night, I must have finally found the sweet spot. The sounds were staged like a set of waves rolling in from wall to wall. Voice was a few feet in front of me with multiple layers going back 8 feet.
On the powered focals, all I heard were 2 distinct speakers playing sounds, but no staging. And my friend with the Focals had the exact same pre-amp and streamer as me.