Powered speakers sound great....but. your listening not to your high-end amplifier but the powered speakers plate amp. Passive speakers, you're listening to your audiophile system. I think powered speakers are like having tone controls on a pre-amp or integrated. If that is what you like. Oh, powered is impressive, but does it sound real? Natural?
Powered speakers show audiophiles are confused
17 of 23 speakers in my studio and home theater systems are internally powered. My studio system is all Genelec and sounds very accurate. I know the best new concert and studio speakers are internally powered there are great technical reasons to design a speaker and an amp synergistically, this concept is much more important to sound quality than the vibration systems we often buy. How can an audiophile justify a vibration system of any sort with this in mind.