Thanks everyone for the feedback. I personally believe active is the future and even with that there will be upgrade paths in terms of the dsp, dac, etc for those wanting to tinker. Just a different kind of tinkering than in the past perhaps. The basis of the question was to ask if from a consumer perspective is it preferred to have everything (all the electronics) embedded into the loudspeaker enclosures or to have a separate box external to the speakers housing the digital components feeding the amplifiers which are directly connected to each individual driver. Thanks again
Which Would You Prefer
If you were to choose between an “all in” audio system comprised of loudspeakers, dsp, dac, adc, streaming, and amplifiers with various inputs (digital and analog) would you choose an “embedded” design where all electronics are inside the speaker enclosures so in essence you only have two power lines and multiple line level cables running to the inputs of one speaker (the master) or a “preamp” design with a central “box” for all inputs and a single line level input cable into one speaker I.e. the master? Looking to build one or the other.