Why HiFi manufacturers don't make active crossovers anymore?

Great discussion!! You guys sent me looking through some of my older gear and i dug up a Pioneer Series 20 D 23 4 way crossover I bought years ago. My thinking then was to construct a speaker system using Kenwood LO-7M amps for the subs and 3 other tube amps for the remainder of the drivers. The tube amp I had in mind for the top end was one of those small Cary triodes that I had read glowing reports of. I still don't have one, but I have everything else except the drivers. This, or something similar to this is where I interpreted @cosmicjazz was headed with his 6 channel amp. With an approach like this it frees you up from all of the constraints of conventional speaker design. I could be all wet with that statement, and am looking for some feedback from Erik and everyone else.
If you had a sweet stereo tube amp to drive a pair of drivers for the mid- highs, another for the mids, and another for the top ends, what drivers would you choose? And something within reason....no $1000 drivers or horns need apply, just bought off the shelf stuff that you think sounds great! And a lot of this is inspired by the Linkowitz designs.

@ mahlman  
"I am a Crown guy too. Went the consumer route for a while and tried all that "painless one touch" room correction junk and never was satisfied. You just can't beat the price and clean output of pro amps with consumer gear. "

The Crown is a "pro" amp but definitely does not "clean output" per the audio science review's measurements  https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-crown-xls-1502-amp.6062/

As you can see, this pro amp is more appropriate for "live" situations where noise, resolution and frequency range is not important.

@emailists 
"I think the ideal way to do active would be using the built in DSP and crossover function built into server software like JRiver.
It would require multiple or multi channel DAC, but it seems the least destructive method since no additional DA or AD conversions would be needed. "

I have your solution right here:
     Source: MiniDSP SHD Studio w/ Dirac Live. Everything is received and crossed-over between up to 4 channels in the digital domain; so you can set a subwoofer crossover and split 2 channels to your main speakers above that crossover and the other 2 channels to 2 subs. Output stays in the digital domain via 2 digital AES3 output (2 channels per output)
     Digital Active Speakers: Dynaudio Core 59 Speakers receive the digital direct feed from the MiniDSP via AES3 and then runs it through their internal DSP to apply its digital crossover for its 3 drivers (tweeter, mid, woofer). 

With this system, all digital signal stays in the digital domain throughout the chain without ever being converted to analog until the very last step (speaker has internal DAC for final conversion to internal amplifiers). Why did I suggest MiniDSP as the source? You can totally manipulate the signal by either applying Dirac Live or your own REW curve to your liking so that you can manipulate the frequency curve of your favorite system to make it "warm" or "forward" or whatever you want.

As long as your source can output to AES3, the Core 59 will receive the digital signal and run that signal through their 100% digital crossover DSP. Pro gear is pretty cool.

quizzio those Hypex amps have a great rep with the Klipsch DIY crowd. I have never heard one though.


  I note the article also says the Crowns are pretty darned good and a great deal and the only caution of note was to stay away from demand levels that could cause clipping. I might try a Hypex one day but there will be no hurry to do so since the Crowns I have are dead silent and the bigger problem I have with good output is the music files which Audacity can fix. If Audacity can't then they get trashed.

Good point, and one that's often lost on the "need to upgrade" crowd. If it sounds good to you, nothing else really matters. As a design focused engineer, I just love trying new things that pushes the edge of what's technically possible, just for the sake of trying it out "to see" if it sounds any better. It may sound no better than a "good" system from 5 years ago.