Thoughts on Active/Passive Speakers? Looking for pros and cons.


Hi all, 

I've normally discounted the notion of active/passive speaker combos, but am warming up to the idea and may give them a listen.  Golden Ear gets good reviews, but i'm intrigued by the new Paradigm Founder Series 120H.  

Curious if anyone has heard the Founders, or maybe compared the Active Persona 9H against one of the lower end versions.  

Thanks in advance.  

EW
128x128mtbiker29
Concerning the OP  Paradigm Founder Series 120H, they are basically 3-way with built-in sub, so I wouldn't say these speakers are active in the traditional sense.
mtbiker29, Like everything in this life it all depends. I have not heard an active speaker get to the absolute sound which does not mean it can not be done and I have listened to very few active speakers. The Sonos speakers that I use around the house and in my office sound great for what they are. They are background music. None of the active speakers on the market excite me otherwise from a design perspective. You can have DSP management of any speaker on the market. You do not need to buy an active one. You have to listen and judge on your own. 
@mijostyn—isn’t your system effectively active? Also, someone above stated he/she didn’t want woofers stuck where the active speakers were. You can still use a swarm with an active system. It might even help if your main speakers were less than full range. I’d love to hear ATC 40a or 50a with a swarm.
I've never heard a passive that could do what Dutch and Dutch 8c can do control the directivity down to 100hz. I've never heard a passive come close to top line actives like Genelec. To each there own.