Active Speakers Better? No, per Michael Borresen

Just putting my thought out: aren’t passive capacitors and coils (C an L), and maybe even resistors causing a PHASE shift on passive crossovers, and NOT so using active crossovers?

This happens with active and passive crossovers. it is the natural outcome of using analog circuits to create high and low pass circuits as well as any equalizers. It is not distortion. The concern in either case is that the combined (electrical + acoustical) amplitude and phase match seamlessly across the crossover band.

In terms of design, crossover designers are creating to systems, drivers and circuits, which sum to a final result.  Changes in amplitude go hand in hand with phase shifts.  The one area where things get easier is in the active crossover we can ignore driver impedance as part of the equation.  We pay attention strictly to driver amplitude and phase.

I can see some benefit in isolated situations, but don't see a mainstream use for them.. You are actually expecting a $1,000 active speaker to have the sound quality seen from a $20,000 Amp-speaker Combo. Oh ya, you don' thave to pay $555 for a special speaker cable, But Oh ya, you still do. Unless you are opting for a wireless speaker then all you have to worry about is someone hacking you home for the sidewalk or the HAM operator next door totally overwhelming your Bluetooth signal.

My problem with active speaker designs is that they are not user serviceable after the warranty runs out. You cannot adapt the sound of the Speakers to your own taste either.

Plate Amplifiers won't last twenty years without dying to my knowledge. Just look at all the great Subwoofers form 20 to 25 years ago. The plate Amps are dead and a swap in from Parts Express doesn't work or fit all the time. Will the manufacturer even support repairs should it fail ?

Stick with separates unless you are on a tight budget or with a manufacturer who'll support an out of warranty dead Amplifier after many years of service.

@esarhaddon , as for the value of going active here is what Soundstage said about the speakers I eventually bought when compared to a much more expensive speaker (without including the additional cost of the amp and speaker cables. YMMV):

And when you compare a much more expensive speaker, such as JMlab’s $7000 Mini Utopia, you’ll find that it has a much more luxurious appeal with a nicer finish (and given the price difference, this is to be expected). But when it comes to comparing the sound, again it is more about differences than one being better (although the Active/40s do have much better bass extension). The Mini Utopia is a bit more incisive, visceral and lively in the midrange and up top. The Active/40s, on the other hand, don’t jump out at you quite as much, and they are not quite as precise, but what they do well is play music superbly across the board with top-to-bottom coherency and balance.

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/paradigm_active40.htm

@rajugsw , I understand your point about the benefits of external amps. You can adapt the sound of a lot of active speakers with built in controls on the plate amp (volume, treble, bass, crossover point, etc). For example, look at the back of this speaker in the pics on the website, you won't get that on a passive speaker: