The very best passive crossovers are very effective these days, but if the drivers are properly designed and implemented, I'd still suggest that going active is a far better option for peeps like us! properly done, dsp doesn't need to be heavy-handed either and sonically, I gather that's the best way for our ears and minds to respond to...
The thing is, 'active' as a concept simply hasn't caught on in the great unwashed audiophile-land and dealers don't like all-in-one options as they can't sell up to more expensive amps and so on (it's all about money/profit for most, if not survival in dealerships here in the UK once the pension-pots run dry prior to tax increases and so on).
I mentioned before that the already expensive ATC 100A SE (fancy cabinet, more expensive to make discrete and separated active card and so on at around forty-two grand [£] from memory) is easily better than a Naim/Kudos active set (they claim hearing only in the design) costing upwards of £120k. My local dealer has several clients halfway up the Naim ladder and they'd lose a bomb if they sold or traded it all in for the ATCs say (Genelec and Neumann not available via a domestic network I believe). PMC are now offering active amp plates to replace the passive ones on some of their stylish slimline models but no idea of the takeup here.
The large active ATC speakers (SCM100A SE) are in the building! We will try to keep these around for a few days. Give us a call if you want to hear what these can do. Hint: it's quite a lot.
signals.uk.com
So, arguably a good thing for KEF to keep these Blades passive, as it opens up the market for buyers. Got to say I was disappointed to read here a while ago about reliability issues with the active LS50s and after-care seemingly not being quite as thorough as I'd have liked...
