I didn’t realize you actually have those stands! I would not have made fun of them so off-handedly if I knew. It looks like you took it pretty hard, changed your pic and everything. I didn’t mean anything personal by it. I was just taking the shortest route to a cheap shot I could think of in the moment. Actually they do look kind of okay. Maybe even kind of cool. I thought your post was a very clever and funny retort and we were kind of jousting. Little did I know you were speaking from the heart!
Like I said, I have some powered speakers (Sonos) (go ahead, laugh at me, I deserve it) in another room. But they come with capability to play music over streaming services, over WiFi, and by voice command or by an app and they have room correction technology built in as well, and I can change the volume with my voice or by an app, so they are kind of a source and a speaker and room correction all in one. Even with those the sound per pound and per penny (ha ha see what I did there?) is amazing. But a pair will run over $700. I’m sure that’s not the best sounding powered speaker per dollar but that’s not what I was looking for when I got them. And heaven help me when the first thing inside them breaks. At least they have a line in.
And even so I would still have to say I’d rather be running the $260/pair Pioneer SP-FS52 passive towers than powered speakers in my main system (and I have a choice and that is exactly what I do), full stop.
I don’t doubt the sonic design advantages per penny and per pound of powered speakers as opposed to passive plus amp. But I do think the design choice of floor standing towers still yields some pretty strong advantages in terms of form factor from a looks and audio perspective. It’s not as flashy or efficient technologically of course, and maybe they don’t measure as well perfectly placed in an anechoic chamber, but it has its advantages.
Seriously, with tower speakers it is nothing just to rotate them or slide them or nudge them or whatever on a whim depending on who is in the room, where they are sitting, what gets you the best sound for what you are trying to do, etc., and they don’t distract peoples’ attention from what we are doing when they are playing or look conspicuous or out of place in a nice environment. It’s a very simplistic thing but I still think it can be pretty huge in the big picture, even sonically.