Your thoughts on active loudspeakers

Not all active speakers contain op amps. Defenitely not referencing the Kiis with that statement.

Digital domain active xover is even worse than analog active xovers to my ears for sterility.
And yes I have heard the Kii’s setup by the trained importer/distributer (same guy that setup Darko’s video) because I believe that video was done at Darko’s flat in Balmain Australia before he left for UK or somewhere over there. .
I was not impressed with the lack of musicality, (very etched sound), like the harmonic structure 2nd 3rd 4th etc to the fundamental was stripped away, I lasted a couple of albums with them. And I heard them in a much better room than Darko’s.

Stereophile: Kii review
What happened to the warmth? Isn't it a bit bright? Is there a midrange suckout? Are the rear-mounted drivers spraying sound out the back to be washed back at me

These are the similar things I kept saying to myself. This reviewer eventually got used to them, I couldn't. 

Also you don’t get to use your prize dac you have to listen to whatever they give you inside that speaker box.

Cheers George

That’s not taking into account the impact of a passive cross-overs between the amp(s) and speakers

As with anything passive, good ones have less sterility to their sound, than a hand full of opamps in an active xover does.

Cheers George

Georgehifi
"Active xover for the bass yes for me. But not for the mids/highs, they always sound "etched" and loose their "musical ease", become in your face."

HI George
Sure don’t agree with this statement at all. That description would fit only a high distortion system, not an active one!

Sorry not for me, to me the that’s opposite of what you just said. 
I’ve had many of the top analog active xovers (except the Pass FW B-4) here. And the top (it’s said) digital xovers here being a friend of mine who owns the company just up the road, who invented the Fairlight Synth all those years ago here in Au.
As with analog active xover in the mids and highs, you’ll have at least a dozen more opamps pots, switches powersupplies interconnects etc etc in the signal path, and to me the that’s opposite of what you just said, there’s more distortions, they also strip the natural decay from the music going through all that ****.

And the it’s reason I say in the mids/highs it sounds "etched" "sterile" and looses it’s "musical ease" to become in your face, it seems to strip the mids/highs harmonic structure (decay) leaving mostly just the bare fundamental, when going active xover in the analog domain and even MORE SO when it’s done in the digital domain.

And this can be picked up quite easily on my Martin Logan (Neolith paneled) Monolith ESL’s down to 150hz and from 12khz up Plasma tweeters not that it matters go out to 200khz

Cheers George

Your thoughts on active loudspeakers

For me with big ESL’s and large bass units  20hz -150hz
Active xover for the bass yes for me. But not for the mids/highs, they always sound "etched" and loose their "musical ease", become in your face.

With total active speakers it’s the same for me, either the (analog active xovers that are full of opamps) or the (digital domain xover if used that way) which btw "waists out" your good dac as they come after it, or the cheaper types of amps used in active speakers.

Cheers George