mtrot, setup might take a bit, but once it's dialed in it's better than passive. You will not typically get better sound from the Aeris with passive x-over than you can with the Wavelet and separate amp channels for all driver sets.
Read my review of the Legacy Audio Whisper DSW at Dagogo.com, as I compared this special version of the Whisper in both passive x-over, and active x-over with attendant channels of amplification. In short, the active was superior.
It should be expected that with a more complex setup it would take a bit more time to master, however it also puts far more power in your fingertips to contour the sound precisely� as you wish. Well worth a bit of a learning curve. Having used the Wavelet processor I assure you the Mid-bass, and other frequency bands, can be adjusted and it's easy to use. My impression is that Bill tends to set up speakers like the Aeris and V with less low end energy than many audiophiles might prefer. In my experience he sets the default like that initially, likely because it would cause problems in many rooms to go for broke on the low end as a default setup. Better to err on being light on the low end... That's what I learned of his setting up the Helix and the V in my room in preparation for review.
Legacy, or any speaker company working toward actively crossed speakers, would be going backwards to continuously release it's active speakers in passive mode, as they are trying to move the community toward what they offer as a better process. You can't make steps forward by continually backtracking. I think there are a couple instances of hybrid crossover Aeris out there, like my Whispers with both passive and active x-over capability, but imo you're seeking lesser performance. One person I know who did that was anticipating high end amplifiers and did not have the coin to do so immediately; when he got the amps he dumped passive x-over mode, rightly so. I did the combo of passive/active X-over in the Whisper because as a reviewer I need speakers that do not demand triple speaker cables, amps, etc. But, as far as which I would run for personal use for ultimate performance, it would be the active version.
