[ThomCat]

Actives in general do have some inherent advantages over passives. For one thing, the drivers are matched to the amps so you get a consistent predictable sound from setup to setup and from one speaker to another, and no coloration that would be due to impedance mismatch since the components are designed to work together. The wires that connect amp to speaker are also significantly shorter and therefore won't compromise the damping factor of the amp the way cheap or long (significantly resistive or reactive) speaker wires can.

I'm currently using a Hafler power amp and passives with good results, but When I can afford it I think I'll get a pair of Mackie HR824's. I also heard some Tannoy actives's the other day that sounded really good for significantly less money.