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Question: what is a active speaker system
Document: !These little Lepai amps have a great reputation, and I'm happy to say this one lives up to the hype. The 20W output easily pushes the 150W JBLs to extremely loud volumes while still running completely cool.12v 6a Adapter Power Supply for LCD Monitor with Power CordProbably unnecessary, but cheap, so why not? Technically the 12V 3A supply included with the Lepai should neatly drive the 2x20W output without coming up short, but it never hurts to have the headroom.Yamaha YST-SW012 8-Inch Front-Firing Active SubwooferThis is the subwoofer I've used all along, so I thought I'd mention it here so that this list represents a complete system.
...at least at its current pricepoint. I had steered clear of these after reading a number of negative Amazon reviews complaining about their long-term reliability, so I instead ordered the Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Pair initially. Sounded great, but the right speaker (the one with the amp) went out on me less than a week in for no reason...I had been using it very gently and moderately! Figured it was just bad luck and ordered another one, which turned out to be DOA (same right speaker)...so I said what the hell, shipped them back for a refund, and ordered these M-Audios instead, for an extra forty bucks at the time.
This speaker system is better for pop music. For classical music, you might want to add a woofer as the base is too weak.
Very pleased with the sound quality, and the simplicity of the speaker cases. Wire connections were of a high quality and well thought out. Product not only met, but exceeded expectations. Excellent computer system speakers for the very low price.
I purchased one set of the M audio sometime ago and then later decided to expand my system by adding  a cheap logitec series with base, right and left speaker system. M audio tweet and base is high end. The Logitech a toy. You get exactly what you pay for. In fact M-Audio is underpriced for its performance value.
They sound great, offer a nice balance of highs and lows, and offer multiple input options (which was key for me since I run my Xbox 360 and cable box through these same speakers). The look fantastic and are easy to set up. If you're looking for a 2 speaker system for an affordable price that will deliver great sound, this is your set. Bang for the buck, these are about as good as I've ever heard. Just buy them, you won't be sorry.
The speakers always "pop" when powering down the system. The right speaker loses volume intermittently for no apparent reason. The only way to fix the problem is to power off the system and turn it back on again. From my perspective, paying $145 for these speakers should have delivered a much better product. When they work, the speakers are awesome. However, after reading the M-Studio AV40 owners blog, everything that I experienced, someone else has already experienced and the end result was the same - return the defective product and obtain a refund.
My core sound system is a Sansui 9090 w/ Marantz HD77's. (I've not heard everything; but so far I've not heard anything better). These computer speakers are remarkably crisp and clear. I have indeed occasionally heard things previously missed! Faint instrument sounds I may have actually heard before but didn't queue on them. This speaker set replicates very well. If you have low quality recordings, that's what you'll get. If you have high quality recordings you will be impressed. I was. They took some getting used to though.
These speakers sounded great after a small break in period. Stage was pretty good, high frequencies were clear but not to bright/crisp and the bass had a good presence without being overwhelming.Unfortunately mine developed a crackling/static noise after only 8 months of use.This crackling noise is more audible as you increase volume and it's heard whether they are connected to a input or not.I've always kept them them connected through a power stabilizer and I didn't have that many hours of operation.I'm disappointed at the low quality of the internal circuitry and will shop for a different speaker system now.
It has one booklet that explains all unknown, less known, and well known tidbits about a studio sound system. The second booklet is the user manual that explains everything about the speaker itself. Between the two tiny books, you're covered in more ways than you can think of.The packaging is nice. It does not come in any bomb proof box, but got the essential protections right. It has got all the needed cabling included. Although I would preferred if they included a pair of proper RCA cable in addition to 3.5mm to RCA.Now onto sound quality, the actual star.
Answer: An active speaker system means that the power to run the speakers is built into the speakers. You don't need a separate amplifier.   And by the way, the M-audio speakers are a great choice. Everyone that hears mine comments about how great they sound.