Pros and Cons of built-in amps?

Judging by the number of emails I get daily asking me to describe the sonic differences between products X and Y

Not wanting to get involved in the bantering here, I find this statement to be pretty dubious although it may be exaggerated. I get an average of 2 emails a year(not daily) and it's getting pretty quiet lately. I guess Paul must be quite a knowledgable and renowned audio enthusiast having such good reception!~

Well, at the end of the day it doesn't matter whether state of the art passive-based systems will be better than active systems or vice versa. The most important is as long as any particular system brings enjoyment to the listener that truly matters. Furthermore, it is to my opinion that there is no rule of thumb to create a supposition in that the best systems today are passive speakers driven by tube amplification although all matters related to audio are entirely governed by subjectivity.

Let's not get too carried away with some responses here fuelled by contradictory ideas and opinions.

This discussion should be helpful and fun rather than descend into a heated debate between the members of The Flat Earth Society and National Geographic!

Pink Floyd use David Gilmour's studio "Astoria"....it has plenty of tubes and several miles of Van den hul (audiophile) cables as well as Shunyata. They even have different wiring to the woofers and mid range on their active speakers.

Great, so I guess Shadorne, David Gilmore and I all agree in the superiority of tubes and the value in exotic high end cables!

I'm glad Mr. Gilmore has learned enough about high end audio to have gotten that far. I doubt however that he is an expert in this area like he is in making music and playing guitar.

03-24-08: Bob_reynolds
Dave, do you work as an audio dealer or salesman or reviewer?

As I have stated in dozens of posts, I am an audio dealer. I am also an enthusiast and music lover just like many other people on this form.

03-25-08: Ryder
Not wanting to get involved in the bantering here, I find this statement to be pretty dubious although it may be exaggerated. I get an average of 2 emails a year(not daily) and it's getting pretty quiet lately. I guess Paul must be quite a knowledgable and renowned audio enthusiast having such good reception!~

There seem to be a few dealer haters here and people who make stupid statements like the one Ryder makes above. "Dubious"? How would you have any idea how many emails I get from Agon members on a daily basis? And what does your level of email traffic have to do with mine? And who in the hell is Paul?

Many of my responses here have been to questions about ARC gear, an area in which I have a lot of experience. So I do constantly get emails from Agon members asking about sonic differences, equipment matches, etc...

Here's the problem Bob. On another current thread you respond to a question where the OP asks about tubes vs. transistors. Your response:

03-24-08: Bob_reynolds
I also could not get around the tubes being noisy on some days and quiet on others. I didn't notice any sonic differences, so I chose solid state for convenience.

You couldn't hear or haven't ever heard "any sonic differences" between tubes and transistors?!?! You either have virtually no listening experience with the gear in question, or there is something very wrong with your hearing.

So why are you involved in a discussion with me about whether vacuum tube amplifiers and passive loudspeakers SOUND better than active speakers with built-in solid state amps? You don't have any experience to base a position on.

To a certain extent these comments apply to Shadorne, who in various threads has also indicated a serious lack of exposure to high end listening- especially of vacuum tube amplifiers, cables, analog vinyl, high end digital playback and I'm sure plenty more. Bob and Shadorne are not experienced listeners and I have made a point of chiming in and contradicting their incorrect and experience-less positions when possible.

In other threads, where the topic is of interest to other people like me who actually listen and have lots of experience with all of the gear in question, they have been quieted pretty quickly. But in threads like this one that appeal to them (b/c they both believe in active speakers) where others don't bother to read, they give out at limited if not flat out false advice.

Sorry, but someone has to present the other side.