Jonboi, I've heard a number of all in one active systems and NONE of them have sounded good enough for the price for me to want to buy them. And by good enough I mean "hearing what was on the recording as faithfully and authentically as possible".
IE the problem is not with me, it's with the all in one active speakers I've heard.
The general level and experience of hi-fi equipment on this forum is high. My speculation is that the reason that there are so many users of passive speakers here on this forum is that the active speakers they've come across have not been good enough for the price for them to want to buy them.
My speculation is that it really is as simple as that. And that in most cases passive ownership has nothing to do with a desire to tinker or to cling to old technologies, or some sort of rose-tinted nostalgic look at the past.
Well, quite possibly.
Certainly speakers are a bit like marmite - some love them and others hate them.
For example SBL's aren't exactly awash with praise on these forums, and yet in conjunction with my then new Naim electronic, I literally tried every speaker the Naim dealer at the time had in stock, before settling on the SBL's as the best match for the Naim kit.
Some people here love Linn Isobariks. I knew someone that declared upon hearing them, that he'd put an axe through them, so disliked was the sound.
So there is certainly a great deal of subjectivity re like/dislike when it comes to speakers, active or not. And as a predominately classical music listener, what I listen for and find important musically, is likely to be quite different to many.
As regards active speakers, I'd speculate that the biggest hurdle is actually one of initial upfront cost.
One is effectively buying a fully finished and matched set of amplification and speakers at the same time - which in a high performance model is not exactly going to be cheap - you don't have the luxury of building it piece by piece, a bit at a time as the budget allows.
And of course, should you have the urge to 'upgrade' you have to effectively toss it all out and start again.
So the main drawbacks to active I'd say would be initial up front cost, expensive to upgrade, and inability to mix and match speakers/amps etc. (assuming a fully active speaker with onboard amps).
But, having been a passive speaker, separates system owner myself for nigh on 40 years, and having only gone fully active over the last 5 years, I would not personally choose to go back to separates on performance and overall ownership satisfaction grounds.
Cheers