Advice on speakers for xonar st

[eljj]

Hi, I have had a xonar essence st for a few years and am looking to upgrade my crappy cheap speakers. Ive heard that audioengine a5's are good, but would like some suggestions for an alternative. My limit would be $550 - 600.
Also would passive speakers with an amp be better or active ones.

 

[ski2xblack]

The Audioengines are pretty good. For powered monitors I'm partial to the JBL lsr series, which are better than good. A pair of LSR2328 would be at or near your budget (new, specifically, but you could pick up a used pair for far less). B&H has them at $250 apiece right now.

You would be very hard pressed to equal their performance/price with passive speakers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

For obvious reasons I am partial to LSR2325P... not long ago they were $150/each on amazon - that was deal of the century
JBL LSR2325P Two-Way 5" Bi-Amplified Studio Monitor | Amazon price tracker / tracking, Amazon price history charts, Amazon price watches, Amazon price drop alerts | camelcamelcamel.com