Thanks to both of you for the suggestions.
I got 17 years of life out of those DefTech amps, so I can’t really complain that they failed prematurely. And prior to that I only took one speaker into the shop once for a problem which DT covered under warranty. They have been as problem-free as any speakers. My complaint is really that it’s uneconomical to try to repair the amps, and that replacements are no longer made. Ironically, if they had failed 3 or 5 years ago, I probably would have been able to source replacement parts! But to your point, repairing passives is going to be way easier, as will repairing external amps. I will 100% listen to and compare the active and passive versions of the Signature (and Focus) lines if the opportunity presents itself.
I’m drawn to the actives because there is no virtually chance that I’ll be driving a pair of Signature speakers with as much juice as are in those icepower amplifiers, while unlike the DefTech amps, the icepower amps are basically commodity parts. Whether I notice the extra headroom at my typical listening level, I shall see.
I do visit LA periodically. The next time I’m down there, I’ll make it a point to get an appointment at Destination Hifi.
