Hifi, why bother?

[ppppenguin]

....... especially if it's a passive crossover (active is cheating - too easy!).

Since amplification is now so easy and cheap I don't understand why passive crossovers should still be used in new designs. Put the DAC and amps in the speakers and feed them with AES digital audio. (I do understand why you might not always want to do this and there are certainly cases where you can't)

Talking of interconnects, I sometimes wonder why 'phools have been so slow to embrace balanced audio. The professionals try not to do it any other way. XLR connectors and screened twin with balanced audio is an excellent way of handling analogue audio. Perhaps the 'phools are inherently unbalanced.