Ease, coherency, large staged sphere-like presentation, virtually unlimited full-range dynamics and a relatively natural tonality are some of the core traits pursued and achieved with the fully actively driven pro cinema speakers, Electro-Voice TS9040D LX, and tapped horn subwoofers.
"Full-range" with a proviso; to some what is full-range covers down to or even below 10Hz at full click, but in my use of the term I "merely" refer to honest 20-25Hz, which my corner-loaded pair of tapped horn subs will be able to achieve up to +125dB's - at the listening position. I never use their full SPL envelope even when being "liberal" with the volume control, but that's the whole point behind ample headroom: it translates into absolute effortlessness at any desired volume, while also making you more comfortable at higher SPL's (but be sure to project your hearing and avoid extended exposure to higher SPL's).
Some may ask: why actively driven pro cinema main speakers and tapped horn subwoofers in a home environment? To put it shortly, because well-implemented - which goes for all speaker categories - they can sound great and absolutely effortless at that, and at a price level that calls for one to self-scrutinize when comparing them to "high-end" speakers/subs costing a downright fortune.
So, what's the catch? Mainly it boils down to looks, size - and prejudice. Even price, but I'll get to that later. Aesthetics are very important to many audiophiles, more so than many will admit, and very large pro cinema speakers with their typically black Duratex surface and rugged industrial looks don't appeal to audiophiles with interior decoration demands, be they self-inflicted or by their spouse. Even if it doesn't concern interior design audiophiles often want or expect their speakers to have a particular "audiophile" look, which typically translates into a slender and deep enclosure with smaller, inefficient drive units. Finish-wise high gloss lacquer surfaces with (concealed) wood or other beneath it, are very popular. That's HiFi speaker looks in a nutshell.
Size is another, huge factor. Audiophiles at large would rather pay dearly for smaller high-end category speakers than have much larger, cheaper and less "fancy" looking alternatives with pro or DIY origins in their homes. Because high-end speakers of limited size are refined, cultivated, voiced-by-ear and naturally adapted to home environments, whereas large pro cinema speakers and horn-based subs are brutes, coarse and only about playing hellishly loud - right? Wrong. What's mostly incorrect are the assumptions aimed at the latter, while the former severely lacks dynamics, presence, scale, fullness and effortlessness of reproduction - something the latter has in spades AS WELL AS resolution, coherency and refinement - not least actively driven. It's about letting physics have their say, properly implemented, and cutting loose prejudices and vanity.
Which leads me to: price. Audiophiles have been more or less breastfed with the notion that you get what you pay for, but I find that in reality it only partially applies - relatively at that. All things being equal a bigger speaker will cost more than a smaller, which goes without saying; more material equates into higher price. However, the relative part comes into play when comparing a large high-end speaker with a large pro cinema speaker. Even when the former is smaller than the latter, the former will be outrageously more expensive, but will it actually sound better to justify its higher price? I don't acknowledge sound perception as such being subjective, it's rather about the aspects of what we hear that we prioritize (not least seen through the prism of what's brought up in the paragraphs above). With that in mind my answer to whether an über-expensive, large and lower efficiency high-end speaker sounds better than a much cheaper and even larger pro cinema speaker, is a resounding NO. With care taken implementing pro cinema speakers and not least driving them actively, they will serve up a sound that in core aspects obliterates most any lower eff. high-end speakers. Actively driven they will at least equal if not better resolution, while having a typically clearer, fuller and more uninhibited presentation. Some pro cinema speakers may roll off at 17-18kHz, but let those quarrel about that who can't find more important issues to raise.
To conclude re: price, many audiophiles find that speakers (and audio products in general) can be too cheap for them to consider a purchase, because they've been told higher price means better sound - irrespective of anything, really. Starring at industrial looking large pro cinema speakers that cost much less than a smaller high-end speaker would lead to a clear case of cognitive dissonance if an audiophile's preconceptions were tempted by being told or found out by his or her own (unbiased) hearing that the former performs equally, if different, or even better. That's what it is.
