I recently when to a church service where they had a new McCauley M Series system installed. The configuration consisted of  7 x M-90 modules, 1 x M-120,  2 x MS1 and 1 x AC355 per side. The sanctuary is a 80' x 80' x 26' (WxDxH) with a balcony.

The 2 MS1 cabinets where flown in a separate array next to the main array. I noticed some interesting things (no mids) with lots of sizzle in the high end. They had an acoustic guitar player as well as an electric guitar and you couldn't hear either one. The vocals where not very clear either. Because they did almost 90 degrees of vertical coverage they had some slap back and early reflections in the seating area.

I recently had to check the speakers on a pair of Mackie SWA1801 subs for blown speakers. Once I got the front cover off (many bolts) to get access to the speaker......

There is a reason why that switch is there on sub-woofers.

If you have a system that you are going to add to or just update some components, your existing speakers for example, the passive speakers are your best bet.  Unless you are looking to really upgrade to the next level. I am working with

So which is better?

I have had a lot of questions lately about whether to go active or passive in the choice for main speakers. While active is great, it does deserve some caveats. If you choose an active system make sure that you order one extra of every model you have in your system. The reason; if you have a problem with any of your speakers it will have to sent somewhere to get repaired. Having an extra allows you to keep the integrity of your system while the component is being repaired.

So which is better?