Quite the assertion there, nothing like the Hifi hobby for the hyperbolic.
Have you heard the LYD 48's and any/all of the others mentioned, and what (passive) equipment did you compare them against in listening tests?
- There's a lot of combinations of passive equipment out there..
There is a ton of passive stuff and several tons of active.
I have not heard the 48s.
I have heard and owned the BM range. Top class, and the LYD range is more modern and an improvement on them. As well as being a genuine three way speaker.
And an amp like the Audiolab mentioned by the op simply does not have the power or damping factor to properly control serious speakers, which, given the two grand budget, the op will be able to afford.
I have £2800 Adam Active Compacts (they are not compact) and three way AVI Trios. At the moment. Both are excellent.
I’ve found that, having owned stupid numbers of passive speakers and amps over the decades (Kef, Dynaudio, B&W, Neat... Naim, Rotel, MF, Audiolab, Yamaha, Denon, Primare...) that for any given budget, real active speakers and even a budget(+) preamp/dac will comfortably outperform any given passive set up.
And it’s hardly a surprise. The casing for an amp (as an example of extra costs for passive), especially boutique stuff is the most expensive component. There isn’t one in active speakers. Nor is there any shipping cost for a separate amp.
And the dealer mark up on hifi is massive in comparison to the larger numbers sold in pro equipment.
And, not finally, but for now, technically speaking, having each driver directly coupled to its own dedicated power amp is many times more efficient than having a generic passive amp powering through a lossy x-over.
(To use the 48s as only one example, they have a total of 360, direct coupled watts between the pair of them which, conservatively, equals about twice that of a corresponding passive amp).
The gain in total control at all frequencies and volumes is prodigious.
Again as one example of what I mean, active speakers do not lose bass control at very low volumes (useful for many people late at night for instance) and do not distort even at absurd volumes.
You should get yourself a pair of good ones on loan, assuming you have something that can be used as a preamp?
Then, allowing your brain the requisite re-calibration time, see what you think.
You could well end up with better sounding music and cash in your hand.