Powered speakers?

I think it depends on the amp/receiver. I don't see a drawback to using active speakers for desktop or small room listening. I would think amplifiers in many active speakers are better amps than those in budget receivers with 7 channels.

The Audioengines are very nice, very good sound. Amplification is tuned to the specific speakers (a plus in my mind). Take a look at Swan actives also, among others.

There is a lot of info regarding active speakers. Do some searching. This thread is a start, discusses Audioengine and Swan.

I would not assume the amps are worse. They are different though, in that there's no shared power supply to borrow from.

If an amp in a powered speaker is 100 watts, it's sort of fixed at 100 watts. A receiver amp is drawing from a larger shared power supply which might be a benefit when playing back movies with different loads per channel.

A powered speaker could implement active biamping, which has some nice benefits, but I am not sure how many if any do that.