1.  Dunno as I have never heard either.

2.  Powered speakers like these do not need an amp if your TV has the necessary connectors.

Kal

AudioEngines much better than the sound sticks.

Thanks for the replies guys. 

I shiuld have made things clearer, my apologies. 

The mini amp would be needed if i decide to go with passive speakers instead. I do not foresee needing that many connections for steroes hence getting the typical av receiver would be an overkill. Thus i would either go with a pair of active speakers or mini amp and passive speakers. 

Based on the feedback thus far, I should just givethe soundsticks a miss. Are there any mini amps that are worth looking at? Would 60 watts be suffiient to drive, say, Monitor Audio BX2? Or other similar range of speakers?