Why do you say that Rob ? All the powered speakers I have ever seen had DC power supplies.
That's what I was thinking - I did a quick search and found this page which has a diagram that states the input as AC. Advanced image enhancement techniques like those used by the FBI (Photoshop) has produced the attached image.
A colleague has the same speakers at work - I'll check to see if the UK version has a DC "wall wart" or not.