EMG pot the preamp in with the pickup, which is quite an unusual design, and explains why they look a bit more expensive.
I had a set in a Jazz bass years ago and liked them (more to the point they eliminated the single-coil hum I used to get in most venues with the stock Fender electronics), I also had an old licensed Steinberger thing that had EMG humbuckers in it at one point and that sounded really nice too, so no complaints from me.