Ofcourse subjective opinion but I liked the Confidence 30 a bit more then the Reference 3 that I heard, a better comparison would be the reference 5 because these are the same price as the Confidence 30. But like I said I heard the Reference 3 and most noticable difference was the bass that was a bit tighter on the Confidence but I have to say both are really good loudspeakers.
Although if I could spend € 20.000,- on a pair of loudspeakers I would spend 6000 more and get the Blade 2 and be very happy the rest of my life