I find this a rather interesting question for selfish reasons
. A second-hand pair of Genelecs cost about the same as a new R3's. I don't really care too much about active vs passive. I have more than enough amps around to power the KEF's. A big advantage of the active system is the protection that comes along with it. But I rarely play up to the limit, so not that big of a deal. I also don't need GLM, since I also have some DSP's at hand and enough tools to make proper use of them. Frequency response wise after EQ there is not that much of a difference. I'd say the Genelec is a bit smoother in DI, and a bit rougher in overall response (dashed line is the Genelec) (this includes EQ). Yes, bass droops for the KEF, but EQ and a sub will help. Obviously, the KEF has better overall directivity due to the coax nature.
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Distortion wise it's a bit hard to compare. The R3 distortion was measured at 105 dB, while the Genelecs were at 96 dB. At first glance, it looks like the KEF is doing worse below 200 Hz, but if you lower the 1 to 1.5% with 10 dB, you'll get to roughly 0.3 to 0.5 %, and even at 100 Hz, it would be below 1% at 96 dB. Not as good as the Genelec, but also not that bad. Above 200 Hz it's clearly superior distortion wise. I will be using a sub anyway for below 80 Hz.
Looks-wise, I quite like both. My wife likes the KEF's better though. We have the R500's now but want to go rearrange the setup. Bookshelves just fit better in the new arrangement.