Which would be better, the Paradigm Persona 3Fs or the Dynaudio Focus 60 XD speakers?

Haha...that's a tough thing to answer actually.  I haven't heard the new Focus speakers, but Dynaudio doesn't use their best tweeter here, which is odd given the top model is pretty expensive.  I heard the Contour 20 and the Persona 3F, which are more comparable I think.  The new Contour series utilizes Dynaudio's best tweeter (Esotar 2)/ Usually Dynaudio tweeters have a smooth, silky sound, they are very good.  The 3F tweeter and midrange units are on a different level though and sound extremely high resolution.  It's like they cut through the air.
I think the XD 60 may have better bass response, the 3F is pretty small comparatively.  The XD60 will also allow you to correct for any room related issues with the DSP.  I would audition the Contour 30, XD60  and the 3F if I were you.  You would save money with the active speakers obviously, but they are also best for digital sources IMO, as any analog source would also be converted to digital, so there'd be no point.

Ah, but my question revolves around whether a digital crossover can provide a superior response to speakers with hard wired crossovers yet possessing superlative driver materials.  Surely the physical components in a typical crossover circuit will add their own sound to the output of the speaker.  Is this enough to overwhelm the output of the drivers, however transparent they might be? 

I've heard none of these speakers, but I cannot see how the Contour 20 compares to the Persona 3F.  Perhaps to the Persona B? 

I chose the Focus 60 XD speakers and the Persona 3F speaker as both are similarly sized, both have twin 7" bass drivers and both have mid-range and tweeter drivers.  The Focus 60 XD is roughly US$4000/pair more expensive than the Persona 3F, but that is due to the included amplification and crossover network.  I submit that in any given living room, the Focus 60 XD will have the same effective price as the Persona 3F, if not actually less. 

And again, the question is, in the short term, should OEMs sink more money into diaphragm materials or improved crossovers?

Improved crossovers through active designs are a big improvement especially in three ways. Diaphragm material is overrated and cannot make up for poor driver overall design, integration and motor quality 

It seems that year after year we hear of new speaker diaphragm materials with near magical properties.

We never hear of new crossover topologies with near magical properties.

Now I’m all for superlative diaphragm and motor technologies, but should not some thought also be given to crossovers?

If new digital signal processing capabilities allows us to generate in cyberspace superior crossovers and to improve upon the old school and expensive meat space components of yore, should we not embrace this development?

My question is, how close are we to achieving this breakthrough, or have we already achieved it?

PS: nitewulf and shadorne, thanks for your replies!