For £2K I think I might be tempted to try
Dynaudio Focus 110A active speakers.
At £1690 they would leave £310 change towards a pre-amp* and/or DAC or Squeezebox/Sonos/network player or whatever.
* The pre-out from something like the Arcam Solo-Mini (£599) into the Dynaudio actives would provide an instant system for about the same cost as a pair of SCM40s before amplification or source.
Then of course there are the AVI ADM9Ts for about £1150 with DAC and remote controlled pre-amp built in. With matching sub (£900 ?) they still cost less than the SCM40s and have everything but a source!
I can think of far more/better options than a pair of £2.2K speakers that require
at least as much to be spent again for sufficient quality/quantity of amplification to get the best from them.
Whatever we think about certain claims for actives, £2K is starting to look like the sort of price where they become really good value compared to traditional passives + amps. Factor in the savings in space, energy consumption, clutter, cables etc. then it becomes very persuasive.
I forgot to mention the PMC DB1SA II and TB2SA II 'activated'/active/powered (choose the one you prefer) speakers that also start at around the same price as the SCM40s.
With so many more 'all-in-one' users nowadays (with systems from Arcam, Naim, Linn, Denon, Marantz etc.) I think we are going to see a lot of people thinking along the lines of... "Should I improve on my UnitiQute [for instance] with expensive additional power amps, or slap a good pair of active speakers on the pre-outs for the same price and no extra space?"
Just some musings from someone who hasn't slept for 31 hours, watched a boring & disappointing Grand Prix, and thought (gently) throwing a small 'active' spanner into the discussion might help keep me awake.