Hi, yes better is always possible. Just if you stay with Kef, their Refence 1 Meta bookshelf is a lot better than R3. But very expensive.
My choice among updated bookshelfs is Triangle Magellan Duetto 40th Anniversary speaker. But with very good vacuum tube amp, like Audiomat Sophos Pre and Power. Or some Cary Audio. Or with our Slovakian Cannor Audio tube amp. This is magical, excellent speaker/amp combination with a soul. Or Dynaudio Heritage Special with Moon setup. If something cheaper is searched, also Triangle but Esprit 40th, Comete 40th I will take. But again, you need excellent source/amp/cables combination. Kef R3 Meta are cheaper and easier to combine with "iron". But Triangle is a hidden Jewel. Or Dynaudio Special 40, another excellent speaker for music lower, for still very good price and keeping value. And this is not the case with Kef (keeping value on used market)😉.