500 v 2x300 active?

I have no experience of active systems. But the idea of bypassing the crossover is appealing and, theoretically, should provide better results : revealing speakers!

If “revealing” is your thing, which I suppose it is, then you’ll surely enjoy the 500 DR with Magico S or M series. Magico speakers are extremely revealing speakers. The 500 DR and Magico blend perfectly.

So I wouldn’t go for passive unless being sure to have the right speakers.

As for adding a 555PS DR to the ND555, I wrote little review that could be of some interest.

2x555DR vs. 1x555DR on a ND555 - #342 by Thomas