George-
I presently have the demo AV-1s and listened to them with Jackman last Saturday. As it so happens, I also brought along my ACI Emeralds for the sake of comparison. To sum things up, I really enjoy the AV-1s. They're a very nice sounding pair of speakers...especially for the money. Nice soundstage, fairly dynamic, and pretty smooth sounding. They'll really pull you into the music. In comparison to the Emeralds, the AV-1s seemed to have just a slight bit more bass and I suspect that if really pushed, it won't distort quite as quickly as the Emeralds. Also, the Emeralds seemed to have a slight bit more emphasis in the highs, while the AV-1s had a slight bit more emphasis in the mids by comparison. Danny states that the AV-1s measure pretty flat though.
All told, the AV-1 is a really nice speaker...not just for the money, but a nice speaker period. And Brian Bunge's cabinetry work is exemplary. I think you'd be really happy.
Randy
ps- I still have them in the Chicago area, but will be shipping them to Houston tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. If anybody wants to hear them in the Chicago area, they'd better speak to Danny pretty darned quick.