Thanks for sharing your listening impressions.
It seems like you really like the detailed midrange presentation that the Accuton gives. The Accuton in a 3 way design is ideal, IMO, since you relieve it of all the bass duties. The 4" Accuton in the SSx series will allow the speaker to disappear more into the room versus a 7". Also, the closed/open/semi-open back feature is really nice to have.
Pretty hard to beat the SS8s for value, IMO, unless you really really need that last bit of bass extension. You could save $4k and spend it on amps, source material, etc...
Keep the thoughts coming, it's an enjoyable read.