The AV/3's have very good bass. Very tight and clean. In smaller spaces, with room gain, they have enough bass to cover most popular music. ( I have my sub crossed over at 40 hz) With the sub on, there is very little going on down there. I switch it on and off all the time, just goofing around to see what the effect is. Sade for example, barely registers in the sub, Seal on the other hand does. But turn off the sub, and it doesn't all of a sudden become unweighted. It's only working one octave, 20 to 40 Hz.
I'm a studio guy, so, I don't like anything hyped up. I like clean, articulate, and well defined with good timbre.
If you like the AV/3's now, just wait a few weeks. I found that the tweeter sounded good, but not in proportion to the woofers in loudness. Then it changed, and came out more in proportion. Not higher, just in propotion. You can listen to them at spirited levels all day long, and they never become fatiguing. And I'm a guy who can get pretty easily annoyed with sonics. How much do I like them? Mine are on loan, but they will become my main studio monitors. Mid range is very good. Soundstage is like this. Some speakers are laid back, that is to say, everything is laid back, and in a deep soundstage. I can do this same effect by re-equalizing a 2 track recording with some minimal eq changes, mainly in the low mids. With the AV/3's, deep ambient sounds are very large, but if a vocal or featured instrument is recorded with less early reflections due to proximity, it appears that way in the soundstage ( or spacial image) Very good localization.
On a 1-10 scale.....man that's tough.
I'll say this again, if someone where to ask me what I don't like about the AV/3's? My answer would be, nothing. Period. At first, before break in, I spoke to Danny, and he said we could tip the tweeter up with a simple resister swap. I said I'd wait a bit, and I'm glad I did. No need. But it's still nice to know you could, if that's your thing.
The OB 5 is very open and effortless in the mid range. It's hard to compare. It's not a derogatory remark on the AV/3 at all. The OB 5's mid range is very revealing. The Neo3 is fast . Again, not that the dome tweeter is slow. It's just fast and a bit(sic) more dynamic. They are a little more (sic)unforgiving in the vocal region. But you can't blame that on the speaker. On good recordings, the vocal is absolutely holographic. Very precise mid range. Lows are good, and with plenty of extension. The OB is a true 3 way. Paired with the active PR sub, it's astounding.
Let the AV/3's break in well, get accustomed to what they sound like on the music you like. If you really like the AV's, you'll be very, very impressed with the OB's.
I will have the opportunity to power them with some well respected tube amps in the next little bit ( older Dodd mono blocs, and McAllister Audio mono blocs ) and I will post some feedback when I do.
I hope that helps you out. I honestly can't put it on a 1-10 scale. I love both these speakers.
Cheers