I think that to some extent it depends on what you are listening for and why. I used my system for 10 years for opera to Blue Grass outdoors and opera to anything in a variety of school auditoriums. Some of the opera was local, some used "Stars of the Met". I never got anything but raves. Now, I was using A-7x's or A7-500x's purchased new and well taken care of by me. I have added what I can get from old theaters out west and they don't sound as good. Still for entertainment purposes - as opposed to hi-fi addicts like us - they do better than anything I have ever heard elsewhere. Of course, having worked for Bell Telephone Labs for 34 years I could be a mite biased.
No matter how beefy, woofer cones don't sound like much hanging out there in empty space. What do you use for an enclosure for these wonders (which, by the way, are way out of my price range anyway)?