How long ago was that demo? There's a lot of speculation about what did or did not go on there and why., But in its present form, the ALS includes a supertweeter and a fast, deep reaching powered sub designed and integrated by the designer of both. Let's not forget Bob Carver's history in reinventing the powered sub several years ago.
In The Absolute Sound, Robert E. Greene's review was an out-and-out rave, which qualified it by going into some detail concerning EQ profiles, placement, and subwoofer integration options.
The ALS includes EQ for bass, upper midrange, and treble. Also, since the mid/woofers are side-firing, there should be a lot of space to the sides (no problem for Mitch's room), but it was a problem somewhat for the TAS review and I don't know how they were set up for the demo Mitch saw/heard.
Anyway, it's the October 2015 issue of TAS. It's worth picking up for a read and perhaps an email to reviewer Robert. E. Greene.
Also, given the money involved and the prospect of affordably acquiring something that can credibly play back a 100-piece orchestra at full tilt, maybe you could fly out to Washington and audition it live (if Carver is set up to do so). It shouldn't be much more than the cost of return shipping.
