I've heard the 7s, 5A carbon, CT Quattro's and Treo's in two different showrooms at different times with different electronics. I wouldn't begin to offer an opinion other than to say that older Thiel and Vandersteen's line are some of the few reasonable speakers that have the same rightness mojo as my Avalons.
While every room is different I've never found my subwoofers to sound their best near the main speakers. I'd forgo the onboard subs for two correctly located multi-band EQd subwoofers. The dedicated subs will last through many different speaker changes.