Vandersteen 5Aa Carbon--any 5a owner's opinions?

I heard the 5A Carbon this weekend at THE SHOW NEWPORT. Driven by Audio Research with a the new Basis TT and arm the sound was very transparent and natural as one would expect from Vandersteen. I would say that the sound lands about halfway between the 5A and the Model 7. The midrange was stunning and the bass was very tight and deep in sharp contrast to most of what I heard at the show. The 5A Carbon also has a new midrange driver. Show conditions are difficult, but the 5A Carbon managed to overcome the limitations of the room.The Music Matters records played sounded fantastic.
The 5A sells for about 24K. These are the next best thing to the Model 7 which I have. It was interesting to talk to people in the business who have ordered the Model 7.

From what I can find on the 5A carbon, the only difference is the midrange driver upgrade to the carbon/balsa midrange. $8600 seems like a lot for that. I had thought that all drivers would be changed to the new ones for that price. I guess at that rate by the time you replace all the drivers the 7s start to look like the better move for the money.
As good as my 5As sound, I'm not sure I could justify either one. I need to have a long audition with the 7s sometime.

From what I have read, the 5A Carbon may be worth the upgrade price offered to original owners of the Vandersteen 5's.
I have a pair of 5's with low serial numbers, one of the first 100 made. They still sound great. John Rutan of Audio Connection traveled to Tennessee on his own dime to set them up for me. We had moved after I ordered them and they took about 4-5 months to receive them. Stunning in B Eye Maple.
There is a reason they call John the "Gentleman from Verona" I need to hear the 5A Carbon.
From what I have been told the Carbon upgrade is a no brainer. Original Owners on the 5 to 5A Carbon upgrades are treated well by Richard.

I'm sort of resurrecting this thread to see if anyone has doe the 5A to 5a Carbon upgrade and, if so, what the impressions have been. My 5As are due for the battery changes, seven years really flew by. I can send the components to Vandersteen and change the batteries or bit the bullet and send the whole speaker pair in for the upgrade which would kill two birds with one stone.

The 7s are just way beyond what I could justify expense-wise but if this upgrade would bring the 5A up a notch I would consider the cost of that worthwhile. Thanks in advance for any input.

I have been using my 5A's for a few years and really like them. When I moved from New Jersey, Richard himself helped me with the setup for this house with the additional help from John at AudioConnection. I am well acquainted with the sound of the 5A's. I visited a local (Arizona) dealer who demoed the Carbons. My wife and I could hear no difference between these new Carbons and the 5A's I had at home. Surely there were some slight differences...different electronics, but I could not hear an additional 100 dollars improvement. I also heard the 7's at AudioConnection....unfortunately, they weren't using their absolute first class gear, as their big Audio Research stuff was out for upgrades....however.....I heard a great speaker, but one not much if at all better than those I have at home. When I talked to Richard and John about this, they both said that in my house, I would hear a real difference. As of now, I think I'll just keep what I have. I strongly encourage everyone to audition these speakers themselves. As a company, Richard Vandersteen is at the top of any for consideration. John at Audio Connection is the absolute best dealer I've worked with....and there were many. This post is MY take at what I heard. Others will surely hear differently.