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

I had the Vandersteen 5a speaker system in my listening room for about 6 years.
Peter Roth (Ultra Audio) is a member of the LA?Orange County Audio Society where I am also a member. At the time his reference speaker was the 5a. He told me about the new Model 7s that had just had an excellent debut at CES. He had heard them at the show and was impressed. OK, so I called Randy Cooley at
Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica and set up an audition. Because I had the 5as I asked if they had been set up using the Vandersteen jig/laser plus DVD in order to optimize bass response and speaker placement. Yes, he had
done that. Simply put, what I heard that day blew me away. I had made sure that I had just played some of those same recordings at home with the 5as.
Hearing those same recordings at the dealers store on the Model 7 revealed
aspects of those recordings that I had never heard. And the difference was not
subtle. In all aspects this was a major breakthrough in speaker technology.
Now I have had these speakers for almost three years and my opinion has
not changed one bit. Most of the posts from those who have auditioned
the Model 7s have said the same thing. As I have mentioned in a previous
post, the 5a Carbons perform about half way between the 5a and 7. It;s not
just the driver upgrade that makes this so. It is also the carbon fiber cabinet
that makes it superior to the 5a as great a speaker as the 5a is.
I'm just telling you what I have heard in my own listening room. Friends of
mine in the Society who heard the 5a and then heard the 7 in my room all
said the same thing. To them it was obvious.

I should also mention that the electronics that I have are Aesthetix Io Eclipse
phono preamp with two power supplies plus Aesthetix Atlas Signature mono
bloc amps. I had this set up with both the 5a and 7 speaker systems.

Thanks Chargerfan. If only the 7s were somewhere around the $30K mark, it might be a consideration for me. If the Carbon upgrade would really take the 5A halfway to the same level it would be a steal IMO.

I do wonder though if there may ever be an updated version of the 5A with all of the carbon fiber drivers, 5A Carbon Sig? Pure conjecture of course, and the price would certainly inch closer to the Model 7.

Just wondering, but isnt the 5A discontinued, and now the 5A carbon has taken its place in the line up?

The 5A is still listed on the Vandersteen price section at $19,000/pair. The 5A Carbon is at $24,000. The 7 takes you to $48,000. The slope steepens quickly. This is why if the carbon upgrade indeed gives half the improvement as the jump to the 7 it's a relative bargain.