avantgarde loudspeakers

I think it's a little simplistic to say that DIY is a better way to go. For the vast majority of people it is not. You need three things to accomplish DIY successfully: Time (alot of it), knowledge, experience. To think that you just buy some various parts, find a simple DIY diagram, and assemble a SOTA system that can compete with or eclipse many commercial products is silly. If you have the above three criteria met, great, otherwise DIY can be a frustrating and expensive lesson in humility. Then again, it may not. I'm not a gearhead, as you can probably tell. BTW, I would love to have the time to learn to do DIY but have other acitvities that are higher priority (career,family,etc.).

Agree with tbg and topoxforddoc. I listen to my Duos about 12 ft. to the sweet spot. Listening distances < 8 ft. is not advisable. You need that extra distance for multiple driver integration which becomes seemless causing these large speakers to disappear. The crossover between the midrange and bass unit can be problematic but with careful positioning and adjustment, this can be eliminated.
In terms of being the best, that is obviously a personal judgement. All speakers have compromises, even SOTA designs. Whether you prefer horns,cones,electrostatics,single driver speakers is up to you. As to horns, the AG's do not have any classic horn colorations such as a "cupped hands" sound. Out of the commercially available,full range,> 100dB sensitivity speakers, I liked the AG's the best. I've had them for 2 years and don't regret anything about the purchase. AFAIC, I've found the speakers I plan on keeping. Highly recommended.