Have I run afoul of Audiogon forum guidelines here?
Certainly not.
You can go to a car dealership and ask the salesman 100 questions regarding a car that you might be interested in, but you wont know how it drives until you get behind the wheel and test drive it.
Pretty much the same thing here. So, why not take the plunge and buy a speaker that you are interested in and listen to how it sounds ?
I just dont see why you are over thinking this