I think the un-named highly placed audiophiles are in error, and should spend more time listening to live music and comparing what they hear to the sound of the 5A's.
I do not mean to denigrate the von Schweikert's in any way -- they are also a fine speaker. But, in my personal experience (about 40 years as a fairly serious audio enthusiast), "excitement" in a speaker usually indicates that some specific portion of the audio range is being over-emphasized -- often the treble. The 5A's are, to my ear, very coherent from top to bottom, wonderfully balanced, with excellent transparency and dynamic. They come about as close to reproducing the true sound of music as any speaker I have ever heard. But that's just my un-highly placed opinion...
I do not mean to denigrate the von Schweikert's in any way -- they are also a fine speaker. But, in my personal experience (about 40 years as a fairly serious audio enthusiast), "excitement" in a speaker usually indicates that some specific portion of the audio range is being over-emphasized -- often the treble. The 5A's are, to my ear, very coherent from top to bottom, wonderfully balanced, with excellent transparency and dynamic. They come about as close to reproducing the true sound of music as any speaker I have ever heard. But that's just my un-highly placed opinion...