Carver AL-IIIa speakers?

There's a pair up on fleabay that look decent.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
http://i.ebayimg.com/01/!B0mejQw!mk~...RCjPO!~~_3.JPG
Anyone ever hear these speakers?

First off, I am a big fan of the Carver Amazings. I think that it is a excellent speaker for the price. If you have a big amp, a large room and your music taste involves low bass and lots of dynamics, the Amazings can be very involving! I have only heard just a few speakers throw a larger soundstage than the Amazings. Mind are the first generation with the variable Q cube. It is one of few speaker that I will never sell.
I also have some experience with the AL-3's. I have heard them on a couple of Hi End systems, one being my brother's. I was expecting the AL-3's to be very similar, may be even better in some ways. My impressions, the speaker never disappeared, it's soundstage was very forward and it's bass was just average. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't anything there that would remind you of the Amazing Loudspeaker.
If you can get it for @ $600 or less, it would be something that you could sell if you grow to dislike them in the future. There is support for the AL-3 speaker on the Carver forum. Some of the Carver fans do modify this speaker with good results. You may want to visit that site.
** Just to sum this up, I believe that Bob could have made a statement product out of this line. When I look at the Amazings, I see a affordable Genesis/ Infinity ribbon speaker for the masses. While I know that the Carvers are not quite as good, I really can't afford a 20k dollar line source ribbon speaker. When you look at the AL-3, you say "Wow", how will it stack up against the old Genesis/ Infinity ribbons of the past!
IMO, I believe that Bob Carver took a short cut and kept the cost down. While that makes good business sense, I would have liked to see a line of ribbon tweeters beside the ribbon midrange and a better woofer.

First off, I am a big fan of the Carver Amazings. I think that it is a excellent speaker for the price. If you have a big amp, a large room and your music taste involves low bass and lots of dynamics, the Amazings can be very involving! I have only heard just a few speakers throw a larger soundstage than the Amazings. Mind are the first generation with the variable Q cube. It is one of few speaker that I will never sell.
I also have some experience with the AL-3's. I have heard them on a couple of Hi End systems, one being my brother's. I was expecting the AL-3's to be very similar, may be even better in some ways. My impressions, the speaker never disappeared, it's soundstage was very forward and it's bass was just average. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't anything there that would remind you of the Amazing Loudspeaker.
If you can get it for @ $550 or less, it would be something that you could sell if you grow to dislike them in the future. There is support for the AL-3 speaker on the Carver forum. Some of the Carver fans do modify this speaker with good results. You may want to visit that site.
** Just to sum this up, I believe that Bob could have made a statement product out of this line. When I look at the Amazings, I see a affordable Genesis/ Infinity ribbon speaker for the masses. While I know that the Carvers are not quite as good, I really can't afford a 20k dollar line source ribbon speaker. When you look at the AL-3, you say "Wow", how will it stack up against the old Genesis/ Infinity ribbons of the past!
IMO, I believe that Bob Carver took a short cut and kept the cost down. While that makes good business sense, I would have liked to see a line of ribbon tweeters beside the ribbon midrange and a better woofer.

Thanks! I was interested in them for use in a project. I already have a set of Magnepan ribbon tweeters that are just collecting dust. I had thought about using them in homemade set of speakers, but ribbon midranges to match them with are hard to find and this speaker has one.