Preference for speakers that are half the price. Has this ever happened to you?

Using price alone as the determining factor in a purchase is a recipe for disaster. 
 

For the consumer that is.   The vendor will be very happy!

@audiozx , you said that maybe you would "ask to listen to them a second time to be sure."

In my opinion:

IF you would be able to position them in your home listening room at least 5 feet in front of the wall behind them; and

IF the wall(s) that the rear-firing "Sound Field Shaper" drivers would be firing into in your room are either reflective or diffusive instead of absorptive; and

IF neither of these conditions describe how they were set-up for your audition,

THEN imo it is worthwhile asking for a second audition under more favorable set-up conditions.  And either ask the dealer to adjust the level of the rear-firing drivers (assuming that’s possible), or ask if you can do so yourself.  There will be a level at which they just barely begin to degrade clarity, and turn them down to just below that level. 

Even if they did have them positioned a favorable distance in front of a wall that wasn’t absorptive, it is still possible they had the rear-firing drivers poorly adjusted, so it might still be worth the trouble to ask for a second audition. 

You see, I suspect that the Aida might be a really good speaker when set up correctly, and if you have the opportunity for a really good deal on a pair, it would be a shame to miss out on them because they were handicapped by unfavorable setup conditions during your only audition.

Imo.

Duke

Like one other poster I had this with the Harbeth  range preferring the M30 to the HL5 ….. and then before with cheaper models from another range - preferring Quad towers to linn kealidh towers of nearly the exact dimensions and stats. 
 

only now with Tannoy Arden have I stopped listening to other speakers - just realised that has been since 2019 so an age in a picky me / tired / frustrated with something life of me ……

@foggyus91  - Thank you for the kind words! 

My $1800 Tekton OB Sigma from 2018 still impress me in my bedroom system. I like them so much I filled out a request on Tekton's site for the same design with bigger drivers and upgraded tweeters but they said no.