if the limbs are quiet and really smooth at a different limb pad angle then that might be the angle where those limbs are most efficient. the hoyt angles work great for the geometries of the recurves they were designed with. when you change the limb geometry you may also have to change the limb pad angle to optimize the limb angles.
yes, a pair of black maxes or skys might be just as fast but will they be just as smooth and quiet? my guess is that they will not be as smooth or as quiet as a static limb when you start taking them out of the efficient geometries they were intended to be used with.
ex. look at the limb pad angle on high performance longbows. would you suggest to match the recurve limb pad angles to match the longbows for a more fair comparison? i wouldnt.
so.. evening out all the variables to test only speed may or may not be relevant. in my experience speed is easy. speed, smoothness and good timing (quietness/low vibe) is not.
i think for testing, limbs and brace should be set at their optimums for whatever shooting you plan on doing the most. draw length has to be considered.
a few more twists on the limb bolts may give you a few fps but it might also make your bow loud and less smooth at a given draw length.
every limb/riser combo is going to have a most efficient setting of timing/brace/angles dependant on how far the limbs are being drawn. with an adjustable limb pad angle and ability to change brace ht we can tweak a little bit in different directions but there will still be a "best" setting. limb length will also influence where this best setting is. a really short bow will have different "settings" for better efficiency at a given draw than will too-long limb but there will still be a best set up for a given draw. we choose and modify all this based on what kind of bow we are wanting to set up (short hunting bow or long target bow or something in between).
..harder to compare apples to apples sure.. but what i really want to do is compare the entire platform vs. platform and see which combo is best for my PERSONAL SHOOTING REQUIREMENTS.
lots of variables.
looking forward to data.
awesome looking limbs and terriffic price!!