I elaborated on the low A "muffled" bit before. A quick recap was that some people think that the low A horns -- regardless of pitch, make or model -- sound stuffy in the bell-note range.
On my blog, I talk a little about this, but I think the only rational argument would be if you have a low A horn that was "made" low A by adding a non-conical extension to the bell, like the Conn 11M baritones, that you could get "stuffy." If you add a conical extension, I see no reason why you couldn't go to infinitely lower notes, provided you maintain the appropriate proportions.
I've played a Selmer Mark VI low A alto and I've played non-low-A Mark VI altos. My opinion is that if the horn's in good enough shape, it'll play good enough. However, in the somewhat recent past, I did find that the market disagreed with me and devalued the low A altos by about 10% (IIRC) over their low Bb brethren. To which, I remember posting something like, "... Which is good for those of us who'd like a Mark VI and want to pay a bit less."
Matt Stohrer, the gentleman that sent me the cover pics for my calendar this year, has a "repairman's overview" of another low A alto at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6lo1yyP1p4. It's about as minty.
re: Current low A alto offerings from Selmer, I do know about the low A Mark VII -- there's one on
www.selmer.fr and one on my old website. I've followed a few discussions on a few forums regarding different "name brand" players allegedly playing low A Super 80 horns. Generally, the discussions end with grainy pics of someone that looks like he might be holding a low A alto, but it's very difficult to tell a Mark VII from a Super 80 at a distance, moreso because of that low A. Serie II and III? I haven't heard of those. I'd think that Selmer could whip one up for you, because the Mark VII low A horns looked like Mark VIIs, not a Mark VI with grafted-on keywork.
The $8K price, though ... I don't think so. I browsed some of the closed auctions and Mark VI sales weren't getting to that level.
Close. That low A horn's also going through eBay the second time. Well, it's not quite as silly as the Modele 22 tenor for
$8936.