I'll probably do a full/self-contained post with observations thus far, but just couldn't resist chiming in:
I demoed the 2023 LS (twice, and with two different strings), so take these comments with a healthy dose of skepticism. the 500 compared to the 2023 LS is cleaner, but IMHO quite muted, but in a firm, pleasant way. I broke my dominant/hitting hand not too long ago, and I think I developed some golfer's elbow/tendonitis from avoiding loading it, so I've (also) got less recent court time to compare to

. The 23-LS felt like a bit of a rocket launcher that couldn't be reigned in - I didn't have great feedback from the string bed, and would often see a completely unexpected trajectory based on what I thought my stroke path was. I like to drop shot/volley and soft-hands angle a lot in doubles, and my confidence was very, very low with the 23-LS. There were perks, of course - free power, net clearance, access to lots of spin, way more stability than the weight would imply... the current '25-500 is just a lot more refined,
but it's still too muted for my tastes. I initially strung the frame up with (old) Topspin Cyber Blue (@ 59lbs, was concerned about the prior experience & rocket launching) just because I had it and am familiar with it (and it sort of matches the cosmetic). I wanted to baseline the frame before testing out the explosive tour, but I couldn't get a good A/B without
something being familiar. Yeah, I cut it out after one match/session because I highly prefer raw feedback. I strung the Explosive Tour (1.25mm) at 58, and there was super pleasant feedback, and it felt connected
enough, but I like borderline unpleasant levels of vibration/connection. I usually play with leather, but left the frame stock just to get more data points. I'll be swapping my grip to leather next before trying new strings.
TL;DR: Cleaned up and refined, yes. De-muted, no. It's about the most pleasant muted I've found, there's something of an X-factor that I haven't put my finger on yet.
+1, same vibes. I do want that comparison, because the Blackout surprised me (a lot) from a very brief hit. After only a couple balls (coming back from my broken hand!), I said "ugh, I like this. I didn't want to like this." For context, I don't play super competitively anymore, and I'm somewhat of an off-the-couch player these days, I've been enjoying very light (~10oz strung + leather + minor matching customization) frames. My rust and poor preparation gets along fine with featherweight frames... I've played with the whole spectrum (13+ oz ~90si to ultra-lightweight early 2000s frames), and I've found I'm more sensitive to swingweight than other paper specs.
I'd lean the 500 at ~60% from raw to muted. I'm hoping a leather grip wakes it up a lot.
This frame doesn't remind me (in feel) of the AeroGel 500 tour, but it
does remind me a lot of not expecting to like the frame much from the paper specs, and borderline not "connecting" with the frame (AG500T was
very powerful in my hands), but the results/performance of the frame was wonderful! I'm deep in the confirmation bias - I'm expecting to really like this racquet after minor mods and maybe switching to it (despite my feel comments above). I'll probably be A/Bing with my buddy's Blackout if he'll loan it to me, and picking one. I also bought the older SX 300 LS, and I'm finding it to be too powerful and lacking enough touch (and/or connectedness).
I'm OK with that (read as: I acknowledge I'm early in my playtest and totally in the honeymoon phase, but my early thoughts are: "uh oh, I might switch.")
I'm actually a little embarrassed that I didn't even notice this drill pattern (and went into this playtest
very blind to avoid biasing myself). I'll have to double check how I strung mine.
My wager is that it's designed to be open/allow for slippage vs. restricting, but I'm sure I'm not hitting the ball clean enough these days to notice enough of a difference to blame my gear