Which leaves us with the simple conclusion that if you are a seasoned rider who knows exactly what he wants and don't need the input of a stranger, just go to whoever builds your bike fast, cheap and well. That'd be xacd (if they build bikes well - I have no idea). Exactly the same as shopping online or in an LBS. If you know what you're doing, you don't really need the LBS.

I'm sorry, I don't see why a non-racing rider would pay $1000 extra for somebody to make sure the top tube is not 1 cm shorter than it should be according to his opinion. Even if we accept that the builder is right in every case (a stretch), what do you lose by keeping your $1000 and geting a 1 cm shorter tt? You walk into a shop and get a 1 cm longer stem. Now you'll tell me the steering will be horrible then... yeah, sure. I may prefer it that way. Nobody knows in advance. Bottom line is, there may be a million tiny factors changing the handling of the bike through frame design, but the builder's idea of good handling may not match mine.

Really, it's pretty easy for any moderately experienced rider to copy the geometry of any of the million frames out there and adapt it to his needs somewhat, or, even better: Start out from a frame he rides and likes.

The only issue is whether the materials, construction methods and general reliabilty of xacd is up to par.