Don't sweat it, Gordo. Whatever your buddy gets will feel right if they shoot it enough. All others will feel "weird".
I've been shooting bows a long time and there is one constant. Every bow I ever bought felt smoother, faster...better, than the last one. I explained this to my minime when he was hammering me about getting a Halon. I explained a million times that the old trusty Switchback he was shooting was more bow than he needed. I'll never forget look on his face after he shot the Halon for the first time. It was priceless, not because of how great the bow was, but because he realized the irony after shooting and saying, "Its so smooth".... Yeah.
The real irony is that I have set up that old switchback for my own use in recent weeks. New strings. Long stabilizer, back bar, and a 6x scope. The "antique" has now replaced the great Halon... he doesn't even want to shoot that fancy new "smooth" bow... he wants to shoot the old switchback...the same bow he made fun of me for shooting! I have a sinking feeling I'll be shooting "trad" at most 3D shoots this year as my spoiled brat will be taking over my target bow.
Old guys know stuff.
There are a bunch of pages on FB now for buying and selling archery gear at reasonable cost. I have no idea why anyone would buy a new bow when there are so many good ones to be had for half the original cost. Same with the ridiculously priced accessories.