I've got a Taylor 314ce with the Fishman prefix (not blender). Its horrid! - Totally unusable for recording (I'd use a mic anyway) and very one-dimensional live. I would hope the blender system would improve on this because it has internal mic(?). I havn't tried the es system so can't comment. I would probably agree that retro fitting is the way to go, especially if you're interested in guitars per se rather than just playing. I'm a total guitar nut so I'd probably enjoy the process of researching the purchase and waying up the odds!
redstevo