Cost is the main trade off.
I will correct some folks : aqua soil is in fact dirt, soil and the same stuff you would fine in a rice paddy.........nice clay loam, it's been slightly processed(MTS is for that matter when we process it for use)
From there if you uproot and rescape and do not like layers mixing together, well.............or do not like caps of sand.........then ADA AS is the clear winner.
I do not think the plants care, but for use and for the look and mistakes we make, ADA AS is likely a better choice, but it's not that cheap either, but....over the time frame, say 8 years on my 180 gal...........
It's still doing very nice and I keep using it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3VNwfNtNA0