I runa geissele super duty 11.5 upper with a Griffin Recce 5, PEQ 15 and a set of dual tubes. Love that rifle.
I have it on a BCM lower with an A5 buffer system.
Honestly if you have a chance to buy an AW I'd go for it. Phenomenal rifles and they're not as plentiful these days. Even though I have an AX and other more modern rifles the AW holds a special place.
Trend here lately with a lot of people I work with is greatly reducing the size of the can. So yeah everyone is wearing ear pro with comms. But a surefire mini or warden helps keeps the blastiness down.