Road trip to demo $10,000 speakers

I was at axpona in march and I was looking to spend about $10k on speakers I mean why not? the banks giving .1% on my money, well that lame a$$ excuse was enough to get my wife on board. I didn't care for most of the big speakers in the hotel rooms and loved the little 2 ways. My 3 make that 4 favorite rooms were Neat acoustics, fugly little things that sound musical, Magnepan and Carver also sounded good in the small rooms and the little $20,000 Raidho was amazing. I ended up buying a pair of Revel Salon2's used but they need power and room to breathe. I believe when we get up to $5k with speakers the listening room becomes the most significant factor in how a system is going to sound and that's why I buy used. What happens if after spending 3 days listening to the best on offer you pull the trigger on a pair and they don't jel with your room? I guarantee the salesman will say they need time to break in. Once you pick the speakers you like GET an in home demo!

Mike, I have to second the above post. At the price we're shopping in even if you had a dealer nearby they're not crazy about shlepping $10k speakers to listeners homes unless they're more than a little confident of a sale. It was the reason I bought the salon2's used, even if I could hear them in a dealers showroom there's still no guarantee they'll sound the same at home. Example; My first 'audiophile' speakers were Kef R 105/3's that sounded like nothing I ever heard before I was shaking with desire and I bought them got them home and they were sibilant and bass shy, I call dealer and say whats up? and they tell me they just need time to break in and they'll sound like the demo's did. Well it took 10 years and thousands of dollars to get them to sound like they did that magical day and I was miserable in between. No shame in buying used then either way sell them after a month if you loved them go ahead and buy the pair new, if not move to the next speaker you enjoyed demoing. 

Skyscraper i apologize for the late reply. To answer your question about how I made difficult speakers sound good well I kept bringing in different components and cables. most amps built to a price which at the time was nad, adcom, nak, B&K, all sounded pretty much alike and I could hear a run of nordost wire sounded a little different than my kimber 4tc, but I really didn’t think it was better! way back in the 90’s it wasn’t until I stepped up my game and drove my kef’s with a krell and bi amped did those speakers sound good, But here’s the thing, I demoed those speakers on a HK receiver and they were amazing because that room was dead acoustically. There’s the camp that claims ’all amps sound the same’ and for casual listening with unfamiliar gear that’s probably true, but I found a relative bargain in amplification when I brought home the hegel h360 $6000 to drive my $22,000 speakers and when you’re listening at home you will need an amp that compliments your speakers and a good b&m dealer can help you there

I expect the speakers we read the most mixed reports about, say persona 3f goes from both ends of the scale some saying it's bright and unlistenable to the best speaker they've heard for the price to mean those are more room dependent ie less colored than other more consistent sounding speakers? that may sound idiotic but I still think you're crazy shelling out $10k for speakers you can't hear in your own room first! the odds speakers you hear at the showroom will sound the same when you get them home is unlikely. again, use local dealers to make a small list, buy used here and of the list the ones that sound right in your room return to buy new! I't will take time but you will know you did it right and a $10 k pair used will cost 1/2 that used so you could home demo the 2nd pair while reselling the first, 'coarse the process will probably take a year or more but for many of us the upgrade path never ends.

BTW Alon Wolf demo's his A3's with a hegel h30, expensive and hard to find used so I bought an h360 from my 'made in America' dealer' and saved 5 figures for retirement.

fun thread! I have started several " Best speaker for $10,000" threads and like you got recommendations from 1 extreme to the other and tbh I may still not be done. You can't go wrong with magico. Enjoy the music. 

Congratulations, We can't predict what you'll like only what we heard and considered stand out products, but we all have priorities we listen for         and hifi is a compromise. You should be set for at least 10 years.