I'd generally agree with those who say - don't buy any speaker without hearing in a demo session.
However, you may be unable to do that for various reasons.
In my experience with a range of speakers (e.g. Harbeths, Magnestand Maggies, Linkwitz Orion's, Emerald Physics, many others... and now... Legacy Calibre's)... I've found the Legacy Calibre XD (active speakers) to be the one's that I would not hesitate to buy without hearing before I buy them. I did just that this week.
I prefer the open, spacious soundstage and imaging of open baffle, dipole speakers... or... "hybrid open baffle, dipole" speakers. Though, I do love the superb sound of the Harbeth 40.2's and 30.1's, which are not open baffle, dipole speakers - but - somehow they have many of the attributes of that type of speaker.
But... it seems that most (if not all) open baffle, dipole type of speakers have special requirements to achieve their great sound - whether that's the amplification, or DSP, or placement, or many other requirements. And most are very large and require lots of space.
Well... you can forget all of those requirements with the Legacy Audio Calibre XD's (active speakers). They are a hybrid, open baffle design, which has all of the advantages of the spacious soundstage and imaging, with superb sound quality and resolution from top to bottom... and... their "bookshelf" / "stand-mount" design does not require a lot of space to achieve their superb sound. Their sound easily fills most reasonable sized rooms, and they can be set upon an entertainment center, or mounted on stands, yet still achieve their spacious sound.
I originally ordered the Legacy Audio Aeris (which is about the best there is)... but... changed my mind... because they were just too big and heavy to manage. I opted for the Calibre XD, because they are much smaller, and manageable, yet have very much the same sound as the Aeris. And... I'm driving them with just a source and preamp, to achieve their incredible sound - saving all of that space.
While I love the sound of my other speakers - they are simply not as practical as the Calibre's, and sound no better.
So... if you don't want to take the typical risk of not hearing a speaker before you buy it... the Legacy Audio Calibre XD... is about as low risk as you will get!
https://legacyaudio.com/products/masters-collection
