This is for Georgehifi especially but others can chime in.

Ralph,

As per having more than one speaker in a room, 99.9 percent of dealers unfortunately have to do this as loudspeakers do take up space.

We only have one set of speakers on deck so to speak so you can acutally get a pretty good idea of what they sound like.

Yes in an ideal world you would have only one set of speakers

In our reference room we have one set of speakers on each wall so we have two active speakers on display,

As per the results of the demo, you can still easily hear the difference between the different makes and models.

Just like if I demoed an OTL amp vs another type of amp using decent but not great cables would be demo be all of a sudden not be valid and therefore by a hoax?

Sure if we used even better cables the system should point out even greater amounts of information, but two different amps should sound noticably different don’t you think?

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

A dealer can generate business simply by invading a free forum with self promotion…as well meaning as a dealer claims to be, that still is exactly what's happening, and when there's even a hint of a commercial connection to any product touted by a dealer in an otherwise open forum, I consider that to be an unethical and somewhat slimy commercial activity designed to promote a business. Period. Others may disagree…and I don't need to "report it to the moderators" as I can state my case just fine on my own.  

In our reference room we have one set of speakers on each wall so we have two active speakers on display,

It does not matter where the unused speakers are in the room, they are affecting the sound! If the speaker connections are shorted, they will have less effect.

Just try it instead of arguing about it.

Just like if I demoed an OTL amp vs another type of amp using decent but not great cables would be demo be all of a sudden not be valid and therefore by a hoax?

[sic] 

Maybe, but this analogy does not hold up. Amps don't absorb energy from each other by being in the room.

Ralph we know about that trick, what you said is that having multiple speakers in the room completely invalidates the results, when they don't.

Wolf sorry but what you feel is unethical is done all the time on these forums and others many others/

If you think that their aren't shills or people who are directly affiliated with dealers or manufacturers who hide behind their screen names and post away, you need to wake up.

As per invalidating anything, when we tell the story of what products we tested brand x against and brand x beat brand y in these ways, many people who read these posts find that not as gospel but as a way of perhaps finding out about a new brand or a new product that they didn't know about or where not considering and find these discussions helpful.

We usually have pictures which back up the products we have been testing at the time, such as the $120k pair of Kharams, we passed on.

When I mentioned  that Musicfx who did not purchase anything from us, found out about the brand we were recomending and sought out a dealer on his coast, he is in CA, and lo and behold found out the product we were recommending beat the Pass and beat the Prima Luna and made his Wilson Sashas sound fantastic, do you think he was happy to be reading our posts? Did we gain anything? The answer is no. 

We have talked with many nice people all over the country and all over the world and most of these people have not purchased anything from us.

If we have it your way many new products would not be tried in peoples systems or even found out about in the first place, as the buyers can't always find a way of demoing a particular brand.

Do you think we know everything, we like you guys read the magazines, scour the forums and if a new product or brand makes sense we bring it in and test it vs our display inventory, when it is better we bring it in and sell off the older inventory.

Wolf what you read about and choose to do business with and make your opinions is up to you, if you read the posts about people who follow us and who have been to our shop, most people are blown away by the sound we can produce and the wide range of products we display.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

@audiotroy I've experienced more than my share of overbearing, overly pushy, opinionated, hard sell hi-fi salespeople in the course of several decades of this hobby--our little world seems to abound in them, and I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to experience any more.  My comment was intended in the same spirit as a few others here, that is, that there are different ways a dealer can post on here, and some will be productive and others counter-productive.  In making decisions as to whom to visit and forming opinions as to what to audition one goes on the basis of available data.  Auditioning new equipment in a dealer showroom (even if it is a private house) is never really what I would call a relaxing experience, and one doesn't need the salesperson tipping the scales further, whether it be just by hovering or something worse.