No, it would be very difficult and time consuming for me to demo any speaker/amp combinations as I live way out in the boonies. It would take me a full day to get to one or two shops that would have some of the gear I'd be interested in; and another full day to go off in another direction, to a different city that might have something different to demo. No way to compare different options in a relatively short time and space so as to be able to really compare one against another in a meaningful way. This is one of the downsides in living in a lovely but somewhat remote area where most electronics are sold in the Wal Mart store over in the next county. So, I have to look for really good deals on equipment that I have read about in on-line reviews and forum threads hoping either that it works out well or I can put them back on the market at a reasonable price so someone else can give them a try. So far this has worked out ok for me and I have incrementally improved the quality of my two channel system; but, as I start to get to the next level, so to speak, the synergy between the components becomes more critical and the gamble more expensive.