Vienna Acoustics sounded terrible at Magnolia

I also wonder about the customers, if they believe they are hearing good sound just because they are listening to expensive speakers. If so the store won't change a thing.
I say this because a few years ago I was in a Fry's electronics that sells Bose. There were a pair of (I believe) 701s playing, and they were pushed back so they were touching the wall behind them because the flimsy platform they were sitting on was to shallow, connected to a receiver and a switchbox, in a terrible room filled with speakers. They sounded awful, completely muddled and much worse than they would have if only brought out a couple of feet and placed on the floor. But there was this dude talking to his wife about these awesome speakers and how great they sounded, turning up the receiver with a big smile, like "see, ain't they great?"

"The sources were Yamaha and Denon receivers..."

Receivers ? There is the problem!! Typical big box trying to sell high end to the masses. The sad part is they demo Sonus Faber the same way - does not do the brand justice in the least!!

The average buyer buys by reputation and brand recognition...which is why I suspect that BOSE does so well (I can't think of any other reason). I guess some buyers buy because of the salesman's recommendation which is scary at Magnolia. The other factor (remember that in TV's a buyer will always buy the brightest one!!!!) is the speaker that's loudest with the boomiest bass will always win in a listening comparison. Most buyers would never buy a fully equalized system in a reasonable audio room because it would sound "dull" to them. I once did a quick calibration on a 52" TV and then listened to folks compare it to the one's around it....dull, lifeless, awful. Hey...that's the buyer today.

But dealing with reality, most buyers don't really know what good audio sounds like...they have never experienced it. The favorite is the boomy sub...folks love em...and they know they have a good system because they've used monster cables to hook everything up. Sorry, but that's the real world, the real market, the real buyers.

If you read real reviews about a speaker and they are positive, don't even bother to listen to them at a store like BB/Fry's....just buy them, try them in your home and then return them if they aren't good. Generally, a good speaker will sound much better in your home than in any store and certainly better than any big box store.

Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grands sound terrible in both my listening rooms w/ three different amplifications systems: MC2155 + C32, MAC 4100, Cary SLI-80.
They sound like they're playing from under a blanket through a big tube. My 30 year old Spendor BC II's, on the other hand, are clear all across the spectrum with each of the above mentioned systems.

I think VA's must be a very very, very, very particular speaker.

They are a location sensitive speaker.