Have you ever wondered why speaker manufactures do not consign speakers to dealers?

I hate the traveling to demo but do not have any other choice.  

I would think a manufacture would have vette dealers that they could send them a few extra products for clients to try.

Great question and one that I also was wondering about.  When I was shopping for some expensive speakers recently, I couldn’t find any place to hear them. I called every dealer within several hours driving distance. Dealers whio carried the brand (KEF) told me they only could afford to stock a very limited selection of high end models.  Can’t really blame the dealers. The investment to carry a wide selection of high end equipment is pretty big. I called the US distributor and asked how they could sell the speakers whien they weren’t available to audition.  No satisfactory answer.   You would think that consigning speakers or temporarily lending speakers to dealers is clearly  in the manufactures’ interests since it obviously would promote sales. In the end, I bought KEF Reference 5 speakers but, because no one within several hundred miles stocked them,  I didn’t I hear them until they were delivered (i based my decision on hearing the KEF Reference 3 which has many similarities).  . 

It costs $$$   Two dealers local to me do a pretty good job of showcasing some pretty nice speakers...  Audio Visual Therapy in Nashua and Natural Sound in Framingham.  They have some  pretty expensive speakers on display for demo.   And if you want really insane speaker systems visit Goodwins High End in Waltham MA

The dealer makes the lion’s share of the money in some ways.

And the manufacturer carries a considerable load, in the remainder.

If the dealer is not holding up their end...well....

Dealers can ask for an accommodation price (or are offered one) for showroom floor samples, is how it might go.

There’s always a way to make it work.