This has become a fascinating thread. I keep wanting to unfollow it but something has kept drawing me back and I think that the underlying argument is one of my biggest issues with the current state of audio.
We have a speaker (Paradigm) that has a bright character. The dealer, correctly states, that with careful system matching and room treatment, the speaker can be spectacular. I 100% agree with that.
I also find that problematic and my issues are not technical. My hunch is that not many consumers are walking into a store buying a speaker in that price range probably already have a system in place and the Paradigms will be replacing an existing speaker. Unless that consumer has just the right equipment, they are going to be extremely disappointed when they get that speaker home unless they are revamping their whole system. Reviewers do nothing to help this. Have you ever read a bad review? And, the brand fans advocate like hell for their brand in forums where you might get an honest opinion. Badging is an amazing phenomenon.
That being said, am sure audiotroy is highly consultative (you called me out for not being consultative in another thread which was fair) and would never sell these Paradigm speakers to a consumer with Bryston, Ayre, etc... gear and cheers to you for that. But this industry is not well known for consultative salespeople who are tolerant of other opinions and work to truly make customers happy.
The added issue is that speaker manufacturers and most (not all) retailers feed into this. Does everyone remember the Pepsi Challenge from the 80's? They would show coke drinkers take a side-by-side sip test of Pepsi and coke and 9 out of 10 times consumer would pick Pepsi as the product they like better. This was fact and Pepsi did not mis-represent the results in anyway. And ultimately is why Coke launched "New Coke".
The funny thing was, when consumers take a side-by-side sip of Pepsi vs. Coke, the slightly sweeter taste profile of Pepsi is far more appealing. When you test preferences over a long consumption session or with food, most consumers prefer the slightly less sweet taste of Coke as the sweeter flavor becomes less pleasant on the 5th, 8th, 10th sip.
Speakers manufacturers design products to deliver wow moments in brief listening sessions. When in practice, over an extended listening session, the speakers can be highly fatiguing unless carefully paired. And many retailers or manufacturers at shows demo products via "the Pepsi Challenge" method. They will have a very prescribed amp pairing and series of tracks that will show a product at its very best and deliver a brilliant soundstage and amazing details that will be jaw dropping.
Bluntly, this method sells speakers. But, this Pepsi challenge method of selling speakers leads to buyers remorse and ultimately forcing consumers to upgrade other elements of their system. It takes advantage of the psychology that the consumer couldn't have made a poor choice in their speakers selection. They have purchased this new brand that they identify with and therefore there has to be something wrong with the rest of there system since these sounded so good in the showroom. Badging is such a big part of hi-fi that it is easy to exploit this. Thus, the consumer upgrades to electronics that fit the speakers better. Bigger register ring for the retailer.
Irony is, the retailer wins, manufacturer wins and the consumer ultimately ends up with a system that makes them happy but at a significantly higher cost. Is that a win for the consumer? Is this sort of selling what is causing audio retailers to close at an astonishing pace? Could it explain why hi-fi is a relatively obscure hobby in the US? Is there a better way?
