What speaker could safely be ordered without hearing it first?

I hear ya. The speakers I am interested in will weigh 500lbs total in the flight cases and I would need to take them down a flight of stairs.

If, the dealer would accept returns, (questionable) I would have to bring them back up the flight of stairs. (gulp) I am 70 with a bad knee... and a lazy son-in-law.

I think I am talking myself out of this endeavor.

ozzy

How about this:

(a) read reviews and forum posts to try to get a ballpark idea

(b) search for top candidates used; places like the The Music Room have slightly higher prices but also a two-week trial period.

(c) If you don't like them after a time, re-sell for closer to what you would have paid retail.

I’m going to be a bit of a contrarian...

As long as you stay within the same design family, and you’re not too obsessive about the various shades of goodness, and the speakers are generally well-known and discussed, I think it’s a pretty low-risk endeavor. Oh, and you don’t have unrealistic expectations based on a price point. That’s a biggie.

Given your current setup, would I purchase a set of Magnepans, or Martin Logans, or even a set of monitors without listening? Probably not. A set of 2 1/2 way or 3-way floor standers with a dome tweeter and cone mid-range / woofers? Sure.

If you purchase used, it’s even a lower-risk endeavor (from a monetary perspective). I highly doubt the OP is considering $100k speakers. Audio shows may be the best way to look at equipment, but it’s probably the worst way to listen to equipment.

So it may be a frivolous exercise but I’ll ask the question anyway.

op

you are right, it isn't a frivolous exercise, but it is a goofy question

you can order any speaker (or any component) unheard, you just take the risk that you may not like what it does, then have to dispose of it, at a cost of money and effort

this is what the used gear market is all about - you buy what interests you, see if you like it, then resell at a reasonable price if you don’t