What speaker could safely be ordered without hearing it first?

Yes indeed!

A great documentary..

Gore Vidal is more a genius than a mere talented writer or journalist...

He truly understood America... Almost nobody dont today...

@mahgister, have you seen the documentary entitled Gore Vidal: The United States Of Amnesia? It’s fantastic!

PROac   Own and still have three point fives 

ATC don't currently  own but they are excellent

Kef Reference  - have and still own two 

All above are seamless with all music and good amplification.

All can be bought used well under your budget with room to improve the rest of the chain!

all are like getting Maxxis IKON tires for whatever the mountain throws at you .

I'd generally agree with those who say - don't buy any speaker without hearing in a demo session.  

However, you may be unable to do that for various reasons.  

In my experience with a range of speakers (e.g. Harbeths, Magnestand Maggies, Linkwitz Orion's, Emerald Physics, many others... and now... Legacy Calibre's)... I've found the Legacy Calibre XD (active speakers) to be the one's that I would not hesitate to buy without hearing before I buy them.  I did just that this week.  

I prefer the open, spacious soundstage and imaging of open baffle, dipole speakers... or... "hybrid open baffle, dipole" speakers.  Though, I do love the superb sound of the Harbeth 40.2's and 30.1's, which are not open baffle, dipole speakers - but - somehow they have many of the attributes of that type of speaker. 

But... it seems that most (if not all) open baffle, dipole type of speakers have special requirements to achieve their great sound - whether that's the amplification, or DSP, or placement, or many other requirements.  And most are very large and require lots of space. 

Well... you can forget all of those requirements with the Legacy Audio Calibre XD's (active speakers).  They are a hybrid, open baffle design, which has all of the advantages of the spacious soundstage and imaging, with superb sound quality and resolution from top to bottom... and... their "bookshelf" / "stand-mount" design does not require a lot of space to achieve their superb sound.  Their sound easily fills most reasonable sized rooms, and they can be set upon an entertainment center, or mounted on stands, yet still achieve their spacious sound.

I originally ordered the Legacy Audio Aeris (which is about the best there is)... but... changed my mind... because they were just too big and heavy to manage.  I opted for the Calibre XD, because they are much smaller, and manageable, yet have very much the same sound as the Aeris.  And... I'm driving them with just a source and preamp, to achieve their incredible sound - saving all of that space. 

While I love the sound of my other speakers - they are simply not as practical as the Calibre's, and sound no better.

So... if you don't want to take the typical risk of not hearing a speaker before you buy it... the Legacy Audio Calibre XD... is about as low risk as you will get!

https://legacyaudio.com/products/masters-collection      

AVANTGARDE

The B&W805 D2. Or newer D3. There’s a but.. The Lyngdorf TDI2170 was the only amplifier that could make them sing. Every other analog amplifier around 2500 Euro in store made a dull mess in comparison with the Lyngdorf. I still can’t figure out why that is.

The very cheap Adam T5V active little studio monitors. Again there’s a but.. You do need a small subwoofer to help the low end come alive.

The even less expensive JBL104 desktop speakers. Also active with a built in amplifier. Very different sound signature than the two above. Only a step down in detail than the T5V but a satisfying low budget sound to me. But needs help in some frequencies especially low-end. But not a big miss if you enjoy up close.

Then there’s room. I know everyone B about room until I found out myself.

I like to know what room treatment others have bought and could recommend to buy blindly. And won’t cost hundreds of Euros.

And here’s a small list of speakers which I can safely say to NEVER buy:

Audio Engine A2+ (wireless). Looks amazing on your desk. But the sound is one of the worst I ever heard. Even a 25 Euro JBL Go 2 sounds better.

KRK Rokit RP-5 G3. As with the AE A2+ there’s no treble in these things. And the Mids and Lows are a big mess (just like the A2+). Just never buy. They also look cuter in pictures and look a a bit bigger in real life.