Do You Buy Speakers Without Hearing Them?

I just purchased a pair of Heco Aurora 1000 towers from Audio Advice in the US. I was not able to listen to them prior to purchasing. They meet and even exceed my expectations for sound quality and esthetics. 

One tower suffered a small area of damage on the rear corner around the mid point during transit. Audio Advice apologized for the damage even though it wasn't their fault.  They shipped out a new tower less than 24 hours after learning about the damage from the contact support form on the website. They also emailed a pre-paid return shipping label for the damaged tower. What excellent customer service.

I still have the 30 day return available if I decide I don't like them.  I am 100% sure I will be keeping these gems. 

I have owned Vandersteen speakers for the last 40 years.  Going in order from 2C to model 3 to 3A to 3A Signatures to Treo CT’s now with stereo subs. They just reproduce what goes in with a “you are there” sense of realism. I bought them before hearing them after reading consistent and corroborative reviews along with 40 years experience working my way up the Vandersteen line.  

So far, only from brands and technologies that I have owned and liked. Scanspeak drivers for the sub, Magnepan DWM for mid bass boost.

But as you point out, the days of auditioning are fast disappearing.

I bought without hearing either the speakers or other examples of the same model but I did listen to the two next/later examples of that size/type speaker made by the same company.  I liked the house sound, bought my speakers used, unseen and unheard, and it worked in this case. 

The speakers I bought after a dozen auditions of all sorts of speakers at local hifi shops in 2000 were good, but ultimately, not keepers.  In 2009 I bought my current speakers without any auditions, based largely on a lengthy thread here on the 'gon.  They sounded exactly the way the posts described, and were exactly what I wanted in a speaker, including the price point.  14+ years on, I haven't had a minute's regret.  The speakers were direct from the manufacturer, and came with a 120 day return option.  Ohm Walsh 2000s.  It's a shame that Ohm seems to have gone dormant since founder John Strohbeen passed last October.