New buy, no return policy

     An honest dealer cannot take back a trial speaker and then sell it as new.  The cost of a returned item is high.  Most dealers don’t stock such expensive items so a return becomes a very expensive part of inventory that may take a very long time to sell, particularly if the item comes with a variety of colors/finishes.  There is also a risk that the item does not sell before a new model comes on the market.  
     Risk of damage in moving and setting up speakers for a home demonstration, particularly with large and heavy speakers is another disincentive for home trials.

Yes, I understand the dealer, I understand the buyer as well. And he is a small dealer, he can't afford it really. I simply would not think that if I were buying $48k speakers I would be entitled to free or almost free home audition, set up, huge gratitude and a bottle of 100 years old single molt. But again I would want to hear the speakers with electronics, cables and the source they would be used with. Now, taking heavy turntable anywhere would be a big pain, digital source no problem. But if I  still insisted on my own analogue source, I would buy reel to reel tape deck, say, Otari in good condition, make a few recordings off the vinyl and take the deck to the dealer. After that I would either keep the deck or sell it quickly with some loss perhaps. We are talking about very expensive system, so extra couple of thousands dollars should not be a problem. Sounds complicated, but if you want a great sound you got to work on it too !

I don't understand how a speaker has to be marked down so much once it's taken out of the box. I know "when you drive off a car from a dealer". But it's not a car. The difference between inside or outside the box is the tape. It has been plugged in and ran at the factory already. 

It's the same inside or outside the box. It has no damages, scratches, etc. same warranty. Maybe a few % mark down. 

In this case apparently the dealer had a demo model on the floor that the OP was able to hear so there was no need to use new speakers for the OP to be able to hear them at home.  The dealer missed out on a $20k or so payday.  Good call. 🙄

Most dealers don't have ultra expensive floor demonstration models from a company's lineup.  If they do, it is still a big deal to move that speaker into a prospective buyer's system for a home demonstration--the speaker has to be packed for moving, it has to be transported and then set up for a demonstration.  The dealer is out of a demonstration model for the duration of the audition, the speaker has to be re-packed and transported after the demonstration, and the dealer is at risk for any damage in the whole process.  If there is a charge for this, or some assurance that the "buyer" is not a tire-kicker, I can see this working better.  I know a dealer who went through all of this trouble to set up a home demonstration which did not result in a sale only to be shown an on-line discussion where it turns out that the "buyer" borrowed gear from all around the town, held an audio party where friends got to hear various fancy components and no one was seriously interested in buying the stuff.

With most of my purchases, I have been offered the opportunity to do a home demonstration or I had return privileges.  But, I had previously bought gear from these  dealers and they knew I would buy what I liked.  Once, when I was shopping for a high end linestage, the dealer offered to bring in models from two companies for which he did not already have the flagship models I wanted to hear.  On a handshake deal, he agreed to buy both for a demonstration if I promised to buy one of them.  I ended up liking the first model he got in, which I heard in my own system, and told him he did not have to buy the other model for a comparison.