How to meaningfully audition speakers??

Bo,
Be cautious, you're putting your ears at risk with the ultra loud volumes you describe . What would you say are your average listening levels at home?
Charles,

Frogman, you make some very fair points about listening to live performances to train the ears to understand accuracy. A little while ago, my wife and I attended a performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center. I forget how I managed to get affordable front/center Orchestra seats, maybe 15 or 20 rows back, but I did. I also forget the musical selections.

But it doesn't really matter. The point is that I still recall the incredible experience of being that close to the performance. Not just hearing the music, but feeling it. Be it the tympani, the bass section, violins. Whatever.

Does my rig recreate that experience?? Sadly, ... no. Nevertheless ..., I still enjoy the musical presentation. Is the deficiency the rig or the source material? Both. But every once in a while, I spin a great recording (CD or LP) and I'm having a ball.

I am the OP of this thread. I admit there's plenty of room for improvement in my system, the room, power delivery, etc. What's frustrating is that speakers are so essential, yet so difficult to select. That's why I started the thread. Almarg makes a great point that some speaker manufacturers allow home trial. I'll keep that in mind if I decide to switch out my current fronts.

Thanks for the great posts and terrific insights.

Bruce

The spl of the speaker is maybe 117.9 db. It is just a number, but I can play still very loud. It is detached house, no problems with neigbours. Monitor Audio uses very big magnets and the speaker units are made of ceramic coated aluminium/magnesium. They are light but very stiff. I can even play louder with the Monitor Audio Platinum speakers than with my old B&W 800 Signature. At concerts I often use earplugs, my hearing is very important. I am Always very careful with it. I know when I need to stop. When you have more control and authority you Always can play louder. Even when I play loud there is no harshness at all in the mid and hig freq. I will buy the Pass Labs X600.5 within a year. You need also control in the mid and high freq. to play loud. Many people are stunned how relaxed listening it is even at very high volumes. The PLW-15 subwoofer can be played also at extreme volumes cause of Audyssey Pro, Purist Audio powercable and Audioquest subcable. They use a massive magnet and the material of the 15 inch unit is very light and stiff. I use it from 16hz till 140 hz. I can use it this high cause of the stunning response and control of the bass unit.

I play seldom loud for a long time. The Olive 06HD is giving a lot of weight in the low freq. When you use Purist Audio powercabels this part is getting even more powerful and controlled. The same thing about the Audioquest Wild Blue Yonder. I play most of the time at low volume levels. Because you do not need to play loud to get a stunning level in low freq. I Always played with big systems without a subwoofer. To be honest for stereo I did find it too slow and not fast enough. Now I own the PLW 15 with Audyssey pro I love it for stereo use. I prefer it it over a big speaker without a subwoofer. A few years ago I never thought this could be possible. Time and technique goes on. New techniques give me to change to create a much higher level in sound quality for lower prices than in the past.

Only cause of Audyssey Pro I can play this loud. Because without it you would get too much acoustic problems. This gives me the change to let people hear Bluray at very loud volumes without any stress.