Choosing Speakers

[Still-One]

After reading the posts in the XR 200 thread I thought I would start a new thread where we could discuss the issues related to selecting speakers for our systems.

I thought some of the last posts touched on a few of the problems we face in finding the a speaker that fulfills the majority of our expectations.
Here is an initial list that I have come up with. Feel free to add your own. Remember not everyone will have to deal with every issue.
1) Does the speaker hit the right buttons when you first hear it?
2) Does it fit into your room?
3) Do you like the way it looks? Does it have WAF?
4) Does it fit you pocket book?
5) even if you have no problem affording the gear, are you willing to pay a lot extra for those small improvements you get for those dollars?
6) Can you take the hit if once you get it into your system and it does not work, then you must sell them?
7) Will your current gear allow you to get the most from your selection?

Here are some of the problems we face in purchasing the best speaker for our needs.
1) Not every speaker we would like to hear is carried by a dealer close to our homes.
2) If you find a dealer who has the speakers, he may be driving them with gear that is very different than what you have in your home?
3) No matter what it sounds like in the showroom, it is going to sound different in your room.
4) It is very difficult although not impossible to get a dealer to allow you to demo the speakers in your home.
5) If is very difficult to A-B two speakers especially when the optimal spot for each speaker is approximately the same.

I think that these are good starting points for discussion. I have some other points but I think they will come out as we proceed.