I feel the opposite of Jeff. To me, the only means of auditioning speakers is not in a showroom demo room, but in ones own listening environment...for an extended period of time.

Regarding the ACI's, they are easily the best speakers to my ears that I've ever owned and I've owned quite a few. My front right/left and 25th Anniversary edition Sapphires, to go along with my Essence center and Emerald on-wall surrounds. IMO, simply amazing speakers for the money and, yes, they do offer a 30 day return policy. I've read many a post where the Sapphires beat out more costly competition, such as the BMW 805N and Sonus Faber Concertos. To me, they wipe the floor with any of the competition I've heard at dealers around my town.

Seriously, I don't think they advertise, don't have middle men taking their cut, and don't have dealers taking their cut. Those savings can be passed onto the consumer. They offer wonderful sound (I'd call it audiophile quality), beautiful craftsmanship and build quality on their cabinetry, and great consideration goes into their design.

Which ACI's are you thinking about buying? Mike is exceptional about working out what is best for the individual buyer.

As far as buying from an online dealer, let's not forget that that is exactly what Outlaw does. Even with advertising, do they offer good value for the money. IMO, yes. What about companies such as SVS? Same story, yes.