Bad room, lack of component synergy, lack of caring/hearing by set-up person, all of the above. It's quite easy to make any very good speaker sound bad and you probably shouldn't take that demo too seriously.
That said, the Klipsch Chorus II are very good speakers and may not be outdone (overall) by the speakers you auditioned. Certainly their dynamic capability and ability to play LOUD without distress and on few watts is unequalled by any of the above.
It wasn't until I tried the larger VMPS ribbon-hybrid speakers at about $4k, that I felt my Klipsch Chorus were surpassed by a wide enough margin to warrant their retirement. In my book that makes the Chorus a very cost-effective choice if you have the room for them. Once you get used to the dynamic capabilities of horns it's hard to go back (at least for me as I tend to value lifelike dynamics very highly).
That said, the Klipsch Chorus II are very good speakers and may not be outdone (overall) by the speakers you auditioned. Certainly their dynamic capability and ability to play LOUD without distress and on few watts is unequalled by any of the above.
It wasn't until I tried the larger VMPS ribbon-hybrid speakers at about $4k, that I felt my Klipsch Chorus were surpassed by a wide enough margin to warrant their retirement. In my book that makes the Chorus a very cost-effective choice if you have the room for them. Once you get used to the dynamic capabilities of horns it's hard to go back (at least for me as I tend to value lifelike dynamics very highly).