Spending $25K to $45K on speakers… seems like it would be worth a grand or so for research. I would consider it an enjoyable part of the process and considering that, well at least for me, the decision will take hours and the resulting listening many thousands of hours. I would think the upfront investment would be worth it. While in Boston catch a some live music and a lobster.
i flew out to Delaware (from Oregon) one time to audition a preamp / amp. They set up a system very similar to mine and were ready with coffee and the system all ready for me to listen to. When you’re spending on the order for a car for a piece of audio equipment it’s nice to get luxury treatment.