It costs too much to keep a lot of higher end product on the floor at most dealers. They prefer to keep lower priced products because overall, they will sell more of them. Higher end stuff sits a lot of times and is hard to move. It's not everyday someone plunks down $3500 for a set of Vandy 3A Sigs or whatever. The internet has changed the playing field for expensive speakers and so forth. Some folk listen at the dealer and then search for the best price new or used. I bought mine without actually hearing them based on a combination of factors and people I trust. I wasn't disappointed.
Most speaker lines do have a family resemblance. In the Vandersteen line, for example, more money buys better transparency, ability to play louder and somewhat better bass response. The sound is very similiar. Same goes for the B&W line but it seems better bass is the rule of the day here along with a little better transparency and things along that line. The cabinet proportions grow as well.
To sum up, generally if you like the lower priced products, as you move up, they are usually better. One caveat to this theory though-HA!- It's not always true. Sometimes a designer gets one speaker out of the line right. The rest come up short. In this case, a little research might serve you well.
Most speaker lines do have a family resemblance. In the Vandersteen line, for example, more money buys better transparency, ability to play louder and somewhat better bass response. The sound is very similiar. Same goes for the B&W line but it seems better bass is the rule of the day here along with a little better transparency and things along that line. The cabinet proportions grow as well.
To sum up, generally if you like the lower priced products, as you move up, they are usually better. One caveat to this theory though-HA!- It's not always true. Sometimes a designer gets one speaker out of the line right. The rest come up short. In this case, a little research might serve you well.