I think this hits a nerve with a lot of folks. Along with the other comments, I have also found that stores will also showcase their best speakers far into the room, well beyond the aesthetic limits that most people can live with. An example of this was with some Proac Speakers that sounded exellent away from the walls, but sounded perfectly awful at distances comfortable in our home. Dunlavys on the other hand was much less affected by the same distance reductions.
Speaker placement at dealers
Is it just me...or are dealers...even hi-end shops...less than ideal when auditioning speakers?...they often appear baffled when I move speakers out into the room...and closer together...how do they expect a proper assessment...when speakers are flush against a wall...with ten other models between them?