Dawgbyte, how you audition the speakers is very important. You need to remember that what you hear at the store may sound very different when you bring them home. Room acoustics, equipment matching and your mood also vary. If the salesman doesn't know what he's doing and mismatched a great speaker with a badly matched preamp/amp combo then it is your lost to find out the true sound of that speaker. It is always easier to find a pair of speakers that will sound nice in most of the system matchup but it doesn't mean that it is the best speakers out there. It is a more complicated process than you think. Giving all the speakers I audition are all above average, I think size ( to match your listening room ) is more important to me and then the efficiency ( to match your amp.)
Speakers: What's MOST important to you?...
When you demo a pair of speakers, what criteria do you use to judge the quality of sound? What must the speaker have or do that will bring out the check book or credit card?