For big speakers, like the Legacy Whisper XD in the story below, the problem in setting up an effective demo in a show environment is that the room may be too small for the speaker. And then for speakers that are more modestly sized, if they're demonstrated in a big room, the speaker may not be able to play loud enough and the bass response may not be sufficiently powerful for the big space.

The LSA (Living Sounds Audio) Group's demo featured the LSA2 Statement ($5999/pair) speakers driven by their own LSA Standard tube hybrid integrated amp ($6200), the system set up along the wall in a ballroom that included racks of LP and CDs, and numerous tables laden with cables and accessories. The LSA2—pictured here with LSA president Brian Warford—is a compact tower, featuring a 6¼" bass driver, 6¼" midrange, and a ribbon tweeter. A pair of them was able to play surprisingly loud—and sounded good in the process.