What do you take when demoing new gear?

If you're seriously thinking of spending money on something so infinitesimally microscopically different you can only hear it in a 3 second snippet of one certain recording, its just not worth it. You definitely need to keep looking. For another component, at the very least.

Agreed - no sense in hurting yourself to justify any changes. If it's not apparent, then there's your answer.

I took my Macbook Pro with Pure Music playback and a 30 song playlist to demo speakers I was interested is. I used amplifiers supplied by the dealer that were close in power and character to what I use.  

Hello,
A lot of these smaller Hifi stores are having a tough time competing with the internet. By me we had two different stores. Holm Audio-https://holmaudio.com/
and Audio Consultants. The later is out of business. With this pandemic we are all going to be staying indoors and buying everything online. No more demos! So please support your local Hifi store if you have one nearby. That being said, Holm Audio listed above lets you demo in your home. From what I’ve seen this is the best way to audition Hifi equipment. You can demo it Saturday to Tuesday. Plenty of time to see and hear if it goes with your system. Your spouse hates black boxes. How about a set of white gloss Revels or Dali speakers paired with a white BlueSound Powernode 2i. You can sneak in the Hegel amp later. I have heard so many people take equipment home to demo and their spouses were telling them they have to buy it. One even said his son and wife were listening with him for three hours straight. Another texted the owner thanking him profusely after auditioning and of course purchasing the complete setup. Hell my wife had tears in her eyes after listening to Solioquy 5.3s and Nordost Blue Heaven for the first time. Remember the first time you had sex. That’s what it’s like hearing your music on nice equipment. Where ever you live search out a store front. If you are near the Chicagoland area, check out Holm Audio. BTW, the gentleman above who bought the complete system lives in Washington state. Listening in your house is the best.  

Gum, mints, toothbrush, floss, tissues, pens/pencils, sunglasses, reading glasses, phone charger, hair bands, bobby pins, nail file, advil, Starbucks gift cards, a book, lotion, granola bars, chapstick, single use Super Glue, eyedrops and some CD's LP's et cetera.

DeKay

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I live in Los Angeles and my local dealers are seeing customers by appointment only, seeing customers during reduced and limited hours, or not allowing any customers in the store at all. Plus LA county has just implemented stricter stay at home rules beginning tomorrow. 

I have spoken to a couple of dealers over the phone recently but that is the extent of my relationship with any of them. I would really like to support my local dealers if I can find one I with good service. It'd be awesome to find a dealer that would let me take gear home to demo!

Here is my setup. I would like the dealer's advice on what upgrades would have the biggest impact. I'm thinking either replacing the KEF Q150's or adding a power amp as I want to move to separates eventually. My budget is $1500 to $2000, the less I can spend the better. 

Emotiva TA-100
KEF Q150
SVS SB2000
Bluesound Node 2i
Fluance RT82

Bedroom:
Laptop
Schitt Modi
Schitt Magni
Hifiman Sundara