You got lucky. That almost never happens.
This seems an interesting, and debatable, claim -- perhaps we shd start a thread on it. Morgan seems to have had an experience like mine, and he's right that auditioning can be a PITA.
Four things the OP might try:
1. Local stores
2. Local owners, identified through the boards, who have things you might like, and will let you listen.
3. Travel to dealers, manufacturers, owners.
4. Travel to shows (assuming no local shows).
I've done some of all 4, since my work is flexible and involves some travel. In most places, 1 and 2 won't yield much, and it will be a happy coincidence if what's around is what interests you. 3 can result in informative auditions, but it is a lot of work, and may not, depending on your circumstances, yield many chances to listen. 4 is a lot of fun, and you get to hear tons of stuff back to back, but show conditions are often atrocious, and the people exhibiting are often harried and exhausted.
Which brings us to:
5. Arrange in-home demos with non-local dealers/manufacturers.
6. Take informed chances on careful used purchases.
I've never done 5, but I've heard of people having very good experiences; I'd not hesitate to try it with Zu, fr example, which is a great company. I've done a fair bit of 6, and while my good experience may mean I've "gotten lucky," it's not blind luck, since one can develop a set of parameters for their used search. For example, I, like the OP, and sensitive to edgy highs, and would therefore be reluctant to try a speaker with a metal tweeter unheard, and much more likely to try a silk dome. I might miss some things I'd like this way, I'm not shooting in the dark.
Anyway, I hope Aquablu has some fun, and doesn't stress to much about the possibility of mistakes.
John