I wish that there were audio shows, hi-end or not, in my home town. They may happen in Delhi, Mumbai, etc, but not here. We have had a couple of local-forum-organised hifi meets, with dealers giving demos. At the last one, I found more problem with bass thumping than with treble shrieking. However, I am a slightly-oldie who's hearing now starts to tail off at 8K  . A notable exception at a recent meet was the mentioned LS50: it was the most balanced dealer-demoed sound of the day.

We have seen Genelec, at a previous meet, and I was completely smitten. This was one of the models with built-in software-controlled room-correction DSP. The sound was, to me, pretty-much perfect. We also saw the tiny "PC speakers" and, really, nothing that small has any right to sound to sound that good --- but does anything that small have a right to cost that much?

I have heard MBL, both at a meet and in a house. The in-a-house experience I enjoyed very much. The things cost as much as my car did. New.
 

Are studio monitors just a bad idea for small living rooms / bedrooms? I just listened to some Genelecs that were 1k - 1.2k USD, and they sounded really great, plus they're puny and self-powered.

Obviously from what I just said: I don't think they are a bad idea at all. I do most of my listening, these days, at the desk, and it is an ambition to replace my M-Audio AV-40s (great value for money!) with decent active studio monitors. Genelec and Adam are on my possibles list as well as some lower-end stuff and, of course, some in-my-dreams stuff (Geithain RL906).

Each to their own, of course. Personal preference is king, and a flat frequency response will not please either those who want booming bass or those who think that shrieking treble is "detail." Of course, without good room treatment, that FS is not going to stay flat anyway.

I do wonder why people demo hifi with such crap music, beit dismal pop or "audiophile" jazz. Of course, when we audition for ourselves we must listen with the music we know love --- and are going to play at home. But I do believe that nothing tests or shows off a system like classical orchestral music. Nothing has the dynamic or tonal range, nothing has such a complex soundstage. Of course, that's a bit of a problem for those that don't actually like it!

The piratical view (eyes, perhaps, not caught in the glare of the headlights) make me think that the shows I envy others the chance of attending might not actually be so desirable, and might give me more headache than pleasure/interest. 130dB! No chance to hear one's own music! Oh dear no, not if they actually want my money (which I haven't got, but they don't know that  )