What happens first in the pitch is the demo by a Nuance tech who "just happens to be there for the day". After he shows the speakers off (you have to interrupt pretty aggressively to get any meaningful questions answered), he immediately hands off to the salesperson.
The salesperson tells you the MSRP (say, $2200/pr for the top model), then brags about how little he'll let the speakers go for. Some online folks have reported giving lowball offers in the realm of 6-700 dollars and having the sale okayed.
You can see why the stores aren't in a rush to get rid of the line, with an astronomical markup. It's an issue of most shoppers being "rubes", and those of us who would catch on shop at high-end/specialty stores anyway.
