Yeah I'd definitely call first and it will do more for you than just let you know if they have a way to demo speakers for you or not. Explain to them your situation, how far away you are, what you're looking for and to do. Ask them about the brands the sell and the experience they have. Ask them if they have an install log book or photo album of work they've done and lastly ask if there's any vehicles there to get a demo in. Now, it's been my experience that if they're a decent shop they'll have the photo album and a vehicle or two to demo in but the biggest thing is that they will ask you what it is you're looking to do and achieve. Now that kind of question is two fold as it is their job to sell equipment and they will want to try to sell you some but here's the catch. A good shop will do that, make some suggestions, etc. but give you space and let you talk and explain stuff, your vehicle, experience, blah blah blah. They'll spend some time without expecting much. The worst shops I've run across ask up front what you're interested in, how much money you're going to spend, and will either push as hard as possible to make sale or not spend any time with you because you're really only looking and not that interested in spending money with them. Both of those traits turn me away in a hurry. I travel a fair bit for work with training, meetings, etc. and have spent lots of time walking into shops to just check things out that I in no way planned to spend any money and I'd let them know that up front as soon as the first employee asked if they could help me. The local crappy shop and a few others I've visited in other cities practically turn you back out the door which I've never understood the thinking behind that. You'd think they would want to try to at least keep you coming back in. The best shop I ever visited was in Tulsa, OK and I've not found another one as good as it yet. They had the best sound room setup I've ever experienced, a fantastic photo album of the work they've done, and were the friendliest and most polite people you could ever ask for. When I explained why I was there the salesman introduced me to the owner, showed me their shop and the work they had going on at the time. He also showed me both of their demo vehicles and I was there over two hours just talking audio with him and the owner. Damn I've rambled on forever, lol. The point is, call first and verify that they have what you're looking for/to do and try to ascertain whether or not it's worth your time to go there or not. If so then go and listen to as many speaker sets as they have available to listen to. Keep in mind that a sound board will sound completely different than an in vehicle installation but you should still be able to get a fair idea of what you like and dislike about the sound. Then come back here and explain your thoughts on it.