Comparing systems through phone recordings

Dear Audiogon friends,

Consider how convenient it would be, if we could exchange sound clips, recordings of how our systems sound in our room, on the web. At Audiogon I get audio friends and contacts whose systems I would love to hear, but they live miles away, or even halfway around the world. The chance that I can come and listen to their system "live" in their listening room is close to zero. So what about, exchanging recordings, instead?

Ten or five years ago, I would have said, forget it, it cannot be done.The drawbacks were too large. Now? I am no longer so sure. Mobile phone technology has advanced. True, I maybe cannot hear the finer nuances of a stereo setup and how it interacts with the room, in a "lowly" mobile phone recording, but I can hear some main characteristics. For example, how my speakers sound compared to my friend’s speakers.

I have tested this concept a bit with other A-goners, using their mobiles to record the same track, playing in their room, recording from their listening position. The results are interesting. They do show differences, even with the limited recording capability, poor mic's, lowgrade file formats, etc.

Anyone else who has tried this?