Doe you enjoy your listening to music and your system more with others or alone?

I never listen alone Jim,Jack or Johnny are there 

I much prefer being curled up with my gf,watching a concert video or listening to something quiet while talking(yea actually talking face to face hahahah) as opposed to listening alone...As for friends & her,most are converts to better sound & systems after sitting in the sweet spot at my place...I'll never forget coming home from work,maybe 2-3 days after she moved in,& she was sitting on the couch crying like a baby,when I asked why her reply was she had never anything so beautiful except at the very few concerts she had attended...Needless to say she hasn't said a single word about the huge corner traps & acoustic wall panels & the entire wall behind the equipment covered in heavy moving blankets hahahaha...

As much as I enjoy it, still nothing is better than watching others enjoy it. I've always made a sincere effort to find music the listener will enjoy. Eclectic elitist that I am this hardly ever involves playing what they ask for. Because I almost never have it. Instead I will try and find something similar they might like. Absolutely nothing better than playing someone some music they never heard before and watching them fall in love with it. Best one ever was a Porsche pal who after one song sat there as if in a trance and said, "Please, play another. Please." I could do that all night. 

Having a guest over is the best.  
Here is a video I shot secretly of such a visit that I hope others will enjoy as much as I:

https://vimeo.com/70753317

Do you enjoy your listening to music and your system more with others or alone?

Enjoy the music more by myself, as when the others come they always bring their latest pieces of gear to "try" to knock what I have off, and it usually ends up just a big pizza/booze A/B fest into the wee small hours of the morning.

Cheers George

"try" heh. good one.

Recording studio pal of mine and his singer / songwriter wife call it “ God’s Chair “....

always fun

Unless they are audio peeps, they tend to want to talk and not listen

Music is best experienced in silence!

And oft times silence from the speakers too if I’m the visitor. 🙉 Note to self: I think I see how today is going to play out. 🤗

All my guests are to astonished to listen to music in my room....

:)

The last thing I'm trying to do with my immersion in audio is impress others.  I'm in this to stir my soul.  

Love music with myself and select friends.

I enjoy sharing with others, especially with young people that have never heard a good system.  Alas, most adults get bored pretty quickly except my wife who will request another selection.  I usually listen by myself a couple of hours in the evening.

My guests are not so much impressed by the sound, even if it is good, but way much by all the tweaks and methods used, like in a mad scientist lair.... Their incredulous smile makes my day.... 

IMO it’s best(more fun) to experience listening with a few friends or relatives around. My best advice is let them listen to the music of there choice and they will do less talking.

Yes I doe.

It wasn’t really that long ago I required all (rpt all) visitors to wear blind folds upon entering the house. Too many snoopy eyeballs. 👀 Loose lips 👄 sink ships 🚢 Can that be considered a form of controlled blind testing?

I rarely have music playing when visitors are around. We pay attention to each other instead.

In my previous life, the main use for my system was to bring it to the party so people could dance. That is what it was about. Nobody really cared about the warmer mids or tighter lows.

three_easy
You got it right. Show off baloney is strictly for egomaniacs. The worst system here will impress non audioheads.
BFD

alone....

Hi,
this is a pure personnal involvement that does not need any outside reward but sharing the result with astonished faces is nice. 
Mostly alone and sometimes with spouse these days but i enjoy gatherings with buddies or friends. Two different listening approaches.

If I intend to do serious listening....alone.  Can't converse with others and really get lost.  Usually, if people are there, it is about showing off rather than enjoying the music.  

I Doe my listening with a deer, a female deer.

"Who are you and why are you here?"

Big typo, should say Do you.....
Embarrassing. Thought I proofread it.

Every system has its sweet spot.  Mine is no exception.  I enjoy most listening to my favorite music in that sweet spot, being carried away into the original performance.  That is not a crowd activity. 

I do not require my system to be approved by others.  I'm beyond satisfied with my system performance to the point that I can get lost in the music and not distracted by the system.  

I listen alone.    I have friends with excellent systems that also listen alone for the same reasons.  

D'OH...!!! 

Mostly alone but I love having my wife and kids comment on the music. Had a nice time Father’s Day dancing and streaming old 70s music. Puts a tear in your eyes when you listen to great music while hanging with your family. Booze helps as well. 

Easy one for me...alone, no distractions...that’s not to say I don’t listen with friends....music is meditation for me... transports me to that magical place!

It there was more than one single spot in my listening room for the ultimate sound I would probably love sharing it more with others. As is, either I am in the good spot or somebody else is. And I rather be in it.

As the great Gilbert O'Sullivan might say:

"Alone Again, Naturally"

I generally have something playing, but I'm lucky to have that option.  A 'live/work' situation gives one that option....especially when one's half of the management....;)
Relatives are either on the West coast or 3 states away and I can't play at those levels. (*damn!*) *L*
"Serious Listening Hour" is generally late, with no distractions.  That can be for critque' or just for the 'ell of it, enjoying the freak fruit of my endeavours...
The rare person who gets a demo is either easily impressed because they've never heard anything like it.  Most are hardly what I'd call 'audiophiles' in the sense of never being around enough 'things esoteric' to have a opinion other than being impressed by the degree of my interest and involvement....
Spouse is my best critic at this point....but she prefers a level of simplicity in 'operation'.  That's one reason for multiple systems....;)
Works in progress....*G*
Play often, J.

Listen with company.  as long as that company has a love for good music but not necessarily good sound. I live in the mid-fi world (I think), but always manage to get positive feedback on the sound quality of what's being played (especially when my guest(s) is/are listening to something they're familiar with).

I hate people. My wife is OK...I guess.

I totally agree wit Bpoletti.  There is a sweet spot also in my audio room because I listen to electrostatic speakers and prefer to listen to my music alone but if  with company,  they sit on my sweet spot and play the music they like to hear.  I listen usually to jazz trio or quartet with a jazz singer just like in a small jazz club I have been to  and enjoy the soundstaging made possible by good recordings.


imThorek

Alone definitely unless it is my bro who enjoys good sound, not like my friends and family who prefer their iPhones.

With the right people works for me, alone is good to listen more intensely. Best one ever was a Porsche pal who after one song sat there as if in trance and said, "Please, play another. Please."

Ill have some of whatever he's got (not the Porshe bit)

It depends on my frame of mind and the situation.
But I mostly prefer listening to music alone (as if anyone cares... lawl).

 Once my guest see's the set up i't's over. Novice or audiophile.  Not listening to the music much anymore. Too much distraction and judgement. Dark room , 3 songs, Female vocal, rock, and classical. Turn up the lights and let them see it the stuff. Better experience for the guest. and myself.
This work's for me and a lot more fun.  

I agree with gents.
And middlemass. 

I have a whole house system with a dedicated pair of speakers in each room. The music is playing whether there are guests or not. Of course I curate the mix for the pleasure of the majority depending on guest(s). Its all my music so its all good for me.
Sometimes with just one or two guests they may become particularly engaged with the music/sound itself and I can push the envelope and/or share something unusual. That can be extra fun.

I think it's a rare soulmate you find when someone enjoys music the way you do.  My friends make fun of me for shushing them to listen to a specific part of a record I put on.  But every once in  a while as I abandon the room full of conversation and focus on the music, I find a buddy that is living for that moment with me in the alternatively viscous world of the sound.  So even in a crowd of room I am alone with my music. It's just a bit more effort when others are around.  When you're alone you can set this atmosphere just as you like it. 

Typically, much more enjoyable alone because I like loud rock and certain songs simply must be played at high volume to have impact. But when it comes to listening with other people, it depends on who those people are. I have a husband and wife as friends (I used to work with the husband and he wrote stereo equipment reviews for a magazine) who are audiophiles and I very much enjoy listening with them. We take turns picking out songs and we point out parts of the songs that impress us or get us going. The husband prefers jazz more than I do but he likes classic rock too, so that works OK. I have had some younger friends over who are not audiophiles and they tend to get bored a lot more quickly. They start checking their phones and one time after about an hour, they decided they wanted to play board games instead. It didn't seem like they'd ever learned to just sit, listen, and appreciate. I'd like to have people over who can introduce me to good stuff I may not have heard, but I don't think there are too many of those (both people and songs).

When I visit my good friends out of town or out of state, it is always enjoyable to listen to their excellent systems, while have a good glass of wine.  That is great.

when I'm home, it is typically by myself and that is also very nice with wine and a good book.

So, it depends.  

When people are over for grilling or a wine tasting party at my house, or a family event, I typically don't turn the system on, unless someone wants to sit and listen and that is always a nice experience.

enjoy

People that love classical music seldom marry any one who does not.

Alone, of course! Why would I want to be bothered with someone while concentrating intently on listening....its actually the only alone time I can manage....I'm not into showing off to others....i know what i own and that's good enuf for me...screw all else.

We build a system to please ourselves but its also nice to have folks come over to share music and give an opinion. Seldom do they have the same interests and when I grow weary of the situation I put on my music on and it clears the room nicely. One time I put a sign outside that I am now accepting music requests but nobody showed up. LOL.

Both.  There are times when solitary listening is ideal.  And, there are times when non-solitary listening is ideal.