I mounted two 75" TVs for a friend this week. His "stereo" was a $260 sound bar / sub. It sounded horrible.... what do you say to a friend? Nothing. "Way better than TV speakers" is what I said. For them it was great. Such a small percentage of people place a high priority on SQ like members here do.
Friends hi-fi system not very good, what do you do or say?
So you're going over to someones home and they give you a tour and they have a hi-fi system in a room. And while visiting of course they turn it on for you not knowing that you have a very nice system in your home and you notice immediately it's just not very good. But then you're used to the very in you're listening experiences. So what do you do when they ask you what you think?
Do you say sounds really good?
Do you make suggestions?
Do you feel a desperate need to tell them about your system?
Personally, I try not to mention any details about my system. If I'm driving around in a Lamborghini I would prefer to be invisible so I don't get stared at when I get out of my car. If they had a really nice system with interesting components I would probably mention a few of the things I have and then we could bond with our common interests. Ideally, it would be cool to be in the presence of someone who knew a lot more than I did and a real learning opportunity.
Audio systems tend to be private affairs I guess. I don't necessarily want to hang out with someone and listen to tunes. Those wonderful College days where it made a lot of sense are long gone.
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I reference the brand of their gear and say "they make some really good stuff." I also say that "we're a dying breed...most people don't have any pride in their gear if they have any gear at all...glad to see you are enjoying it." That said, I have a relationship with a close friend where we are more direct and honest. He told me my Focal BE tweeters were too bright once and I could never enjoy those speakers again. He insisted I fly down for his birthday and I said I wouldn't unless he ordered a separate DAC and preamp to assume 2-channel duties from his AVR and we'd install while I was there. Before we installed the gear he wanted me to compliment his speakers. I said they had potential and just wait an hour. We got the new (used Parasound) amp and DAC/preamp installed and his jaw hit the floor. But this was a long debate we'd had for years so it wasn't like he wasn't ready for the stipulation. |
@emergingsoul It depends on how well I know the friend would determine how I respond to them asking me what do I think about their system. It’s hard for some people to receive respectful feedback about their system after they actually asked for the feedback. That’s why I would have to know the personality of the friend before I offer feedback. If I was comfortable offering feedback because I know the person would not get upset, I would still share my feedback by advising that the listening experience is all subjective, so I’m just sharing the sound qualities that I look for in my system. If they want to take my advice, good, if not, no sweat. I just want to listen to music and avoid a beef over a subjective hobby. |
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