"That's (bass and volume, particulary freak out tyros) coming out of those (little) speakers?!"
It is what a visiting audiophool says, that really rocks my audiophoolish boat....peace, warren
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My oldest daughter's friends came calling for her and when I answered the door they asked if I had a band playing live in my living room.
Praise indeed. |
It's great when non-audiophile friends visit for the first time and say "I've never known this performer could sound so good" or "It sounds like they're right there". For me, that reinforces the immediate impact that an audiophile environment can make. Of course, I'll never know what is not being said -- e.g., "what a goof for spending that much time and money!" ;-) |
Ozfly, do you really think anyone out there is calling you a "goof?" a little more powerful language, for sure....lol warren |
Warrn, it's the nicest four letter word I could think of ;-) |
My Bose Music wave radio sounds as good as this! And, pointing to my Krell 650mono amps between my Wilson MAXX speakers, "Boy, I can't believe the sound that comes out of those odd looking speakers in the middle there!" |
My mother in law in regards to the Levinson 33H monoblocks:
"Those are the nicest electric room heaters I've ever seen".
:-) :-) :-) :-) |
None of my friends care. To me it sounds so much better than anything I have had before(so far from what I think would be ideal), but my friends are indifferent. I think that says a lot. One friend referred to the Denon as a "honking big thing". Does that count? |
A simple "WOW" did it for me. My neighbor listenined to some vocals through my system at the time (Pathos Twin Towers driving VMPS 626R's, witha mod'd Sony SACD digital front end).
Second favorite: a smile. No comments, just a smile from my wife as I played Alison Kraus "Baby Now That I Found You" for her through a bedroom headphone system.
But my favorite comments were for visual impact. People of ALL sorts just loved the Gallo Solo's I had. Two giant eyeballs looking right at you ! Those wer fun times.... |
I guess I should sell my system and by me a Bose Music Wave Radio. The truth is, most poeple who hear my system are genuninely unimpressed. Most simply say politely 'it sounds nice'. Other comments, 'I had a $100 pair of speakers that sounded as good. Again from the same person 'the $50 sat/sub stereo in the kitchen sounds better. Yet another who thought it sounded incredible said 'I am not sure if I want to spend $1000 to get this good sound though'. He was listening to a $15K system. I guess he thought $1K at Best Buy could duplicate it. I am convinced that most people cannot appreciate the depth of sound that we hear. |
The best compliment came from a very good friend. What started as a casual visit turned into a music session. He just couldn't believe how life-like the music sounded.
He couldn't believe when I first told him that I spent $2700 on my CDP that was several months ago. Yesterday he justified with a smile on his face.
Cheers
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My Boss dropped back in the chair (sweet spot) eyes wide, slack jawed and gasped "WOW, It sounds like your there LIVE"!!!. Can't ask for a better compliment then that. |
Last night I played the first suite of the Bach/Starker cello suites from Mercury for my brother-in-law. About half way through it he said: I can tell exactly where he is sitting on the stage AND I hear him breathing!"
I was just going to give him a little taste, but we wound up listening for over two hours to Doc Watson, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Dire Straits. He didn't want to leave my listening room. In the end he said that he is convinced that no CD player regarless of cost could make the kind of music that the LP and turntable can. |
What kind of center channel is that? Where is your center channel speaker? Is this a 5.1 or 7.1 system?..It sounds as if there are no speakers in the room. They are gone...I cannot believe that bass..All from and about those 2 Caravelles..Tom |
Tom, What happened to the caveat you usually add to your promotions, i.e. that you sell Caravelle's? Not everyone knows who you are. |
My wife--and audio cynic extraordinaire--is a pretty tough crowd. She doesn't deny that she can hear the difference between components and setups; she actually has a very good ear. She just doesn't think it's worth the stupid amount of money some people (read: I) pay. I can't exactly say she's wrong. :) Anyway, I've heard this woman critique systems upwards of 150k, and she can be merciless with her remarks. I was therefore pleased (not to mention atonished) when, after listening to a few selections from Randy Newman's latest album, she gets up from the listening chair and smiles, "That sounds REALLY good, honey." After all the effort and money I've put into my system, maybe I was expecting a little more, say, ebullience, but pleasing the harshest critic in your household has to be worth something, right? |
Hooper, it is worth something! It might be worth another upgrade in the future ;-) Just think how hard it would be to convince her if your investment didn't sound good now. |
"Meh.... not bad, seen better, seen worse. You got any beers?"
From my buddy Jonny. |
"That's the heaviest amp I've every helped someone carry!"
I'm not sure it was supposed to be a compliment though. |
Well, my little newbie system pales in comparison to many of yours, but...most of my friends are in their 20's, the CD/mp3 generation and have never heard high end components, much less any vinyl not spun on a platic $30 turntable and not scratched and filthy. It's not even the verbal compliments but the stares the GyroSE gets. They look directly at it...then they stoop down and look under it...then they go in for a closeer look...then..."this is a record player? It's gorgeous, whetever it is!"
Second favorite (pointing at the tube amps) "what are those bubbles for? I like the colors!"
My neighbor downstairs has actually taken an interest in audiophilia and is saving for Maggies lately (he wants to start with SS and ribbons to give my tubes and boxes a run for the money, heh). Every time he has a new friend over he has to come up and show my system off...which is fine with me! I scramble to get a record ready everytime I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and a faint "just WAIT until you see his turntable, HEY BRIAN, SHOW HIM/HER YOUR TURNTABLE!" Hehe...my friends are fun ;) |
Newbee thanks for being a replacement..I do not sell my wares on the Net..I am all about the total solution..Selling only a single element to a client and having them implement that single piece into some UFO system with horrendous acoustics is not how I want to be represented, nor the products that I choose to represent. Thanks for looking out for everyone..I am sure, with you at the watchful helm, all may feel at ease..Tom. |
"I thought records were supposed to suck?" or "Where is the record noise?" (it was a dead quiet LP) The first comment was my favorite. (Again, like dirty, my friends are of the current mp3 generation andhave never heard decent vinyl playback) I also get a lot of the obligatory "it sounds like musicians are in the room" comments. I love those too. |
From my girlfriend: "I really like the way it makes John Prine sound so cynical!" From a non-audiophile: "Pretty nice for such old amplifiers - I mean with tubes and everything. Does anyone still make them?"
And "Wow, I never heard 16-bit sound so good!" from a SACD-crazed new acquaintance... |
A couple of friends visited our place for the first time about a month back, and after dinner, both of them got up without saying anything and started dancing in the middle of the living room!...OK, they were pretty loaded on booze, but what the heck.
Another of the missus's friends came over shortly after the arrival of the Magnepans and sat in the living room looking right at the speakers, and said:
"I hear you've bought new speakers?"
"Yes, That's right"
"when do they arrive?"
"They are hear already"
"Oh...where are they?"
Well, not really a compliment but I pissed myself anyway. |
My most common responses are "...sounds good" and "Wow...there's a lot of detail", but my favorite came from a friend who, after listening for awhile said "Her voice is coming from there" pointing to my center channel speaker. When I told him that the it wasn't on he walked over and put his ear to it. He just couldn't believe it. |
My plumber said, "Wow those sound better than my Bose." |
A friend: "Where are the speakers again?"
My mother: "Bring back that girl again!" (played Norah Jones for her)
Also, as a single man, most of the women I bring home look at my listening room (which is - I know - extreem) with a bit of concern. Eventually, we get around to listening and discussing music, and things typically go well from there. |
Mprime
Tell us more about how well things go from there! ;-) |
My upstairs neighbor's complaint to the management office: "He can't practice his trumpet and have his band here after 11:00 PM". |
MPrime, a discussion of power cables, front end, and smooth connections with some jazz in the background work well too...
As Mel Brooks would've said -It's good to be single audiophiles ;) |
Listening with my (then) six year old daughter to John Abercrombie's "Night". She turned to me (not knowing the title) and said, "Daddy, this music is really dark." Maybe an even better compliment to John Abercrombie. |
