A first

You put together a nice system wishing you many hours of enjoyment. It's great that you are letting others enjoy it too and that hear how good it is.

It's good they were able to appreciate an audiophile system.

Congradulations on your system. It would be fun to see it…there is a place to put photos under your UserID.

Audiophilia tends to be a really solitary pursuit. Not many appreciate it or are willing to put the time and money into putting one together. I am guessing I have had 5 people over to hear my system in the last 20 years, and five in the previous 20 years. I just let someone say, wow, you have a great system I’d really like to hear it. Most could care less. That has always been OK, since it is just for me.

Nice system. OK, where are you going to go next. How are you going to make this even better, since we are doing that audiophile thing?

if you want to make the speakers sound even better try vibration isolation it's like you got a whole brand new system with more expensive gear, the Townshend podiums are the best speaker isolation on the market, they're not cheap but boy do they make your system sound incredible you will never put spikes underneath your speakers ever again once you try this.

Most don't understand that they have to sit in the sweet spot to fully appreciate the sound system  Come on, have seat and I'll put something on, but why do l have to sit?

What has impressed me most about these speakers/this system is that the sound, imaging, soundstage, all of it, is magnificent all around the room.  There is no "head-width" sweet spot like there is with a Martin Logan, for example.  I marvel each day at the quality of the sound they produce.  Maybe I hit it lucky with some synergy between the disc player/tt, the integrated and the loudspeakers.  

I'll take some photos and try to post them as suggested here.

Frankly, most people I know who truly care about sound are on this site and other audiophile sites. My buddies could give a crap about sound even the ones who love music. Got only a handful of people in my house of stereo so far and all were amazed but just for a moment. They are on different journeys. To each his own.

@rpeluso Here where I am in the panhandle of Florida, a complete void in the audiophile world, it is hard to find anyone that appreciates the sound of good audio system like we discuss on these forums. It’s sad. You may impress a few but when they find out the cost etc…..forget about it. Back to MP3’s. Maybe you made a difference. Good luck. 

I agree, baylinor.  A high percentage of people will never appreciate a fine system or some of the other fine things in life.  And will never be convinced.  So we are by ourselves sometimes.  

Virtue is pretty much its own reward. You'd think the average visitor might find something remarkable in a whole wall of racked metal boxes with lights and switches, flanked by head-high loudspeakers and assorted subwoofers. But the only appreciative visitor in ten years has been my cousin from San Antonio whose husband plays in a blues rock band. She pulled a chair against the wall between the towers, closed her eyes, entered a state of bliss, and vanished from all social activity for two hours. This seems about as much sharing as an audiophile can reasonably hope for. 

I don’t let people listen to my systems.Because truly if you are not into this hobby, it’s very hard to appreciate it.. I did tried to let people listen in the past, they drove me crazy with all the questions they ask me.At the end they concluded it is stupid to spend $100 on ic.

@rpeluso, let me guess! The two friends who came over and love listening to music through their phones & MP3 files are young folk, no?

I had a very similar experience with my grandnephew who listens to everything through his phone & ear buds. He was aware his uncle was/is a music lover and had one of those old folks' stereo systems. Occasionally, he'd try to impress me with his latest music discovery that he thought I'd also enjoy. More often than not, his new discovery was a band from the 60s or early 70s (e.g.  Led Zeppelin; The Byrds; etc.). His parents did the same when they were his age. I always loved the expression on their faces when I'd say something like: "Yeah! I really like those guys! I have a few of their albums in my collection." The first reaction was always disbelief, quickly followed by astonishment, after a bit of a learning lesson about the "new" band.

One day, this grandnephew purchased some new headphones for his phone and told me I just had to listen to them. Of course, they were the latest thing on the market, the absolute best and very expensive (i.e.  80 bucks). I have to say, they actually were pretty impressive. However, he wanted to know how they compared to my home sound system. When I said the new earphones were very impressive but still couldn't hold a candle to his old uncle's stereo system, again, that look of disbelief.

The next time he came to visit, I asked if he'd like to have a listen to his old uncle's stereo system. You know ... that contraption that old folks listen to music on. I made a point of having him sit in the sweet spot, apologized for not having any Rap, and put on some Acoustic Alchemy for him to sample. This time, a look of sheer amazement! His jaw dropped to his chest and, quite uncharacteristically, he was absolutely silent & motionless for about 5 minutes or so, until he uttered "Oh wow!" and then remained silent & motionless for the rest of the album. We had things to do & places to go. So, there wasn't enough time to listen to some of those "new" bands, like Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, etc. Next time he visits, I'll have him look through the collection and pick out something that interests him.

Yeah, I'm also a lonely audiophile banished to the basement.  That's OK.  I have it set up in the right place.  

People come over and are in shock.  I  didn't know there was so many sounds in the music.  My son wants to hear it loud. Imagine an XA25 getting pushed to the limit with Crites Cornscalas!!  Once in awhile somebody understands.  Usually me solo, wife rarely.

My experiences typical of all the above, very few appreciate anything about it. People will often say something like "that's really clear", on to talking about other things having nothing to do with audio.

Closest analogy for myself. I've often encountered very expensive home theater rooms and systems, couldn't really care less. Its like all booms, bangs, explosions, blah, blah, blah to me, and I can hardly tell the difference between video setups. I listen to my own relatively lame home theater system at low volume, disconnected subwoofe, at least seven year old tv. The whole thing is beyond me.

I have a friend from college who still has a Radio Shack receiver and speakers and is still very happy with his rig.  He also thinks I’m nuts for the amount of money I’ve spent on hifi. I’ve been telling him forever, that as long as it makes him happy, great, but I’m sure he doesn’t believe me.

@rpeluso , judging by your last post you have a lot to discover. If a system does not have an obvious optimized listening position there is something or a lot of things wrong. The better the system (I include the room in this) the more obvious is the "sweet spot" which is really a sweet Line perpendicular to the speakers. It is impossible for a stereo to image everywhere. It can sound nice everywhere but it can only image on that line. People who think they have a wide "sweet spot" usually have a very poor one due to phase and amplitude irregularities. Most of these problems can be solved but there are rooms/situations that will never perform well. 

mijostyn, I might have misled you.  There is a definite sweet spot, and pin-point imaging when it exists on the recording.  Best I've ever heard.  I had the speakers set up by a pro, someone trained in doing this.   They were good where I had them positioned, but definitely improved with the moves and small changed he made.  We used a song with deep bass first, got that sounding great, then focused on a simple female voice, and move the speakers until her head size went from about 8 feet to about 8 inches.  It was a revelation to me to hear that change in presentation with small changes in tow in.

I am more than happy with this system's performance, and have zero desire to "discover" more from it.  I'm past that phase of audiophilia, and now simply enjoying what I have, what I hear.  

All I can say is time has changed.   Back in the 70's, going to friends' houses to listen to their sound systems and album collections was a pretty common social event.   These days everyone has access to music in his/her pocket via a wireless headphone.   @ghdprentice said it right, audiophilia is very much a solitary pursuit.

These days when I have friends over,  I just put on some easy listening music like Diana Krall or Norah Jones playing at very low volume in the background.  I never want to draw anyone's attention to my sound system.  Music sharing is done very differently now.

Congrats OP on your system.  I've never heard of Perlisten speakers, but they sure look cool!

Well, my neighbors were having a pool party this past weekend. Playing their portable really loud, using their phone as a source. Lots of distortion. Metal, hip-hop, rap. 
 

I wheeled out my old DIY speakers from 1992, my spare receiver in it’s hard case (fan cooled), and my little Denon DP15F table. I used to use this system in my glassed/screened in area years ago in another house. Another life. The speakers are quite good, ribbon MR and Tweets, 2-12” woofers. 
 

Started playing The Drifters, Beach Boys, The Ventures. Using an old ADC QLM36 cartridge. 
 

I shut them down using a paltry 40W/ch. Not a loudness war. An SQ war! They all came to the fence to see what they were hearing. Robert came over an hour later to try some phone music plugged into the AUX jack. Simple. But he was blown away. SQ got his attention. He came in and saw/listened to my main system with the Ghost Grey FR30s. He’s a convert!

Even my son, who is a jazz musician, is totally disinterested in the SQ of my system, to my great dismay.  Of course, he grew up with my isolating myself in my listening room.  That probably has something to do with it.

I think most people are allergic to music.  I receive 5 listings per day to get an idea of what homes are worth in our area.  Over the past 4 years I seen a pair of speakers sitting in a room.  Most people have an entertainment cabinet with a wide screen TV and they are listening to their tv speakers.  We have a surround system in our family room and a listening room in the living room.  I just don't know why music provides another platform of entertainment.

Most people don't fully understand to actually listen requires one to get quiet, then get still and then further more focus

What tends to happen for me in many cases, particular if alcohol is involved, newbies are enjoying some of their favorite material and cannot resist the urge to respond or worse begin to sing, whereby reducing my pride and joy to a glorified karaoke machine

I make the best of it nonetheless but left with the sense they've missed the finer or best parts of the experience 

I'm not a newbie and I don't drink alcohol, but I love 'responding to' and sometimes singing along to my favorite music. People should enjoy music however they like, as far as I'm concerned. Ain't no rules. 

I've learned to be alone when I just want to listen to music w/o interruption.  Most people have never really sat quiet and just listen to the music. they  use music as a secondary or background. And there is  a time and place for it all. In the party 70's I generally kept the music going. i learned to suspend the turntable from the ceiling back then. Then too, it didn't weigh 135 lbs like my Teres does. Thats the beauty of suspended TT's. They are light enough to hang and I would still do that today if I had a suspended table.

BTW congrats on a nice system.and good story

@larsman I completely concur, ain't no rules and did not intend to imply as such

One of the beauties of our hobby is the only rules or boundaries are between the confines of the ears of the beholder

No right or wrong, only different and they all matter

I do a little singing at times but more of an air guitar guy myself

Rock on brother and enjoy the journey

@artemus_5 I am with you 100%. 

I've learned to be alone when I just want to listen to music w/o interruption.

For the most part, being a so called Audiophile is a lonely journey.

All I can say is time has changed.   Back in the 70's, going to friends' houses to listen to their sound systems and album collections was a pretty common social event.

Ah yes, @xcool ,  that does bring back the memories.

We'd get together after work or on the weekends and fire up my Magnavox receiver and put in an 8-Track or put on an LP and the peace pipe would come out. . . .   We didn't know what imaging or sound stage or transparency was . . . but we sure had fun.  Now my sound is in a completely different league, but I don't have near as much fun. 

Hey @immatthewj, good old memories indeed!

My first stereo system was all Pioneer stuff that included a receiver, a turntable, and a pair of speakers.   And my first cartridge was a Stanton with a nice little brush attached.   They were purchased with my hard earned summer job money.   I later added a top of the line Pioneer cassette deck.  Looking back, I wish I have kept my cassette deck instead of throwing it out after I switched to CD's.

One of the favorite things that my friends would do was to come to my place and I would make a cassette for them from my album collections.   Essentially a playlist put together mechanically.  😀

Just imagine the equal conversation over at the Home theater message board: "I can't believe all those folks just watching their favorite shows on their phones and laptops.  Crazy!" 

ghdprentice, with your kind assistance I just added a few photos of this system, as you suggested I do.  

I went for great sound with simplicity.  

I could not be more pleased with the outcome.  

I wish the same for everyone here, satisfaction and great musical reproduction.  

I live outside of Philadelphia; if anyone is close and wishes to stop over and listen, please do.

What a nice & friendly thread!  I recognize many experiences: I listen in a dedicated room, I am alone (except with an audiophile friend sometimes), my wonderful wife doesn’t care & has no interest, my son listens to background music only, my grandchildren are digital natives and of the MP3 generation…But I sit and listen concentrated on a variety of music I like, and I couldn’t care less what others think. I ENJOY. 😎

OP,

Beautiful… I love the chest… I love wood. 
 

While fully recognizing the imperatives of domestic constraints, every additional inch that you can ease those speakers out from the wall behind them, the system will sound even better.

Buy partner a well thought out gift… move out two inches. Wait. Buy another gift, move out another inch. 

I might give that a try, but I find it hard to accept things can get much better.  

Oh, I live alone.  

Back in the mid- to late-1980s I lived across the street from a well-known jazz musician. I also had a big/serious 2 channel system that pleased me to no end (Vandersteen 4s + big Music Reference tube amp for mains & SS for integrated subs + VPI TT + VTL tube preamp).

My musician friend introduced me to all these industry people, including two top audio execs (one from NAD, the other from Atlantic Technology). He mentioned to them I was an "audiophile" and had a big system in my house (pointing across the street). These 2 guys seemed very interested in hearing my system, so we walked over and I fired it up.

I knew it was going to be rough when the NAD guy caught sight of my 26" NAD TV monitor, a device legendary at the time for looking great and breaking continually. He said snidely, "So, how many times has this been in the shop?" I didn’t appreciate the sarcasm but said nothing.

Then they listened to 2-3 minute classical cut I played. Then they both jumped on me and interrogated me (in a somewhat hostile manner). "Do you think you’re an ’audiophile’?" "Do you think you’re better than other music lovers?" "What's so special about this equipment?" (they were unfamiliar with some of the names). Rude as hell but I did my best to answer. Then we all went back to the party.

To this day it’s one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had, fending off hostile questions from audio execs in my own living room...

If being an audiophile is a "lonely" endeavor, what are we doing here?

It is an expensive hobby and most people have other priorities.

Near SOTA and SOTA systems blow everybody away, if not with music, movies and music videos will do it. If I have a movie buff at hand I play the opening seen of Top Gun, never fails to blow their minds.