Does your system sound better than most demo's?


I just got back from a music show tonight and must say that even though I have heard some systems that sound way better than mine, mine sounds way better than many that I hear at shows or in show rooms, and it actually makes me pretty happy.

I heard a new wadia integrated unit (intuition) tonight that retails for somewhere around $8,000 for a class d amp, pre amp(?) and dac all jn one very sexy looking piece, playing through a pair of $20,000 sonus faber's and my system (8,000 total ?) absolutly sounds better. Makes me really appreciate my set up.

On the other hand, the sonus faber amanti's with $34,000 wotth of moon pre, amp, dac did sound fabulous and so did the b&w nautilus with all classe gear (4 of there new 250 watt class d amps), but still, I wonder, and believe that I, could compile a system that would crush either of those rigs had I a $50,000-$100,000 budget like what those cost.

I think part of the fun of this hobby is using knowledge to make up for your lack of funds. It's like showing up to the race track with a stripped out supercharged M3 and spanking all the rich guys in there Ferrari's and Lamborghinis.

I want to go to a show where they are focused solely on sound and not how pretty and shiny the gear is; sure I like it to look good, but more important is the way it sounds because when it comes down to it, when the fun begins, the lights are off and my eyes are closed.
128x128b_limo
Yes, and though good ones serve as a reference for me, better than many (but not all) live performances I've heard as well,especially when electronically amplified or from bad seats and/or in a bad venue.
Though I have long hoped to attend an audio show, I have not yet had this experience. It seems to me however that it is difficult to set up a high end system in a fashion that best displays its sonic worth under show constraints.

I have heard many high end systems costing many times that of my own (~$15,000 retail) at dealerships and have come home very pleased with my system. And yes, I often come home feeling that my system sounds at least as good if not better.

I attribute this to several factors:

I am tuning a single system to a single room.
I am tuning a single system to my subjective take on what I want most from a system.
I can constantly play with room tuning, speaker placement, and listener position.
I feel I am at a price point where there is a severe diminishing return on increased dollars spent.
I do at times employ the 'IPA' affect.

I also know that my enjoyment of my system differs across listening experiences. Always a joy but the "wow' factor differs.

Just happy I have a system that allows me to make such an observation. Thanks B for the OP.

Happy Holidays
Nice accounting for factors that often help make a home system sound good in comparison to others. I am also an IPA lover as well.
When i hear a demo system that really impresses me I pay as much attention to how it is set up and how the room was tuned as I do to the equipment. This is from one who enjoys the 'study' of sound pressure flow within an audio space as electron flow though components, as superficial as my 'study' may be.