Friends hi-fi system not very good, what do you do or say?

@whart

Of course I don’t own a Lambo. But I have owned three Audis. Including a Quattro. Not able to drive anymore I’m stuck in my house.

If I was in your room my criticism would only be that you need a second chair for me to sit in, I’d bring mine which looks just like yours and maybe they would have children together. And then I would spend six hours asking all kinds of questions about your system. It’s a perfect room and all those albums. I would probably ask if I could bring some of my albums over that maybe you don’t have. I think my albums would be much happier with you than with me mostly because I don’t use my turntable anymore. I need to get a phono stage and it’s just not worth it, I have a technics from the 70s it was mesmerizing to watch and I really liked it.

Why do you have two footstools for your chair? Or better what happened to the other footstools better half? That would be one of my first questions.

I have a friend from college who still has the same system he had in the seventies and my brother has all his tunes in his phone and is perfectly happy listening to them through the phones 1/4” speakers. If they’re happy and are still listening to music, I say good on them. 

 I’ve met a lot of people over the years who did interesting stuff in all kinds of fields, so the Lambo question wasn’t bait. Sorry you can’t drive. I kinda quit for a while b/c I live in town, but just bought a vintage bike so I’m gonna get back into the saddle, mainly back roads, not highways.

As to your question about seating, there is a pair of director’s chairs against the back wall of records. Sound there is surprisingly good, and I can pull the one ottoman over to sit next to the "sweet spot" seat. The other Eames lounge is in my living room, where we watch TV and have my vintage system, along with the accompanying ottoman. We use that room as a refuge when I’m not up for firing up the big system-- which takes time to warm up, and I’m reluctant to run it without having time to play it, i.e., not an hour or two, more like a full day of listening.

We have had several houses over the years and eventually downscaled to a small Texas gothic (Victorian) in town. We got rid of a lot of furniture in the course of several moves over a couple decades--- one house was very large, a white elephant--and stuff from that house simply didn’t fit into the last house in NY, which was on the waterfront of the Hudson. But I still have both Eames lounges with Ottomen. I like them, they are real (I collected George Nelson and Charles Eames back in the ’80s’). I always threatened to open a store that sold hassocks, footstools and equivalents under the name "Ottoman Empire."

You are welcome to visit if you come to Austin. I’m generally around. And you are welcome to bring some LPs.

Best,

Bill

There is a phenomenon often experienced at audio shows: an expensive system sucks. Often simply dismissed as just a bad set up or a bad room. There is another possibility. Maybe your ears are tuned differently. Maybe you are the problem. Or rather until your ears adjust to a new system, it may sound off. Too dull, lifeless, boomy, thin and shrill. Sometimes an exact listening position, number of people in the room, or volume can have a huge effect on the overall listening experience. We all bring our owe biases. 

Two possibilities: His system sounds better than yours, so it's going to cost you some money to upgrade. Second possibility is yours is better than his, so say something nice like, "Well it has plenty of bass" or "Those trumpets really stand out", whatever suits the moment.