Kids during audition - aaaaagh!!


It used to bother me a lot when I would try to demo my system for someone and all they wanted to do was talk during the music. I get it - not everyone is an auditory person. But I still found it off putting and a bit depressing. Like if you took them for a ride on a windy mountain road in your Ferrari and all they noticed was the nice leather.

But FAR WORSE than that is when you're trying to demo your system for someone and they bring their kids. It happened to me last summer, and again tonight. In both cases it could not be helped but it totally destroys the listening experience to have a 6 year dancing around in front of the speakers while the 2 year old sings along with Rebecca Pidgeon.  The listener is denied the chance of the listening experience that we all know and love. I found it actually painful, emotionally. A lost opportunity for a new person to be swept away by the musical experience that comes from a high end system. I guess this time it's like they strapped their screaming kids into child car seats in the Ferrari and only let you drive in the small parking lot. Why bother? And no, I don't have a Ferrari. But yes, with no local audiophile friends to appreciate it, I do yearn to at least share the experience with someone who's never heard good sound.

One other note. Isn't it funny that non-audiophiles often assume that you're going to blast their head off by playing Metallica with the volume set to 11?
bob5560g
I've been in this same situation as the OP - with similar frustration and incomprehension. And I wonder of this is an accurate analogy?
- What if a friend invited me over to see her newly acquired projector, made by Technology Company Z, with simply 12K resolution, organic LED, organic NGMO presentation, and holographic capability with properly installed RealStroke (TM) goggles? Like, I would head over out of friendship and I would pay attention as she played various clips and scenes, demonstrating the projector's powers. And I might even be lucky enough to want to see a whole movie, but in the end I really won't care -- a screen's a screen to me, whether it be the aforementioned  tech marvel, or a 13" black and white with a coathanger antenna I had in the 80's.

I imagine the same can be said for most non-audiophiles out there. Music is mostly just music: background soundtracks to the days of their lives with the occasional private moment, though that's usually in their car.

Now - would I bring my children over and have them run everywhere and flick lights on and off? No. But only because I know what's expected at a session. Or even that such a thing as a listening session exists.
I don't even bother anymore. No more auditioning my system for the unappreciative. When it comes down to brass tacks, most non-audiophiles could care less about good sound. So, I have stopped trying to persuade them, and I will no longer go to the trouble of selecting audition programs carefully, only to have someone spend the entire time texting or talking while listening.
Womens are always chatting or on phone or watchig televisions. Much better to have separate rooms for them, or separate houses.