This is a GREAT thread. Thank you OP.
I get mixed responses.
One funny one was a guy who said, "Does this sound better than my Sonos?" Knowing him, I knew he was be sarcastic.
My wife's parents really admired how the kick drum on Neil Young's "Out on the Weekend" sounded so realistic and palpable. I'll never forget that day.
My wife's cousin, a young (upper 20s) music lover spent 3+ hours solo in my listening room. I'd check in at times. I let him do his thing and play his music, streaming to my tube DAC. He made numerous comments. one I remember was, "This sounds so different than what I'm used to. I'm totally sucked in." Well, he's a music lover so it makes sense.
One of our friends (the wife of the couple) strayed into my room during a party. Her husband spent $50k+ on a whole house custom install. It sounds pretty good to me and it's super slick. She immediately began streaming her favorites from all over the Pop/Rock musical map. Folks started dropping in the room with their drinks. The party just gravitated to the music room. That, not an outward oral compliment, was a compliment of behavior.
My father came to visit during the polar vortex. He would escape every night to the music room, listen and surf. He rarely listens to tunes anymore. He asked for all sorts of artists from Nat King Cole to Sam Cooke to the Doobie Brothers and many more. He kept saying, "I can really hear the instruments" or "Nat King Cole's voice sounds just like it should...God was he a talent."
Many folks come up to the music room and laugh at the whole thing or make jokes like, "Do you have a special insurance rider for all this stuff?"
I agree with folks here who say it's a solo endeavor. I do, however, try to get people to bite and get the bug because high fidelity music is my religion.
