Helping friends and relatives buy an audio system...


This is one thing I have had the good fortune of helping family and friends buy a stereo/music system with very positive results.  I did not have one that went bad or caused concerns.  This went from something as simply as a used KLH compact system for a relative to some relative high end systems with Magnepan, Martin Logan, ARC, Adcom...and more.

As time has passed I am no longer sure this is a very wise thing to do.  I have not done this for some time and am curious to what + or - experiences you have had in helping others with an audio system?   I am sure there are many stories out there. 


whatjd
facten That was extremely gracious and kind hearted of you. Thank you for being an Audiophile and a human being.

In my heyday I had a business in Madison, Wi. and was part of a program that had jobs for people recovering from mental illness...usually caused by childhood abuse. I did something like you when I helped my sister start a business and supplied her with some inventory at no cost and the money she was to pay me for helping her I simply told her not to pay me.

I helped save some people after Hurricane Camille (Biloxi) and the Rapid City Flood....both were awful and the death and destruction made my 19 year old brain suffer with the citizens of those towns.

Even with money, travel, cars, hi-fi and more material things,..nothing has done as much for my happiness as helping those that needed the help with no thought of strings attached.

Take care.  
I helped my folks get their first real audio system, after they heard my stuff. Advised some friends here and there. But most people are not interested in great sound, just adequate sound with lots of convenience.

Once in a while someone, like a neighbor or a co-worker comes by, hears my system, then comment on the beauty of the sound but does not go much farther such as taking action. Audio hobby seems like a niche interest.
It has never worked out well for me, and I have tried a few times. No more. 
Recently I helped a colleague put together a system he was happy with. Knowing he didn't share my extreme passion for audiophilia, though he did appreciate listening to music on my system, I gave him a mid-end Onkyo receiver I wasn't using, then helped him choose a Rega RP1 to feed into a ProJect Phono box I wasn't using, either. At my recommendation, he bought a pair of Elac B6's and I gifted him my CleanSpin record cleaning set-up.


He's quite happy now. He could have afforded better equipment, but he simply didn't want to. The same way I could afford a better TV, but would rather spend my money on other things.


As @pch300 says, "Audio hobby seems like a niche interest." Kind of like when I see a video projector here listed for the high four figures. I'm like, "what the hell?" That's how most view high-end audio components.