Virtue is pretty much its own reward. You'd think the average visitor might find something remarkable in a whole wall of racked metal boxes with lights and switches, flanked by head-high loudspeakers and assorted subwoofers. But the only appreciative visitor in ten years has been my cousin from San Antonio whose husband plays in a blues rock band. She pulled a chair against the wall between the towers, closed her eyes, entered a state of bliss, and vanished from all social activity for two hours. This seems about as much sharing as an audiophile can reasonably hope for.
A first
I have a newer system that I assembled earlier this year. It includes the Luxman D-10X CD/SACD player, a Constellation Audio Integrated, Perlisten S7t speakers, and an older Music Hall MMF-7.1 tt with a Grade Sonata.
I had two friends over Saturday, and they love music but could not care less about sound. They often hook up their phone to my system and play MP3 files. Truly horrible sound, but they never cared.
I asked them to sit on the sofa and I played music, some they knew, some they did not.
The woman said it seemed like they were at a live concert. The man said (and he is very cynical about nearly everything) that he never cared about "this audiophile thing", but he has never heard anything this great.
I doubt they will ever change what they listen on at their home, but I was so pleased that they were open enough to drop the cynicism and listen.
By the way, this system is in a big room, and it sounds spectacular.