We have many musician friends and when they visit I usually play music very very quietly and if the subject of my stereo comes up, I'll turn up the music for a bit and let them listen. Folks are usually pretty quiet and attentive and make comments about the warmth or how the sound fills up the room and then I turn it back down. I had one guy get totally wrapped up in the sound and the rest of the evening became about music. Most people are not into hi end audio and listen on iPods so this experience might be the first time they have ever heard music played through tubes and it is usually obvious that this music makes an impression. I simply leave it at that. It's up to them to how they want to hear music. Then there are the evenings when we invite people over to specifically listen to music and that is a different thing altogether.
Getting friends to listen to your stereo
My main stereo is very good but except for a couple of friends who are into the gear and music like I am ,it is tough to get to get somebody to simply sit down and listen for music for an hour or so even if they listen to music on a casual basis daily. I usually get comments like "wow that really sounds nice" or "it's almost like you are there". I will play music they like or request but after a couple songs it usually devolves into a talking session. I use a sound level meter and keep the levels between 80-85 dba so it can't be a volume issue. When I was younger ,I regularly got together with friends for music either at my place or theirs to share music, drinks and maybe tryout some speakers, amps etc. Yes, I understand that as you get older there are more constraints on one's time and everybody has different priorities but I always make time to listen to music and with the equipment available today, it is simply amazing the sound one can get in their homes even for a modest expenditure. Is it just me or do some of you experience the same thing?