“Civilian” reaction to your gear?

My system is in my den which is tucked away in the back of the house sort of hidden away. Out of sight-out of mind. I like it that way. I don’t invite people in unless they show some genuine curiosity which has only happened on a few rare occasions in the last 3 decades. I enjoy a good dose of solitude with my “hobby”.

Earlier this week, I had a couple of dedicated circuits installed for my system. The two guys that did the work were young-around 30 maybe, and said they had never seen anything like my system, So, after the installation I invited them to listen to some music and they seemed truly amazed-neither had ever heard a real audio system-both said they have a bluetooth speaker or listen to the radio. I like my system but the point is not that my system is all that great, there are plenty better, its that younger folks don't have any exposure to  real audio systems and have no idea what is possible. In my day (long passed) there were audio stores everywhere and young guys like me were welcome to wander in and listen even though we had no money-the hook was set. I don't know how younger folks in large numbers would ever be exposed to what we do these days and I think that's a real challenge for the industry.

I don’t turn on my system if I know they are just curious? They won’t appreciate it anyway, especially if they ask the price.If they insist maybe? 

When someone is interested enough to ask me what my system sounds like, I ask them if they'd care to judge for themselves.  When they do, I have them sit on the couch, ask what they'd like to hear, hand them the amp remote, show them how to safely adjust the volume and observe the reaction.  The reactions, thus far, have been invariable and universal (i.e.  a shocked facial expression, quickly followed by "Wow" and then, a few minutes later, "How much does all of that cost?".

Less than 10% have any interest. And it's usually about the vinyl collection and TT.  Or the Magnepan 3.7's.  And maybe 5% want to hear something.