The Best Compliment You've Gotten On Your Rig?

Most people see the tubes and say, "cool, look at those relics!", as they lean over to touch them. Discouraged quickly by my growl and Sicilian "evil eye". Nearly all are uninterested in listening to my system. And the handful I can get to sit still for a few minutes can't seem to still their mouths long enough to hear to what they are listening. But a few extremely rare comments have been made.

Best compliment? It is a tie.

Upon first listen to my first ever highish end system, playing Pavarotti, my wife and I just stared at each other, dumbfounded, mouthing, "Oh My God!"

Friend/Coworker who sings, records, and conducts a large choir in the Atlanta area stopped by to give a listen. We played material he recorded and said (not exactly, but to my best recollection), "That's it! Exactly how it was recorded! I've never heard it played back on any system which did not compress the complex vocal passages, until now."

Years ago, using a far different system than I do now (a pair of old Quad ESLs, driven by ARC electronics and of course a vinyl source, cheating a little by using a small set of rear speakers on a delay line), my dear, late audio friend Chuck Lamonica commented: "You can kiss every note."

About 20 years ago, my daughter then 13 years old, suddenly arrived at recognition walking by while I was tweaking my tone arm while listening. She stopped in her tracks and just gazed in astonishment. Before that she could never understand what it was that made me have to pay so much attention to my gear. She thought it was just a macho man thing. That's when I knew I "had it goin on, man"

There was that one chick who said:

"Oh my, look at those giant speakers....I want you now!"

That was a pretty good one.

I have a friend who lives in Bali and visits Sydney every year.
After lunch....we inevitably sit down to listen to vinyl, whereupon Pavarotti singing Nessum Dorma on Decca brings tears and uncontrollable sobbing from this wizened old hardnose.

But often a delivery man will look incredulously on his way out and remark....."Do you still play records?!"