…when you are auditioning it for a friend?
I find that when I am doing that I somehow listen differently. Maybe more analytical than pure pleasure.
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Ha! Always. Frame of mind is a big factor. This is one of the many reasons I stopped inviting friends to see/hear live music… I spend too many brain cycles worrying if they are enjoying themselves.
Tips I use for having friends listen to my system:
- Serve booze and get them oiled before your start
- Turn off sources of noise… HVAC, other TVs etc… we got used to it, it will affect them
- Don’t start out with rock or fast music… start slow… like a date
- Don’t turn it up too high
- If they start to talk about last weekend a few moments after the music starts, end the session… it isn’t for them.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
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That reminds me of what my (ex)sister-in-law said when she first heard my office system years ago: “You don’t have to be drunk for the music to sound good.” 
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Bruce—completely, absolutely (just to be sure) on point!!!
My system sounded good to me until a friend, whom I brought over deliberately to get his opinion, thought that the sound with digital sources was a bit cold. Huh? WT?!!
Well, a month later I got a DS DAC… No more coldness! (-:
yup–plus two characters
I have a couple friends here now. Just a bit of my friend Dale’s recommended bourbon and we’re listening to Clifford Brown and Max Roach and the system sounds magnificent. I’m looking at them both and they haven’t uttered a sound since the disk started.
I must say that my system is sounding it’s best right now.
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Four Roses Single Barrell!!
My stereo only rarely sounds good to me when I’m showing it off.
I design building electrical systems for a living. I know what I don’t know and work with a very talented commercial sound reinforcement system designer for lots of my larger projects. I had him over to my house for cocktails this summer. He had never heard a system soundstage like mine. He has zero experience in the audiophile world BTW. I played a pristine copy of Elvis 57 LP at the end of the night. It’s a 3 track recording with Elvis, larger than life, in the left and The Jordanaires in the right. Blew him away. That was fun but usually people don’t care that much and it ruins it for me.
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Just yesterday I had a friend over who sat in my listening chair and when I asked her where she hears the sound coming from, she said “somewhere over there. So what are those speakers for?” I loved it.
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I had a fellow over who installs high end video/surround systems. We were talking in front of the left speaker and he looked puzzled as he kept glancing towards the front center. He just couldn’t figure out how there could be such a convincing center image with no center speaker.
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Which Elvis album is this? Thanks!
The Acoustic Sounds 45rpm LP version. Stunning quality. There’s an SACD version and DSD Download available too.
Nice! Thank you!
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BTW, this is my favorite Elvis record ever. He had just left Sun Records and moved to RCA. He was clearly a big deal but hadn’t really blown up yet. Not 100% sure, but pretty sure, this is a Nashville Studio B recording too. It’s gospel music of the highest quality. I even love the cover! Elvis looks like a man/child in high gloss.
My second favorite Elvis album: Elvis is Back