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So, What do you play?

H

Hyfi

Addicted Member
I had the opportunity to show off my system last week to my boss, who is into music but not gear. This was the first time he had been to my house, but we have had discussions about my kit before. Also, in a discussion his wife was involved in, she asked why you need all that big equipment.

I have a set of music I use to demo gear for purchases and to know how whatever I am replacing sounds before the demo.

Most people do not have the same eclectic and wide range of music likes I have so if I played something I thought sounded great, and the listener never heard it before, they may not be so impressed or hate the genre.

Knowing he is a big Pink Floyd Fan, I had one of the Pulse disks spinning at low volume when they arrived. In seconds, he mentioned how good the music sounded. I played some xmas music including a Kenny Rogers xmas Album I had just opened to let them hear how good records can still sound. I never got around to forcing Audiophile grade music and just played things I knew he liked.

As the conversation about what all the gear was in my rack, the question was posed to me....

So what do you play for demos and showing off the sound?

Nobody ever asked me that before and I was thrilled with the question. So I pulled out a Compilation Disk I got from Amsterdam during my Comp Trading days at Audio Review-Rave Recordings before MP3s ruined everything. Almost every song on the disk is of good recordings and SQ but my most recent selection to show off or demo is now Keb Mo - There's More Than One Way Home. It has everything needed to to show off vocals, guitar, rim shots on the drums and so on. I cranked it up and let it rip. Both my boss and his wife sat there in the sweet spot in amazement since they had never really heard a decent system aside from maybe walking past a Magnolia.

As they enjoyed the track, I commented to his wife how I have been waiting since last March to let her hear and answer the why question she posed 9 months ago.

I may not have convinced them to run out and buy a high end setup, but I think I introduced them to good sound. They commented on how fabulous my 20 y/o Dynaudios sounded and were having a hard time figuring out how much better the Fynes will be once they arrive. I hope to have them back next year and can show them in person.

So, how do you show off your system to newbies? Do you ask them what they like? Do you play whatever you think is good?

What track do you use to show off your whole system?
 
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I usually ask what type of music they like, and choose something that they might like. Left to let me choose, Muddy Waters - Folk Singer is amazing on a good system, and is a really good album to show off what Hi-Fi is all about.
 
I don't turn it on unless they really seem interested and ask for demo, anymore. Especially since tubes are involved. It's very RARE to find anyone interested in good audio. I've been left too many times, standing by myself after two minutes, with power tubes still warming up. Just to shut it off again.
 
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I’ll first ask if they have any favorites, might as well play something they like. If I’m choosing, one of my go to’s is Sinatra’s “In the Wee Small Hours” and Diana Krall’s “Turn Up the Quiet”.
 
I ask them what kind of music they like and try to choose something appropriate that I know sounds good. Unfortunately, nobody ever says "direct-to-disk recorded '80s synth and percussion", so I usually eventually get to "James Newton Howard & Friends" on Sheffield Lab on my own. :jump:
 
On the rare occasions when anyone asks, I ask them what music they like and play something in that vein which I know sounds good. If they are interested, we proceed from there. Being attuned to the difference between real interest and someone being polite is important to avoid being a bore.
 
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Most people never ask anything about the two racks full of SS and tube equipment I have setup. Sometimes I get " Those speakers are big", they aren't by 70's and 80's standards for bookshelf and slightly larger speakers I have on stands, or " Why do you have such big speakers?" But seldom any mention of the equipment. Only my son and a few others are interested. And I usually play something they like. At leased with my son, our tastes are pretty much the same, so I can play whatever. I have also gotten, " how big are the subwoofers in those speakers?" I've given up explaining the difference between a subwoofer and woofer. Anything bigger than a 6" speaker is considered a subwoofer these days.
 
Yeah, it's critical to make sure that you are playing something that they like, or at the very least a song that they are familiar with. I usually start with simply asking them what their favorite song or favorite band is.

After we've listened to a few songs, then I will usually show them an example of a song that I like that really shows off the system. But if I started with that, and it was a song that they didn't care for, that would probably be the end of it.

When it comes to what I choose, if I have to pick one song, then it's usually something that really shows off the low-end. Something from one of the Hard Rock / EDM hybrid bands usually works well, such as:
 
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Put on something that you think that your boss will be familiar with and then put on something that you may not have any idea that he'd be familiar with or even like, but that's something that you really like and you think shows of the gear well... Personally music that's very familiar is usually the kind of thing that though I might like it, that I'm already bored of so I tend to play guests out my house more of my own weird picks. Sometimes they dig it, sometimes not, but what is life if not the pursuit of new experiences... so if you can provide that for others, I figure that it's a good thing.
 
If a guest shows any interest I first ask them what they would like to hear. After that I'll play something in the same vein that I think sounds good. If they still express an interest I'll start pulling out the cream of the crop. It's easy for me to do this as my CD collection is on an NAS and everything is easily playable.

I don't bother with LP's for this situation unless the guest specifically requests an LP.
 
Maybe your boss needs a pair of 20 year old Dynaudios?

Back in the day we picked up records that sound good and without knowing what a customer might want to hear put something on while we chat and then move to the type of music they like, well as close as you can come with just 20 albums to chose from. We did have a few audiophile recordings we used but less so than the more popular music.

More important that the software sounds good than it be the ideal song for a listener, in general but a good system will even make poor sounding music sound it's best.
 
I ask them what they like first. If they don't have any suggestions I'll play something I like that sounds great like Woman in Chains by Tears for Fears.
 
@Hyfi, I absolutely love your story, and think it is the best introduction to this common topic that I've read here! So much more is involved than in the choice of which music one uses to show off to oneself. ;)

What interests other people can be so varied that I doubt a one-size-fits-all approach exists. And I can't say that I have much consistency in what I "demo", nor in the results. Playing your guests something they are familiar with does seem to be a common theme mentioned here, and for a reason - it gives them a frame of reference, and an opportunity to hear something new as well. After all, haven't many of our sonic delights come from hearing new things on familiar recordings?

OTOH, my wife's friend's husband was struck by Eva Cassidy's 'Eva By Heart' playing as they arrived for dinner, at a volume louder than usual (for me). When I asked if he wanted to hear something different, he said no; that it was nothing like the music he played, but that he was really enjoying it.

My wife used to throw a Christmas party every year. Usually I'd have a CD or two on, and then play records after dinner. I remember 'Love Machine' by The Miracles was a BIG hit one year! It was after a warm-up of soul music that some seemed very wistful for. "I never hear music like this anymore", one woman complained. Maybe 'Love Machine' was a release, of sorts.

Another friend of my wife's wanted to hear something. She didn't sit in the throne; she sat opposite. I don't know why I picked out John Lennon's 'Mind Games', but I was impressed that she stayed for both sides.

A couple from work that I had over for dinner when I was in CA was played some Beatles, at her request. He was still going on about how he doubted he could hear differences in stereo gear, while she sat listening, absolutely enthralled, with a huge smile. :)

It doesn't happen often, but it's fun when it does!

I should mention that none of these people had the slightest interest in acquiring a hi-fi system, AFAIK.
 

Yeah, not really..
But when I gave my 16 year old nephew the mustang I bought for him, I used this song to demo the inexpensive amp and subs added to the factory radio..

His reaction is a priceless memory..
 
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