When showing your system to others, what do you do

Ferrari-Im confused about your post. Are you joking saying dollars spent is the way to determine a good system or do you feel thats how it should be measured? When i invite a person over to expereince my system im not trying to wow them with what i spent, im trying to wow them with a higher sonic experience then they have ever heard. For me its opening peoples ears to what music can sound like. Im sure the systems youve heard over the years have been more than impressive, so it would be a humbling expereince. But ive heard a $600,000 system, not including room cost that i would never trade for mine. it just wasnt musical, it was more about the benjamins spent. For me its the music, dollars spent is exactly opposite of what hifi is about IMHO. But to each his own. Cheers

No I am joking by any means whatsoever and at $600K is not even in the realm. I am talking mega bucks. People in this range of equipment have the resources to indulge as they please. When one gets into this range of gear and the ultimate validation of the musical experience to be heard.

Believe me these folks are not trying to impress anyone, they know what they have and what it took to get to that point. Most are in the entertainment business, and indeed have a fine ear to evaluate recorded music. For them it is not dollars spent or to impress anyone. Although there is a pecking order among the elite, it has nothing to do with something as mundane as an audio system.

But most of these systems are custom made, by some of the most gifted designers in the business today. This is not off the shelf units by any means. and the $600K you speak of probably would not buy the speaker cables.

However with that being said it is subjective on how one perceives sound. While one may be very happy with what they have and would not trade it for anything, then that is good and you have found your comfort zone. I certainly have found mine.

With that being said, there are ultimate,no holds barred systems that defy sonic description, which few will ever hear, much less ever own. And in this case dollars do make the difference or many more of us, would have something of this nature.

Yes, folks in the entertainment business rarely do things to impress anyone.

I found many years ago that I kept better friends when I never demonstrated my system at all. This was especially true of female company. People just don't relate to the "my toys are better than your toys" scenario especially when the implication is that their toys are inadequate.
Still we are all human and like to show off the result of our labours.
Best not to be in a hurry. I don't even switch on the system the first or second time a new person visits. Most people like to talk about themselves and about things that interest them. Allowing them to talk and joining in with your experience in similar areas makes most people feel at home. After that the system might provide some background music that does not interfere with talking. Eventually the guest will provide a cue by asking you to play a favourite piece or by bringing a CD along and asking you to play that. (If that never happens then you know exactly how much he or she cares.)
By this time you will have a really good idea of what music the person likes and can have a selection of the top recordings in that field set aside.
I have a very large collection of music and can usually contrast different recordings with the one that breaks the ice. For example the same song by different singers or bands, or the same piece by different orchestras and so on. From there things tend to flow pretty naturally on to an in depth listening session.
Why bother? Well the best reward comes when someone has similar interests and can introduce you to music you might not have come across before. Even non audiophiles can have large record collections, which could include some great music you might not have come across before.

thanks for the clarifiaction Ferrari, i understand where your coming from now. I would like to say that my system is by no means at the point where i wouldnt trade it for anything. I just wouldnt trade it for that mega bucks(in my opinion) system i heard. So 600k for speaker cables, you got any pics or descriptions of those bad boys? When i saw/heard Transparent Opus MM speaker cables i thought that was near the top, i guess i was wrong lol. I would love to hear about some of the vinyl rigs these people are running if you have any info on those too. thanks