When average folks visit your home, how do they react to your system in terms of aesthetics, size, cost and performance? What are some of the most common reactions?

Edgar Kramer: Most visitors are quite impressed with the system's aesthetics and are amazed at the quality of the components' construction. When they find out dollar values, they are blown away and in my paranoia, I begin to think they are questioning my sanity and indeed the whole high-end industry's. Performance? Some can't get past the dollars and expect to be sent to a hospital in a rapturous ecstatic attack.
John Potis: I learned long ago not to discuss cost unless someone asks. Most people just don't understand. But here is something I don't understand: Nobody questions a $60K German car in the driveway when a Ford Focus will do but they think that $3K speakers are an extravagance. Aesthetics? Universally, women think my speakers are too big and a decorating nightmare. Men don't care but everybody agrees that the sound is beyond what they knew possible. One friend commented that it was like putting on eyeglasses and suddenly realizing that you've been walking around half blind all these years. I've had guys drag their wives, kicking and screaming, to the listening chair who then didn't want to get up. But their general reaction to the great sound is, "Yeah, but at what cost?" That's when it's nice to be able to explain to them that they can get the lion's share of the performance for not all that much money - they just need to know where to go to find it.

Jules Coleman: Most people see my system and ask my wife why we are still married. Then they ask for a loan. And those are the comments of my children.
Michael Healey: Aesthetics: My system is pretty decor-friendly overall. Size: Several women have commented that they like the speakers and the rack. Most men think I need bigger speakers. Cost: I've been pooh-poohed for spending too little and stared at in bewilderment for spending so much. Performance: Most people like it. Some think they can do better. I like the responses kids give when they see and hear my system. Everything from "Whoa! What's that?" (said while pointing at the equipment rack) to "Daddy! The music is too loud!"

Marja & Henk: Average folk visiting us? We only open our doors by appointment. Visitors are fully screened for physical and mental health and all credentials are checked. The few mortal souls that pass know what to expect. Sometimes we have to display a little social feeling when a neighbor is in distress. These unprepared victims of our warm-heartedness enter the room and go into complete shock. Entering the room means walking between the awesome Avantgarde Duos like walking between the legs of the Colossus of Rhodes. Anyways, our room is strange in many people's view just like us - books, paintings and sculptures everywhere and piles and piles of CDs. The most common remark is "these must go loud!" The second remark is "these must be expensive" and then they pop the question they came with. More audio- savvy visitors make remarks about hornspeakers in general - "they are shrill, aren't they?" Then about the cables - so thin? And when they sit and get the full treat of a 300B-cum-horns blissful shower, some are literary shocked by the dynamics. Some experience their first audiogasm. Real diehards bring their own CD or even recording for a critical spin.
Given complete freedom on what to say, how would you comment on the audio review scene in general?

Edgar Kramer: I have some concerns about advertising dollars influencing review outcomes (an old concern) and in one particular well-known case, the blatant over-reviewing of a brand that has major advertising exposure. Apart from that, I think the industry has reached a certain maturity and we are all getting on with it
John Potis: If I could address the entire audio reviewing community, I'd look 'em in the collective eye and ask where the hell they get their egos from. I'd ask them about that sense of community so important in so many other professions. I'd ask them where they think all the egotistical back-
stabbing and condescension is getting this failing industry. I'd remind them how lucky they are that not only do they get to play with all the cool toys at no expense but actually get paid for it. I'd also remind them that they are not the creators, the manufacturers are the creators. They are simply the ones who get to publish their opinions on the equipment. So I'd ask them again, "Where in the hell do you get your ego from?" Of course then I'd have to turn around and ask the Internet forum participants, "When did the reviewers become the enemy? Why all the contempt?" I just don't get it.

Jules Coleman: I have complete freedom and prefer not to say. I think there is far too much pandering - at one extreme to a small group of manufacturers, at the other extreme to the Audio Asylum crowd. I do think that the print media is far more professional in its presentation and execution which is easy to confuse with competence. There is more discipline in the print media which is also a plus. But the quality of writing and insight into music and its reproduction is pretty uneven in all formats. The e-zines have a tremendous advantage in being able to review more exotic equipment and the print folks do much better with conventional and well-known brands. This division of labor is probably a good thing.
Michael Healey: Competition is great for developing new and existing talent. The biggest issue for all reviewers is building and maintaining trust with the reader. It's not easy to do when there are so many different forums that sometimes give more weight to opinions than actual experience or facts. Experience takes time and sometimes you have to get it wrong before you can get it right.

Marja & Henk: We used to live in Boskoop, once the European nursery center. In order to prevent the little trees from freezing in the winter, each lot was surrounded by canals. The canals would freeze over and absorb most of the cold. The Boskoop soil was perfect for nurseries as it consisted of peat. Now plants and trees are grown in pots put on sheets of plastic and Boskoop no longer is the nursery center it once was. Okay, back to the subject. Each and every lot surrounded by a canal is like an island. At the top of the island, the King of the island has build himself a house. He is an absolute monarch and his word is law, right or wrong. All the kings have underlings who look up to the King and hope to become the King at a later stage. Some are impatient and start their own kingdoms, much to the chagrin of the ruling Kings. Only a few Kings are more modern and support the new kingdoms and even form alliances, helping and sharing their knowledge. These are the Wise Kings. So much for the analogy with the Kings of audio reviewing.
How does listening to music fit into your general lifestyle? What other hobbies do you have? How does your family participate in audio?

Edgar Kramer: I listen for pure pleasure 3 to 4 times a week in 2-3 hour sessions. I also have many audiophile friends who come over for sessions, bring friends and good wine. I have had memorable sessions with my wife who also is a music lover. I love photography and have high-quality equipment although my busy business and hifi priority has put that on the back burner .
John Potis: As a chef, I listen to a lot of music in my kitchen at work. When I have the house to myself, I usually have music playing or a concert DVD in the theater room. My favorite time for listening is usually late at night after everybody's gone to bed and the house is dark. HiFi is my main hobby and playing the guitar comes next. Once I gave up the automobile magazines about 6 years go (and therefore the constant temptation), I suddenly found myself without a car payment for the first time in my adult life. Of course, the bulk of my afternoon and evening hours are filled with my wife and daughters. It's not a hobby but it usually feels like one.

Jules Coleman: They leave me alone. I play guitar, used to be a pretty high-level amateur golfer and played a lot of sports in general for a long time. Now I read, write and complain. I listen to music three to four hours a day, often when I am writing or reviewing papers for my journal. I usually play something dark and ominous during those occasions.
Michael Healey: Music is my way to realize who I am again after a long day (and they're getting longer) at the office. I play music in the car, at work and engage in concentrated listening on my home stereo every chance I get. Other hobbies include watching old movies, training my dog in agility, reading, writing, tennis, playing the bodhran (I'm pretty awful), walking/hiking, drinking beer and traveling. My family enjoys listening with me sometimes and will I always solicit their assessment of new components and how the music sounds. We also try to go out to concerts together whenever we can.

Marja & Henk: Music is not a hobby, we are music. Every form of matter is built up from vibrations, vibrations of energy. Music happens to be just another frequency. Next to music, art and physics are fields of interest. Life ends pretty soon without food, thus good food and drink help us to survive and release some extra endorphins. Go figure what comes next.
What do you think are the most common mistakes audiophiles make when assembling a system while using reviews to assist them?

Edgar Kramer: As you'd expect, system synergy. The problem is manyfold but to simplify it, I would say that first off, great-sounding components don't necessarily sound great when thrown together with other great-sounding units. It takes diligence and a friendly retailer to put together great components that sound great as a system. Secondly, great reviews are written by reviewers with a different system, in a different room and with possibly different biases.
John Potis: That's a really difficult one. I'd have to go back to people's preoccupation with the "positive" review. What works in my system may not work in your system. What's much more important than how a reviewer felt about a piece is exactly how it sounded. Cherry-picking a list of recommended components could be a recipe for disaster without a complete reading and understanding of the review and what exactly the reviewer heard.

Jules Coleman: Paying attention to what reviewers recommend rather than what they say.
Michael Healey: Always trust your own ears and give yourself time to listen. You need a certain amount of experience listening to different equipment to get an idea of what you like and don't like. Compare your experiences with the reviewer's experiences to determine if you want to demo a component. People who purchase items unheard are taking huge risks because there is no guarantee that you will like what the reviewer likes. Working with an experienced dealer can be an excellent way to assemble a system with synergy.

Marja & Henk: First being/calling themselves an audiophile. And then comes a great scenario for a disaster movie. Pick all the most highly reviewed components from the ever-so-popular lists of The Best Of. Connect the boxes with the best-reviewed cables. Open the CD player, pop in the best-reviewed CD. Press play on the best-reviewed remote. Now sit back on the best-reviewed couch by Martha Steward. Tear all your clothes off (nudity always sells) and run away from the demons just released (insert shots of real terrorist attack).
What (if anything) is wrong with the industry at large and do you have any realistic notions on what needs to be done?

Edgar Kramer: I think this industry is insular. We need to swell the ranks. I fear that we'll shrink into oblivion as more of the youth considers iPod and MP3 the best in audio. Yes, there will always be a market for the best but that limits the industry to a few select brands with big marketing budgets. What of the excellent cottage designers? Then we have the HT surround sound crowd and Lifestyle products. Then, irrelevant concurrent formats in opposition confusing newcomers. An Australian scenario: Until the early 90s, Sydney held a major HiFi show at one of the big hotels. The show was advertised in all the newspapers, television and major radio stations. Attendances were huge. Through that period, the community was vibrant and growing with audio lovers meeting via this forum. Smaller manufacturers received exposure and I can vouch for many sales based on the discovery of wonderful products at the show. Sadly, subsequent to its demise, my impression is of a smaller, older community slowly dwindling. Smaller Aussie manufacturers are fewer and not only totally ignored but held in contempt by their local market. Education and exposure are the remedies.
John Potis: Obviously the industry has, and always has had, a hard time getting the word out. I wonder if this isn't because it spends too much time preaching to the choir and I wonder if they can't take a lesson from Bose. Say what you want about their products but the fact is that they are marketing geniuses. Who hasn't heard of Bose? Not only has everybody heard of Bose but they think it's the cream of the crop. I don't think that people could even name their closest competitor. How did Bose do that? Not by advertising in TAS and Stereophile. They go where their market is and the unexplored market is not reading TAS and Stereophile. They are reading the mainstream magazines. Such advertising is expensive and probably beyond the reach of most high-end companies. But it works. It posts serious returns. We see cooperative dealer/manufacturer advertising all the time, maybe we need to see it in the mainstream magazines. How about a Krell/Thiel/Audioquest advertisement in Time or Motor Trend next week? How about a Polk/NAD/MonsterCable ad in Sports Illustrated or News Week? Is that realistic?

Jules Coleman: The absence of trust. I wrote about that two years ago in an opinion piece for UltraAudio and I still think it is the best thing I have written in audio other than my essay on Chuck Berry and Britney Spears.
Michael Healey: The industry is fine but the rest of the world is a mess! I have plenty of realistic notions on what needs to be done, but they involve quaint old concepts like stewardship, compassion, recycling and clothes that fit well and don't itch.

Marja & Henk: Lower the software prices. CDs and all other shiny discs are overpriced. Affordable music will stop the file sharing craze (if done in time and before the scheme of copying becomes the de facto standard). The capacity of current MP3 players reaches storage sizes that can accommodate unrealistic amounts of songs (ever tried to upload 25,000 songs to your iPod?). Teach the youth that WAV files sound so much better. The average audiophile is a balding 45-year old male with an above average income not very different from the other (...)philes' profiles. Where is the youth? Where are the young designers (other than Josh)? The industry needs to address the youth with more affordable quality products. Think HiPod, not iPod.