This must be a regular hazard for anyone who spends their life surrounded by hi-fi and AV equipment: when I visit friends, whether just for dinner or a longer stay, I’ll inevitably check out the systems by which they play their music and watch their TV and movies. Indeed some friends start apologising for their hi-fi systems even before I’m through the front door, perhaps because they think I will only appreciate systems costing megabucks (I actually far prefer high-value systems that deliver stonking sound). Other friends may be using Sonos, or small Bluetooth speakers which they think sound pretty wonderful, and in their way they do, if you have no hi-fi basis for comparison, so I rarely spoil their happiness by mentioning what they’re missing.
If I worked in a hi-fi shop, I might (if requested) be able to advise on better gear, and perhaps then arrange them a deal. As a reviewer, I can’t help them with kit directly, but I can advise on cost-effective upgrades, and on occasion I’ll spot a horrendous schoolboy error which can be fixed without any outlay at all, thereby transforming their sound as if by magic.
