In our downstairs home theatre lair. (Ha! A DVD player, 27 inch TV and whatever amp and speakers aren't busy!), I plunked down a pair of Audio Note AZ Two speakers driven by an M Zero tube pre and an Adcom (forget what model) 60 watt sand amp. Used cheap monster cable IC's and 18g zip cord. He was impressed. I wasn't.

Pulled the pre and Adcom and subbed an Audio Note Kit 4 (10watt pp 6V6 amp w/vol pot). better overall tone, somewhat better bass extension and impact. He was more impressed. I could at least stand it.

Subbed in AN Lexus interconnects and speaker cable. Huuuge change in bass impact, midrange intelligibility, imaging.

It has stood as such ever since. Now he has his friends over to watch movies (Fast and Furious, XMen, etc), then tells them about the 10 watt amp.