Do any of you outlaws and gunslingers miss your home systems when you're out of town? Just got back from two weeks in FL and, weirdly enough, I was surprised by how much I actually didn't much think of mine. I'm listening to the White Stripes' White Blood Cells on vinyl right now, and though my setup clearly sounds better than any audio I heard during my break (actually, I'm even more sure of what a standout this RR 2150/NHT combo is), I didn't expect it to be so out-of-sight/out-of-mind—especially considering the amount of time and energy I've spent piecing it together the past year or so. Only mentioned "my system" once even, when my amazing basshead brother-in-law's subwoofer clearly needed an adjustment. I realize all this is probably just normal—and truth is, the wife and I could use a few more beachy-type getaways—but it was just something that popped into my head…

Also, just as an aside, in traversing FL in a rent-a-car the wife and I figured out that a couple of CDs I brought along really made for great driving music if anyone is looking for different, eclectic stuff. They worked for us anyway:

Miles Davis - In A Silent Way and Filles de Kilimanjaro
Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey
Various artists - Chess Blues Classics, 1957-67
Bob Marley - Exodus
Elmore James - Shake Your Moneymaker: The Best of the Fire Sessions
Latin Playboys - Latin Playboys
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Gil Evans - Out Of The Cool
Various artists - Red Hot + Riot

I don't know If I miss it per se, particularly if I'm preoccupied with other things while I'm away. I can tell you, however, that it's interesting to see how much I appreciate it when I've been away from it.

So to somewhat dovetail on your comments about listening to music on the ride back home, I am always stunned about how much information you miss and/or how much different things sound when you pop that CD out of your car radio or desktop boombox and stick it in your home system.

Lastly, I don't know how your brother-in-law's system sounds, but the bass comment makes me think of how many people have truly awful sounding systems they think sound great. I think home theater has been a real culprit in this. I've seen people who have big buck flat panel TVs and would have an otherwise good HT if it weren't for the junky home-theater-in-a-box system they bought to go with it. They must think all that boomy bass on everything from the Super Bowl to a Right Guard commercial is normal. And they really sound bad with music.

I find that when I'm away on vacation I do miss my system whenever there's a lul in other acivities. I don't really pay that much attention to sound quality while I'm driving, but listening to a CD through a condo tv/dvd player is almost painful.