FWIW, I've anecdotally had pretty much the opposite experience. I've played and written music my entire life, but I'm not very well-versed in sound systems. My roommate has invested several years and several thousand dollars in the sound system that we currently have in our living room.

After he and the sound system moved in, I listen to music (of all kinds) quite a bit louder in our living room: My earlier crappy sound system just didn't sound good at high volumes while this system sounds beautiful as high as we care to crank it before we decide that we're being too unreasonably inconsiderate to our neighbors.