So, I finally gave in.....

[manlystanley]

My wife has been after me for years, that "my speakers are to big". I had been putting my Klipsch RB5-ii's on top of the family room stereo (4 foot wide) cabinet. So, at least I could get some imaging.

Well, I moved the RB5's to the impromptu movie/music room down stairs; then put my cheapest speaker (Bose 201) in the family room. I get home a few nights ago and found the bose 201's on the floor next to the cabinet.

My wife is glowing: don't they sound good? So, I finally caved in.....

Now the final frontier is my new music room in the basement. She want's to 'help me' design the room. I've told her, that I get one room of the house to do anything I want to with....and the music room is it.

So, I'm curious, what sort of issues have you had with wife's/etc concerning space usage for your equipment??

Best Regards,
Stan

[Vasilis]

Never married, I can place them anywhere. Mind you my system is quite modest...

[BadAssJazz]

So, I'm curious, what sort of issues have you had with wife's/etc concerning space usage for your equipment??

Best Regards,
Stan

WAF pretty much rules the day in my house.

Don't get me wrong: she is very easy-going person. Almost nothing gets to her 99.9999% of the time. So if she does happen to raise a concern, it's well worth the effort to make things just right for her. Not so much the space and form factor, but aesthetic appearance and overall feel. Fail in either of these aspects and I'll hear about it.

As it turns out, it all works in my favor, because some of the choices made entailed budget increases in order to keep the peace.

Take for example the cabinet that houses the electronics. I initially had a basic 3-tier TV stand with a separate 6 tier component rack. She felt it turned her living space into an EMP burst just waiting to happen and asked that I consider an enclosed cabinet of some kind, even if it meant building one into the wall. We wound up going to a Chinese antique store and buying a buffet cabinet. We had to have it restored and customized, which was definitely more than I would have spent on the damn thing, but she didn't flinch when I showed her the bill. She was a happy camper.

Same deal goes for the speakers. I am an upgrade-aholic anyway, but some of my speaker choices have been guided by that voice in the back of my head that demands that it be eye pleasing (first!) as well as a true performer. Fortunately mutual exclusivity is not an issue.

If you're a single guy, you're probably laughing at me and others, but believe me when I say that there is no calibration device or tweak or shielding or volume setting that will obviate the cacophonous feedback of a griping wife.

[GMichael]

My wife knows that most of the house is hers to do with as she pleases, but the HT room is my domain. That said, I have always kept her in mind when looking for upgrades and asked her opinion in each case.
She does appreciate the sound quality and looks of the equipment I have picked out.

[Hyfi]

She likes the bigger ones.....



Speakers that is. My wife likes the Clearfields better than the Danes..except for the missing bass. I'm pretty lucky. Mrs Hyfi plays the system more than I do most weeks.

Oh and tonight, she told me something wasn't sounding quite right. After some investigation, I found a bad tube. I told her i really needed a new set of 12ax7s and she said..."Order them".

I moved my Infinity center to the family room and sat it on top of a spot she uses so she asked me to turn it standing up so the vase would fit.

All about compromise.

[markw]

When we first met I had Maggies, properly placed for their best performance, and she didn't mind, or at least dare to complain. After that, pretty much anything goes.

[frenchmon]

I thought you had a set of Jamo? Did you get tired of them?

[manlystanley]

I thought you had a set of Jamo? Did you get tired of them?

Great input everyone, so I'm not alone in compromising.

My Klipch RB5-II's are sitting on top of the boxed up Jamo C809's. Because I'm a sucker for a good deal, we bought yet another foreclosed home. After 6 months the house is in fairly good shape, but I've got a lot of remodeling planned. So, there will be lots of dust, dry wall mud, etc all over the place. I'm planning on keeping the Jamo's boxed up for another year.

But, the longer I listen to my sans-Jamo system, the move I miss them. The Klisch's fatigue my ears after a hour or so, and just don't have the same punch and high end. But, at least I've got something.


My older three kids are out of college and gone now, and they did not have much of an interest in remodeling. But, my 10 year old, absolutely loves it. She can: cut, sand, flux and solder copper pipes, do dry wall, etc. She'll make some lucky man a good general contractor......


Best Regards,
Stan

[frenchmon]

Great input everyone, so I'm not alone in compromising.

My Klipch RB5-II's are sitting on top of the boxed up Jamo C809's. Because I'm a sucker for a good deal, we bought yet another foreclosed home. After 6 months the house is in fairly good shape, but I've got a lot of remodeling planned. So, there will be lots of dust, dry wall mud, etc all over the place. I'm planning on keeping the Jamo's boxed up for another year.

But, the longer I listen to my sans-Jamo system, the move I miss them. The Klisch's fatigue my ears after a hour or so, and just don't have the same punch and high end. But, at least I've got something.


My older three kids are out of college and gone now, and they did not have much of an interest in remodeling. But, my 10 year old, absolutely loves it. She can: cut, sand, flux and solder copper pipes, do dry wall, etc. She'll make some lucky man a good general contractor......


Best Regards,
Stan

Oh I see. Well once you do unbox those Jamo's your ears will be loving you.

[Jim Clark]

She likes the bigger ones.....



Speakers that is. My wife likes the Clearfields better than the Danes..except for the missing bass. I'm pretty lucky. Mrs Hyfi plays the system more than I do most weeks.

Oh and tonight, she told me something wasn't sounding quite right. After some investigation, I found a bad tube. I told her i really needed a new set of 12ax7s and she said..."Order them".

I moved my Infinity center to the family room and sat it on top of a spot she uses so she asked me to turn it standing up so the vase would fit.

All about compromise.

I just received an order for some NOS 12 ax7 RCA triple mica black plates for my Jolida 100a. I'm not gonna say it was a huge difference compared to the cryoed Tung Sols but I'd like to think I notice a little additional smoothness in the mids. I wanted some Bugle Boys but dang those things are really pricey : (

[Hyfi]

I just received an order for some NOS 12 ax7 RCA triple mica black plates for my Jolida 100a. I'm not gonna say it was a huge difference compared to the cryoed Tung Sols but I'd like to think I notice a little additional smoothness in the mids. I wanted some Bugle Boys but dang those things are really pricey : (

Thanks, Jim. I put a real old set of Sovtek WXT+ in play and was pleased over a couple sets of the LPSs. Could just be that I have a bunch of lousy (old and used) tubes because the LPS is supposed to be better than the WXT+.

I am on the fence right now about ordering a set of the PSVANE 12ax7s.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I never had this problem when I was married(my wife passed away), I had a much different situation than most. My wife actually ran my post production studio, so we battled about what equipment to get in the studio, and in the house. We worked together in finding room for the equipment(studio or house), she helped my place and tune the setup, she would decorate around the equipment, and then help me tune the system to the room. I had a real partner in my audio and video pursuits, and it was very refreshing.

The one area we did have issues with was staying on budget. She always kept a lid on the budget, and I was always spending more than I should. Since she handled the money, nothing got by her.

[E-Stat]

I never had this problem when I was married(my wife passed away)...

I cannot imagine that..

rw

[hifitommy]

"I cannot imagine that.."

i am assuming you meant you cant imagine the wife passing, ralph, and not 'not having this problem when I was married'.

well, i had a similar situation. my wife was a music lover and when i moved into her small apartment with a mass of equipment on a tall cabinet and infinity monitor junior speakers on stands, placed them 18" from the wall, she enjoyed the music and sound so much that she didnt object to the intrusion.

there were also the rear channels of my dynaquad ambience extraction in this mix.

when we moved to a rented house, she again had no problem with the audio system dominating the living room and after two weeks, demanded the rear ambience speakers be placed and made to be operable.

this sounds like a fantasy and i know its highly unusual but its true.

like terrence, i had the misfortune of losing her too soon. a transfusion tainted with hepatitis was given back in the 70s unbeknownst to us took her life in early '93, (they werent as careful with blood back then).

its too bad when wives feel that they have empirical power when it comes to the living space that they disregard the wants and needs of their spouse. i was one of the VERY fortunate ones.

[recoveryone]

Count yourself very lucky Sir TT, to have had a mate and friend that shared your passion.

[MADCSRT8]

My wife provides plenty of input, which translates into actions by me, with respects to the A/V system. Some examples are:

1. We bought a new house and it has a much larger family room, which is our audio video room. She was squinting at the 27" TV and said, "That TV is TOO SMALL!!!" yessssssss....I remedied that issue right away.

2. Another common complaint... "It's TOO LOUD!!!!" so I plug in the headphones...but that generates another complaint.. "I want to hear the tunes!!!" so I unplug, turn it down and pick my times for loud...when she's not here...LOL

3. Not so much a complaint as it is an aesthetic comment..."It looks pretty crowded up there with all that stuff." I fixed that as well. Away went the low table, the separate 56" A/V shelf and in came a nice, 6 internal shelf, Salamander stand.

Honestly, I am only doing these things to address her concerns...

4. This was some interesting insight... "I read online the other day that video quality can be greatly improved with something called HDMI." I agreed and added that a single point of converting audio and video signals is a better way to go. So, I get to buy a pre/pro pretty soon.

5. She asked me the other day what I spent for the two front Vienna Acoustic Bach Grand speakers. (I have VA's all the way around except for my sub.) I gave her a vague answer (honestly, I don't remember) and she said, "If it was that much, can you make them clearer?"

Yes, dear...yes I can...

So I am also in the market for a 400 WPC @ 4 ohms two channel amp. Too bad I am a poor audiophile and in desperately seeking the best price on a McIntosh MC402 I think I ran across a scam. More on that later.

In any event, I truly do listen to my wife for her input. I've learned how to turn that to my ... er, our ... advantage.

[E-Stat]

i am assuming you meant you cant imagine the wife passing...

Exactly. I was sincere in that comment. I'm 11 years older than my wife and I expect for me to go first.

like terrence, i had the misfortune of losing her too soon.

Guys, I confess that I am not at all prepared for that. I really don't know what to say.

i was one of the VERY fortunate ones.

My solution from the start was to find a dedicated space away from the main living area.

rw

[manlystanley]

I never had this problem when I was married(my wife passed away),.

SirT: I never knew that you lost your wife. I'm so sorry. :-(

Best Regards,
Stan

[prizantj]

thank the lawd im not married

[prizantj]

all though...i was about to get new speakers and im prolly' gonna have some isuues with the neighbors

[manlystanley]

like terrence, i had the misfortune of losing her too soon. a transfusion tainted with hepatitis was given back in the 70s unbeknownst to us took her life in early '93, (they werent as careful with blood back then).

HIFI: I'm very sorry for your loss as well. :-( I don't know what I'd do with out my wife. I describe her as a cross between:

-- Florance Nightingale AND
-- Attila the Hun.

In other words: She loves me when I need loving and gives me a good swift kick when I need that.....


Best Regards,
Stan

[hifitommy]

thanks for the condolences fellas, and for those you gave STT as well.

i have many great memories of her and am not moping around but miss her just the same.

i have ordered my kids that they must wait for me to go before any of them. my mother in law (a gem) had the misfortune of losing her daughter and i dont envy that one bit.

[RGA]

Sorry to hear this guys. Losing anyone is hard but a spouse or a child is worse. When my dad died while fairly young (67) it was not totally surprising since he smoked 2 packs a day for more than 50 years and didn't exercise. 67 was pretty good. I was sad but I was more upset for my mom. They were very close and other than our family of three there really is no one else.

I can't imagine falling in love marrying someone and losing them - especially young. My deepest condolences.