How do you convert the HT-challenged spouse? (1 Viewer)

[Louis C]

My wife is very wary of my buying HT for our living room. She is total against it if the sound is not coming only out of the tv set. She does not get really excited about a large screen set 'taking over' our precious living room. Hard to imagine, but true.:frowning:
I've considered the following options
1) divorce (after all, it is HT we're talking about - but I suppose a little extreme)
2) Building a brick and mortar theater in my back yard - do-able, but way over my budget
3) Figuring out a way she can run it 'just like an ordinary TV' by pushing a single button. Of course she will require some training to locate where that button is on the remote, but I love a challenge

4) Not getting the HT setup - NOT an option
Please help because I am in a desperate situation! How to fix this ugliness????
TIA,
Louis

 

[Alan Dahl]

Without a supportive spouse, it would be hard to maintain this hobby (obsession?). My wife is a movie buff but wasn't sold on the HT idea until she sat in a demo theater at the local dealer. Once she heard what HT could be capable of, there was no turning back.

 

[Joe Tilley]

Go out by yourself and find a good pro audio store that can do a really good demo.Get to know one of the salesmen a little & let him know that you wont to show off a set up without the buying pressure or what are you looking for stuff. Take the wife in later on when you know that sales person will be there & have him demo a system or two.

This way your not going in with the salesman breathing down your back to buy something than & there.If you go beforehand & let him know that your just trying to convince the wife it would lessen some of the pressure & she would maybe get a better experience of what its all about without the would you like to take it home today problems.

Good luck hope you can convince her what she is missing....

 

[joe rizzuto]

i've always thought seperate houses was a good idea myself.
but doing the demo thing also might work. sounds like slow and steady might win that race.
is there another room where you could locate the theatre? i use a smaller 2nd bedroom, not ideal size wise but great as far as having one room with one purpose. and the sound is fabulous.

 

[William Lane]

Break her in with a good chick flick like Pearl Harbor. My wife had tears rolling down her cheeks big time, even more than the end of Armageddon. You'll probably have to agree to watch a stupid movie she picks out every now and then. We are moving in December into a house with one extra bedroom, gee, what do you think will be in that room? A dedicated HT that's what!

 

[Geoff S]

First thing, don't divorce over the wife not wanting a home theater (I can't believe I said that... whoa). Unless there are other reasons...

The demoing thing is a great option. The idea is to get her excited over it the same way you are. I've known plenty of people who think that all this home theater stuff is just an insane amount of loud speakers blowing out your ears and annoying thump thump thumps.. however when I demo my system to any of them their jaws drop in awe, and some of them even start wanting a HT of their own!

Another way may be putting an 'invisible' Home theater in your Living Room. One that wont intrude on the way the room looks now. A small LCD projector, retractable screen, in wall speakers, equipment hidden in a piece of furniture that blends with the rest of the decor, sub hidden behind coutch... the possibilities are endless. Think about it.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

Hey...youz want I should send Fat Tony by and break her freakin' knees?

 

[TomMadden]

Here's what I did:

The TV that I got was a full standaone standard TV, meaning that it had speakers and a tuner built in, just like a normal TV. I then ran two sets of cables coming out of my DirecTV box. One set ran directly into the tuner and composite in on the TV and the other into the receiver. All of the other components run through the receiever, which connected up through the SVideo on the TV.

The beauty of this is that she can simply turn on the TV and use it just how she normally would. The sound from the DirecTV box came out of the TV's speakers and she could change the channels using the DirecTV as she had always done before. No problem there. When I was around, I could fire up the receiver and kick the TV over to the SVideo input to watch TV or movies in surround.

She gradually got used to the idea of surround sound and figured out how to work the gear herself, so now the receiver's on all of the time.

I guess the moral of the story here is, "baby steps, baby steps, baby steps".

 

[Neil Joseph]

One thing you have to do is get her absolute favourite film (or two) and demo them for her, somehow.

 

[John Garcia]

My fiance was not into music, movies or much of anything HT related beyond TV (ugh). I stopped worrying about what she liked or didn't like, and got what I wanted. At first, she wasn't too keen on the amount being spent (it's MY money, we aren't married yet), but it did not take very long for her to be converted.
A piece at a time is what I did, and it worked out fine. Be reasonable, but not a wimp. The HT is MY piece of the home, she can do whatever she wants pretty much everywhere else.
My TV works just fine without any of the other gear turned on.

 

[Brian Burgoyne]

"baby steps..."

Tom,

You must be referring to one of my all time favorite movies with Bill Murray: "What about Bob?"

For those who suggested the audition, don't forget to take her out to dinner first! Or let her buy some stuff at the mall first so you have the guilt factor on your side.

I lost my first home theater in a divorce, so now I'm buying everything I want before I ever (IF I EVER) get married again!

By the way, it's cheaper to keep her...

 

[Adam Horak]

I'm in pretty much the same boat as John G. I need to buy up all my home theater stuff before I get married, as my fiance is less that totally supportive of it. She doesnt like movies at all unfortunetly. She falls asleep during them. Get this, and I swear this is true, she has fallen asleep during the following movies, in the theater:

The Matrix
LOTR:FOTR
Star Wars: PM
Star Wars: AOTC
Spiderman

Just to name a few.. Needless to say I am fighting an uphill battle.

 

[Clinton McClure]

One of the first things I did when I began dating my current girlfriend was teach her how to operate my HT gear. Our work hours vary greatly and she spends a lot of her free time at my place, although I'm usually at work when she's there. When she first saw my HT, she was facinated and wanted to know how to go about turning on all my gear so she could watch movies or listen to CDs when I'm not there.

It helps bunches and bunches to have a girlfriend who digs HT.

 

[Anthony F.]

This seems like a pretty common problem, especially if you don't have a dedicated space. If you really want a HT you're just going to have to suck it up and make some compromises:

If you can get a foot in the door with a demo, start small and work up to your dream theater. And offer her things to help make sure the space is her's too:

1) A usable, but maybe smaller than you'd like screen size (gasp!). It's much much simpler to pitch a 36" screen than a 65" widescreen.

2) A nice cabinet to hide the TV when not in use. Not everyone likes having a giant "eye" staring at them during casual conversation.

3) An intuitive, simple remote control that fits her hand. You set up the macros for one touch access to the things she wants (TV w/o surround, playing cds, etc.).

4) Slightly-less-than-cineplex grade surround system (for now). Yes, a room full of black boxes can kill the deal. No, you don't have to go with a Bose lifestyle system.

5) Be patient and reasonable. Bringing in a copy of HT Designs will almost guarantee you'll be listening to a mini system for years to come, but setting up a modest system will increase the odds that she'll get hooked and will start bugging you about future upgrades.

Good luck!

 

[Jeff Braddock]

My wife is much the same way. She loves movies, but we auditioned a system just yesterday and this dinosaur ran across a log from right to left. I asked her is she noticed it, she said no so I backed up the movie and let her hear it again...she just stared blankly and shrugged and said "Sorry, I just can't tell where the sound is coming from." AHHHHHHHHH. I think I have got her sold, maybe not on loving an HT system, but on letting me get one.

 

[Brian Burgoyne]

My ex-girlfriend was not really impressed with movies I liked either, and often fell asleep. However, she was impressed with Eric Clapton Unplugged and James Taylor Live at the Beacon, and often requested them. Sorry guys, sometimes we just have to think like girls.:b

I wonder how the restraunt scene in "When Harry met Sally" sounds in 5.1?

 

[Louis C]

Thanks all for the great suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

 

[Mark__T]

My problem isn't so much the HT concept or even spending a modest amount of money, but it is the intrusion of wires and rear speakers that seem to be the sticking point. She does not want speakers on the walls or any speaker stands.
I was desperate enough to try the Bose 321 so you know I really need help here. The 321 is still here. I have like 15 days left in the 30 money back window period. I think my wife likes it which even makes this more difficult. ARRRGGHH

 

[steve nn]

For me it was tooth and nail all way the first six months. I am very obsessive so this did and does not help. Three subs and my third set of mains and center next week. RF-3 mains and the RC-3 center Klips. Work on being her best friend except when it comes to HT. " Do what you can". Time will help and be sure to not promise any thing when it comes to HT like "this will be it for sure--No more up-grades"!

 

[John_Berger]

I guess the moral of the story here is, "baby steps, baby steps, baby steps".

Absolutely! I was bugging my wife for a widescreen TV for about three years. I would constantly find way to chip away with methods like:
1) Showing how thrilling it was that the widescreen TV was less than $2,500. Of course the complete shock of a $2,500 widescreen TV as opposed to a $500 27" TV was enough to make her keel over. But by continuing to do that, she started to understand the price range of widescreen TVs. After a while when we found one that was $1,999, she actually said, "That's not a bad price!"
2) Whimpering like a puppy when a widescreen TV sale would come on the TV. (Don't laugh!! It worked, didn't it?)
3) Look for acceptable payment plans. Most of us can't afford to fork out $2,500 at once, but how many of us can afford $xxx per month when compared to the other useless crap that gets bought within a month?
4) Actually get her in there to see the difference that they can make. This doesn't work for all spouses, but it's at least worth a try.
It took a few years, but it worked. Not my wife not only understand a lot of HT terminology, but she admits that it would be very difficult to, for whatever reason, go back to a "regular" TV should something happen to ours.