Proper acoustics vs wife's "design scheme" (2 Viewers)

[bradcny]

I just have to vent. For some reason, known only to her, my wife has decided that our 50" plasma TV and front speakers look better in a corner. I have tried to appeal to her that that is in no way an optimized setup. Now I can understand if you are forced through physical limitations to place a TV in a corner, but who does this willingly?

 

[Frank A]

Brad, it's all about give and take. You give a little (tv/speakers in corner) and take a little (the tv/speakers you want--at least in my case


Hope it works out for you.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Yes, it’s all about give and take and what’s fair. If she gets to determine how the living room is going to be decorated, then it’s only fair that you should get to make the decisions for the kitchen (or whatever room is special to her): For instance, “I don’t think the coffee maker looks good there. Neither does the toaster. They’re going to have to be stored in the cabinet when we’re not using them.” “I think that flower arrangement you’ve put on the dining room table looks better on the dryer.” Etc.


Regards,

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[CB750]

Welcome Brad


I hope you feel better now that you have put your frustrations to print on this forum. While you might get the impression that one of the purposes of this forum is to be a "He Man Woman Haters Club" their is little that we can do to help you start wearing the pants in your family again. You see most woman have neither the ability or the inclination to understand how to properly set up a HT for optional viewing and listening. In other words how something looks to them trumps functionality every time, and that is a difficult obstacle to overcome trying to use a logical and peaceful argument. So the question is are you willing to risk marital happiness to get your way even though you know you are right.



You didn't mention if you had a 2.0, 3.1 or 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system. If you have only front speakers then you might be able to place them on a diagonal. Years ago I had to do that with a 2.0 system and it worked OK. However if you have any form of surround speakers then you are going to have speaker placement problems. About the only thing you can do is to set up the speakers so that they really sound crappy on purpose, and then blame the horrible sound on her furniture arrangement.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

What makes you think the wife will notice crappy sound? My sister still claims she sees no difference in HDTV because her old SDTV fit her decor better. She also insists on turning the volume way down because she "can't hear it when it's loud."

 

[johng316]

Originally Posted by bradcny

...but who does this willingly?

You? Hehe... just kidding.

But seriously, the answer depends on your relationship dynamics. If she usually gets what she wants, then you're just going to have to make some lemonade or try to find a way to include her in the decision so moving it to a better spot becomes her idea. You could invite some friends over and ask them to comment on how much they enjoy your living room, but it would be even better if the TV and sound system were in a better spot. If she has any regard for hospitality, this could work.


But I prefer a more direct approach. My wife understands that there are certain things that make me happy, and she understands also that if she wants me to care about her happiness, she needs to think about things from my perspective too. Wives are generally disparaging of men who are unable to think from another's point of view. Maybe time to turn that argument to your favor here. Fortunately, my wife is also beautifully submitted to me, and that stands healthy as long as I also consider her opinions and needs and don't make silly "railroad" decisions.


No easy answer here without knowing you. Sounds like you're not in a position to put your foot down, but you might just have to sit with her and help her understand how important this is to you. If she doesn't want to hear that or doesn't care, there might be bigger fish to fry.


All the best,


John

 

[rayman1701]

Whew!! Boy do I feel lucky! My wife actually LIKES all of the A/V equipment, and BIG speakers. Yes it's true, I actually mairried someone who, not only appreciates what a good A/V experience is, but thinks (like I do) that the equipment should be seen too. Granted, she's not into the technical side of knowing all the ins and outs, but she enjoys it once I get it up and going. Plus she understands that to get really good sound, the speakers can't be little one inch cubes hidden somewhere out of site, and she likes the looks of big speakers. I'm also fortunate in that she agrees that our 65" TV is not quite big enough, and will be upgrading to an 82" in the near future (we'd both like to go bigger, but the room just won't handle it). Even while watching decorating shows, she even yells at the screen when the designer goes out of the way to hide all of the home entertainment stuff. I'm not trying to rub it in, I just feel like the luckiest husband in the world sometimes and I wanted to let it be known that there are in fact actual women out there who understands and appreciates the whole A/V asthetic.

 

[Robert_J]

I'll one-up Ray. When my wife was drawing the floor plan of what will be our current house, she included a dedicated theater room. We settled on a 103" screen and projector. There isn't a week that passes that she doesn't mention how great the room is.


She also set up a tour of Egglesworks Loudspeakers for me. I got to meet the director of marketing, watch them build a speaker, watch them install a crossover and finally audition a set of $55,000 speakers. She went on to say that the Egglestons sounded better than my speakers but not $54,800 better. She even thanked me for the effort I put into building the speakers and subs.