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Bose and the wife..... (1 Viewer)

William_Gravem

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Aug 19, 2004
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Frustrating weekend.

I've spent the last month + budgeting and beginning a research effort looking into speakers/subs/receivers/pre-wiring behind drywall/etc. so that when my condo is done being built, I can have a nice music/theater system in the living room to go with the nice new tv. While I'm still a newbie, I've learned a lot in this time.

On Sunday I drove a little over an hour to check out a dealer that I pulled off the paradigm website. It's probably the 5th or 6th a/v store that I've been to. I figure different dealers stress different things and that I always learn something new when I hear another (albeit often biased) point of view.... Only, this time my wife decided to tag along.

I'm interested in paradigm's monitor 5's (among others). Since it's a condo, space is at a premium, and I've been impressed with the price and presence of these speakers. We go to demo them and my wife immediately gets a sour look and declares they're too big. So I figure that she'll change her mind when she hears them. No-dice. About half way through the second song I ask what she thinks. She says "I get the point: they're loud... so what? All this is going to do is make our neighbors hate us. And they're huge! Why can't you just get some of those Bose cubes? They can be just as loud."

Now, I'm trying to find something good and wall-mountable, B&W and paradigm both make on wall speakers (although B&W's are a bit out of my price range)... and I know Axiom's get great reviews and the M22ti can be wall mounted w/ their full metal bracket... but when a good sound-stage sounds loud and offensive to her, I don't know what to make of that.

I'm sure I'm not the first person who's ran into this. Any advice?

---Bill
 

FeisalK

Screenwriter
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May 1, 2003
Messages
1,245
how about the Paradigm Cinema series - i know they're too small for you but they sound good and appease the missus at the same time :)

she might love the looks of the Gallos too .. if you can find a dealer nearby you can chek out how they sound.
 

Charlie Campisi

Screenwriter
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Aug 20, 2004
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Pick something where she is more of an expert than you are, so you defer to her opinion, then turn it around. My wife likes to decorate our house, garden etc. I don't do it, but I still have an opinion about what she does. When I disagree I defer to her. When it comes time for me to make the call on something, I say "I don't like the $2500 chairs you chose, but I went with it because it was important to you and you know more than I do with picking furniture. Trust me about the speakers. These sound better and after going to six different stores I know they are a much better option than the Bose."
 

William_Gravem

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Aug 19, 2004
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113
Thanks Feistal, the Gallos don't look like they fit our style, but the paradigm cinema may be worth looking into.

Thank you Charlie. Since you're in the area I can get more specific... you can understand the frusteration after driving to Manassas VA (495 Beltway to Rt 66) on a Sunday to hear "yeah they're loud... so what?"

Great advice. Since we're building a condo, you can immagine that there should be plenty of opportunity for compromises like that. :)
 

Greg Fullerton

Auditioning
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Jul 20, 2004
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11
This is an easy one: Just get rid of the wife.

Seriously, though, maybe you should look into some real nice in-wall speakers. Maybe something like the Energy Veritas inwalls. Jamo and Klipsch also makes some real nice inwalls, too.
 

William_Gravem

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Not a bad idea, but since it's a condo, I'm leaning away from in-wall speakers b/c I've heard they tend to resonate and annoy the neighbors more. I'm guessing on-walls will too though. It's worth looking into.

My wife does like the look of Mirage omnistats, but I've heard them and I wasn't too impressed. The Axiom's look pretty and I've heard good things about them, but they're big. Hopefully I can sell them on the cherry-wood finish and say they go w/ our traditional styled living room.
 

mark alan

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and my guess is that you plan to stay single. However, if I ever plan to become single, I could probably just set that system up while she is out of the house, then refuse to remove it.
 

Benihana

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Nov 14, 2003
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if you would like a big soundstage and little footpring(wall mountable), you should check into the Mirage omnisats, i think there are 2 dizes, micro and normal size, pretty dang small and they can throw a big soundstage, not that expensive either. You can also get them from ebay for relatively cheap prices.
 

Charlie C

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Jun 25, 2004
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237
"yeah they're loud... so what"

id say spend $40 on all the speakers. y'know the 5.1 setup you can get with computers. get that. Shell love them. untill you play HER favorite music/movie. Then shell say, turn it up, and then shell say, that sounds like crap. lets invest in real stuff. THEN you explain to her about Bose and all the crap you gotta undertstand to do an HT right. then you let her pick it out, and you can be the deciding factor.

just a suggstion
 

brentl

Senior HTF Member
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May 7, 1999
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Fred, You really need a womans touch, even a plant or two would help!

William, check out the Athena cinema speakers they sell at BB. Fantastic speaker for the money, and when the wife see some F2s get plopped in the living room you can just explain "honey, they must have shipped the wrong speakers:))

B
 

JohnSmith

Supporting Actor
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Apr 8, 2003
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554
Yeah it's always good to show "bachelors" setups, and say you COULD have it look like this with 10' wide speakers, 8 subwoofers, but really slimline speakers, single subwoofer is what you want.

It's all mind games, unfortunately :frowning:
 

Jon W.

Stunt Coordinator
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Jul 31, 2004
Messages
121
Just do what I do, buy it and put it in while telling her to shut up. Every room in our house was decorated by the wife and is the way she wants it, except my den. Stand your ground!
 

Steve Schaffer

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Steve Schaffer
Energy 5.2 is another small speaker solution that will be not much bigger than Bose but sound a lot better, hell even the little 5.1 set will sound better.

I too am single (twice divorced) and plan to stay that way.
I never again want to have to ask for permission for anything, dammit.
 

Jay Foster

Stunt Coordinator
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May 16, 2003
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I would also recommend the Mirages: nice and small so your wife will like them and the imaging is awesome.
 

MikeH1

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Billy
You weren't too impressed by the Mirage Omnisats? I have heard them myself at the audio store and they floored me, especially for that low price. I wouldn't write them off just yet...since they are quite what you are looking for in terms of size and footprint, they have to be properly set up (since there more or less a bipolar) and its just a matter of inches in the wrong direction to poor sound. Of course, depending on the model, they might have had them mounted on the wall at the right distance...


Not to mention the killer soundstage :)
 

Tyson Wetzel

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
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112
The Energy Take 5.2 system is awesome for the size, and comes in 3 colors. Pair it with a Sunfire True Jr. for the ultimate micro bliss. Also check out the new Act6 system from Energy.
 

William_Gravem

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
Messages
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I'm trying to weigh a few options.

5 Mirage Omnistats
4 Mirage Omnistats and a better center channel
4 Klipsch RSX 5's and a RC 10 or 25 center
Paradigm on wall Monitor 5, on wall cc, and Cinema ADP's
Axiom M22ti's, VP 100 or 150 and QS4's or 8's.

These are all pretty comparable in price and would be running on a Onkyo 601 85-watt per channel system with an Hsu VTF-3 MK2 sub.

I've heard the Omnistats several times. At Tweeter they sound good. But when I'm at Tweeter, that's all they play for me, and I think they're playing they through a much better receiver than the one I've got. I've also heard them side by side with the Klipsch and paradigm mini monitors, and in the side by side comparison, the omni's don't do so well IMHO.

I should be demoing the Axioms soon, but worry that my wife will think they're too big... even if they're hanging on the wall.
 

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