I Might Be Dispensing With A Dedicated Listening Room..Gasp..

I wouldn't be using that as a positive comment

 

Yep, I grew up with the HiFi and a large record collection at the center of interest in the living room too (thank you Mom and Dad). In turn I have ALWAYS had music in our home, and at the core of where we gather, as it draws us together in a shared experience and enjoyment. It is one of my few "must haves" and there is no boob-tube in the living room, as TV just isn't that much of an interest. Headphones are fine for that occasion where private listening is in order, but it is an exception rather than the rule. I could not recommend this way of living more highly as it holistically is so much more enjoyable and beneficial...

I once had a loft space with one great room, two and a half story ceilings with clerestory windows and skylights. It was a most tremendous listening space, great light, and great sonics, and an excellent living space to share good times. I'll be looking for another as I think about retirement. And then... I go very large horn loudspeaker shopping as well!!!

Happy communal Listening!

 

I gave up a very nice (and large) Paradigm center channel speaker as well as surround so I could set up the turn table but I will not give up the TV. 2.1 stereo and a Blu-ray of the Last Waltz sounds pretty damn good. I am missing out on some acoustic improvement by having that screen between the towers, I call it a more than fair trade.



I have those speakers about 10 inches from the wall and a good bit in front of the furniture the table sits on. Shure its not a sterile sound lab or studio environment but I'm putting about 15 hours a week on my cartridge and having a pretty good time hanging out with friends and listening to music. It does suck to sit in that chair but it is hiding a large amplifier.

 

We have a HT (also perfectly usable for music only) in the living room and a separate room for music only; one can have his/her cake and eat it too

 

Second that one Andre. While there are sacrifices that are made to fit 2 channel in a real living space and not going the dedicated route I think with some thought and planning it's minimal. Would I want to record there? No, but then again I'm not recording anything I play personally. It's for my own personal and friends enjoyment. I feel most are better served by having your equipment (and instruments) in easy to access and use areas.

This time of year I take the Taylor outside on the deck. Nothing better than an acoustic guitar, a cold beer, and good friends outside.

Maybe a musicians trained ears and brain is more immune to the hype of some of the more severe stereotypes that the average obsessed audiophile succumbs to. Playing and creating music gives you a different sense than just listening.

 

Assuming a living room system also means that the architecture and decoration of the room needs to be considered. If those are not considered or modifiable then many aspects of the sound will be compromised. However it is not impossible to integrate a system into decor with some thought and planning as long as the basic room is compatible. The other possibility is to make it suitable for near field listening which takes the room out more.

 

That is exactly what I am going to do. Even walking into restaurants with TV screens is really annoying to me.

 

I think your situation is common.

 

Don't you wake them up? Unless mornings are for mellow tracks.

 

Well he no children and it is rather large.

 

Thanks..I think the hifi and record collection at the center of the house was very common..my dad would entertain all the time and people loved it when he played music.

 

Of course, before I purchase a house, all of the above would be taken into consideration.

 

Well that is ideal..as long as the separate music room was is not the head in vice man cave type thing, at least that is what I want to move away from.

 

Good post! The bottom line is I am tired of sitting and listening to music in a bubble. I have too much music to share. For solitary listening i have a bunch of good headphone amps and my trusty Grados.

 

Perhaps that generation was on to something... that way of living and entertaining is thankfully returning... best of good fortune finding your new living/listening space!

 

Thank you sir!

They ABSOLUTELY were on to something.

 

My dedicated listening room are my headphones.

 

Nice set up!

 

That's optimal if you have the flexibility to Not buy a house that is great except for the living room compatibility. It is also great if you have the flexibility to devise/alter the decor to fit the system rather than the system fighting the decor. That is a fairly unusual situation unless one is living alone however. But I agree if the above is feasible then integrating music into a preferred living space has many advantages. Good luck.

 

Interesting notion. I believe it was Art Dudley of Stereophile who asked.."Does a high performance audio system adapt to the house, or does the house adapt to the system?"

 

Well both methods can work but it assumes that you can start from scratch either way. If the house is a given, then start from scratch devising a system that can work in it. Or have a headphone based system.

 

I set up my listening area in the old parlor of my house. It doesn't have the fourth wall that closes in most late 19th/early 2oth century parlors but it has been certainly the sitting area of the house since then. My first consideration was an area for comfortable conversation and the sound was secondary. Accidentally I ended up with the best sounding room I've ever had.

I've never had a dedicated room for audio. Instead, my music has always been part of the house.

 

"My music has always been part of the house". Bingo!

 

Yup. This as well for me.

After living years in a smaller house with no space for a dedicated "man cave", it has been extremely satisfying to have space for both.

With 8 & 10 year olds running around and their friends visiting, I'm happy with a small bookshelf Tannoy speakers +Squeezebox + Denon amp on the main floor living room for social listening. I've had kids sticking fingers in my gear and at least I won't get too perturbed. And with the floor-stander, monoblocks, turntable, surround theater system downstairs under lock and key if I have to when the rambunctious ones are in the house! Plus when the kids go down to sleep, my wife and I can get cozy watching a movie, chat, listen to music in the basement without bothering the kids.

Of course this comes with a cost... Larger houses in cities don't tend to come cheap these days :-(.

 

We too have a theater/TV in our main living space (we call it our great room) and our open concept kitchen and dining areas are all in the mix so we can watch or listen while we cook, clean, or just relax.

Then when the ladies of the house go to bed, I slink downstairs into my small listening room and read/surf the web while I enjoy music at a moderate volume. I like the isolation but wouldn't want to do that more than a few times a week. Since I *just* built it, I've been down there a lot but this trend won't continue, I'm still squarely in the honeymoon phase. I would characterize it as a "head in a vice" type of situation but don't see that as a drawback, that's how I wanted it done. I didn't intend to walk around the room while I listened.