Help with new home


At 65 I'm going through a divorce of 9 years which shouldn't be to much of a financial hit. My current listening cave is in an exposed basement with patio doors. For 30 years the sound has been great. I won't bore you with my equipment but it's worth only a measly $10,000.00. I use to have Infinity Kappa 8's with a Adcom 555II for the required power. The last year I upgraded speakers, upgraded the amp due to recommended suggestions running new speakers with a 20 year old amp. New CD player, new pre-amp, cables, power conditioner, and my first Sub which has really given me the low end I have missed since the Kappa's. My question, at my age of 65 and being alone I don't need a big house, I grew up on a lake my whole life but done with that scene. Looking for something in the $200,000.00 range. I have 2 options, (1) find something that if I have close neighbors then look for a finished basement, (2) Buy something with a nice living room to play my music if the neighbors are far away. I know the only way to find out is to set my system up in the house and try it, but that is not an easy test. 
I normally listen in the high 70 or low 80 decibel region but occasionally push it into the low 90's. 
I maybe lucky with my current room but I visited someone with a similar room and compared his $100,000.00 system and I wasn't impressed at all.
So how can I test a new house for not disturbing the neighbors?
I would gladly pay more for a finished basement but to save money a first floor living room would work out just great.
Thanks for any input.  
golden210

Showing 1 response by mahler123

If the house you are considering is empty, and you have a cooperative realtor, I guess that can drag some gear there and do your own testing.  If it is that important to you, you may want to confine your search to empty houses and work with one accomodating realtor.  I think that most people if they are selling their own home would find the request quite odd.
  I realize that this is an audiophile site but there are so many important variables in buying a home that be wary of your priorities.
Even reviewers such as Art Dudley and Robert Harley, who use their homes as reviewing sites, have written extensively about modifications that they have to make to new homes for listening purposes.  It is a lot easier to tweak a system or a room for listening purposes than to have to fix an HVAC system, fix a flooded basement with sewage, deal with termite damage, or any of the wonderful things that can go wrong with a new home purchase.