Embarrassed....Audio furniture help


Well, I swore I'd never let a woman dictate my two channel system but here we are.  Wife and I bought our first new home, I've got a small but adequate second living area for my system.  Problem is, as mentioned, my wife.  Setup will consist of CD player, AppleTV unit and integrated amp.  May add a streamer at some point but we'll cross that bridge later.  I'm using a pair of bookshelves and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Here's the rub....She is demanding an A/V credenza, so speakers sitting on the credenza on either side of the TV.  Of course I'd love a vertical audio stand and be able to use speaker stands but it's too open, too many exposed cables, blah blah, you know the story.  

Question of the day:  can anyone point me in the right direction?  I need minimum 18" depth and all the awful Crate and Barrel stuff she recommends isn't up to my audio standards.  Needs something with doors for a clean look but I still need my IR signal to work.  Because the speakers aren't going on stands, I'd like something at least 20" tall.  A lot of the fashionable stuff is 14-16" tall, putting the tweeters way below ear level in the listening position.  

Any help would be much appreciated.  

Sincerely,

Man shaking his head with a borderline resigned look


cjlundberg
Room and Board has a great selection of media cabinets. Some of the product lines are customizable with their online tool. Lots of colors and material combinations to meet the demands for all involved. I have a version of the Linear Model with 25” depth which has a generous interior and my brother has a Copenhagen. Both are great media consoles and the customization was a nice feature for my needs. It’s hard to find a deep media console but this company gives you options. Also made in the USA which is a plus in my book.
https://www.roomandboard.com/m/catalog/custom/cabinets

Also check out Salamander Designs along with BDI which is a slick system.

https://www.salamanderdesigns.com

https://www.bdiusa.com/living


I had Timbernation custom design for me...not cheap, but great value...stunning stuff
Well my friend, I must say that at age 82, I have found myself in a similar situation. Fortunately I have an excellent 20 X 40 audio room where my high end "stuff" resides. Also, a second system in a large bedroom that I use as an office. Also acoustically suitable. 
My third system is in our living room. Originally I purchased a 7',  3 bay console from a company that is no longer in business. It has a Rosewood finish and is large enough to house all of my audio/video components, and currently, with the TV monitor and speakers on top. Previously I had a pair of custom design speakers and matching stands, which I still have, but in storage at the moment. 
We have a large bay window in the front, part of which occupied the right channel speaker and part of the console (visible). My wife never liked the looks of that. Furthermore, we have not had the space for a Christmas tree for years now. I finally had a brain "fart" last year and decided to move the stand speakers into my storage room; - - - shift the console to the left out of window view and bought a pair of TRIANGLE Borea 03 bookshelf speakers to replace the stand speakers. They now reside at the extreme ends of my console, which is about perfect for "near field" listening. I'm happy with the TRIANGE speakers, but most of all, the wife is very happy because now we have room for our Christmas tree. It felt more like Christmas this year.
SALAMANDER makes some A/V cabinetry very similar to what I have. Their 3 bay consoles should do the job nicely for you, and they are solid; good quality and flexible. Also, remote control friendly.  Unfortunately, a bit pricey, but it's a piece of furniture that will last for many years of good service.   Check AUDIO ADVISOR for info.   I hope this helps. 


I can see making some concessions on aesthetics to get along with your wife if you don't have a separate listening room of your own. There are a lot of big ugly speakers out there that might sound great, but make her barf at their appearance, and not want them in her (and your) beloved home. But that credenza idea is a too much to swallow, and she needs to be more considerate of your needs too. 

I'd suggest using negotiating skills that start with the word "No" and I'm willing to compromise, but not roll over for that idea. Then offer some compromises. Keeping the components in a ventilated space behind a closed is doable, and worked with my wife. You know I wanted to display the electronics, but was willing to compromise with her winning on that score. The speakers you, not she desires, need to have a reasonable , not garish, appearance, but suit your listening needs and be placed in a reasonable position in the room where they won't sound like, well you know. That's where I'd hold the line, while giving her some say on the speakers aesthetic appearance.

By showing a willingness to compromise, but holding the line where you need to in terms of how your system will sound, I'm guessing you'll end up getting more respect in the long run, after a few fights. My wife didn't like my big old Dahlquist DQ10's sitting out in the room when I had them, and I didn't like having the rest of my beautiful equipment behind closed doors, but that's marriage, give and take.

If your sound system is important to you, you can't be a door mat or you'll eventually not have her respect, which is a worse outcome, and definitely worse than a few fights. The kind of trade off twoleftears suggested might be a reasonable compromise as well, and another way to skin the cat.

 I'm sure a lot of us have been where you're at. It might be tough for her to hear the word "No" to a credenza, but she'll get over it, eventually. And it will only get brought up by her but occasionally in future years, during unrelated arguments. In my experience women never do forget and for that matter men never remember. Good luck,

Mike