What about putting speakers in cabinets with doors you would open for listening?
"Just shoot me in the head and get it over with."
Lol. Be glad I don't have a gun.
Integrating speakers into contemporary decor - can WAF ever be overcome?
This is a topic I'd like to see discussed more. Not a speaker issue per se, but it's speakers that usually cause the problems. My partner is a hard core interior design/aesthetics type. We will shortly be combining households with all the benefits and challenges that this presents. We're both fans of a "Music In Every Room" (MIER) lifestyle, so that's a good start. But we quickly diverge. And to be clear, we're not talking about giant screens on the wall or home theater. This is audio only.
Anyway, her idea of MIER is built-in speakers or, at most, tiny Sonos units on a bookshelf or behind furniture. I had some of that in my house albeit BlueOS stuff. That's OK to a point. But my LR had KEF LS50's on stands. Obviously difference in sound is dramatic, and she admitted it. But she doesn't care. For her the improvement in sound quality is negated by aesthetic horror of visible speakers.
It's worth mentioning that the decor/design aesthetic in question is basically high end transitional with mix of contemporary stuff, Asian antiques, some colonial antiques, large format abstract oils, etc. It's >not< traditional or frou-frou, really a look where the right speakers could easily be interpreted as industrial design pieces that mesh well with the rest. The LS50s fit that description I think.
So, getting to the question here... Has anybody had any luck convincing spouse that speakers can be a part of the decor? To think of them as some kind of sculptural elements, not "just ugly speakers?" That they're industrial design elements that somehow add to space? Have links to pix of living spaces that integrated speakers into the look? Any help or ideas would be great. Thanks for reading, a kind of odd topic, I know. Cheers,
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I believe it’s a function of your wife’s understanding and flexibility, and how much whipped you....:) For myself, my audio chain is a major bucket list item so my wife allows me the freedom to meet my dream. I’d do likewise to try my utmost to fulfill her dreams...unless it includes replacing her spouse...:( |
Answering your main question: No, WAF can never be overcome. I am happily married 21 years now and since the moment I wanted to install a medium level audio system, I found the "problem" of the speakers. I bought not my preferred choice and I got my wife permanently complaining about those “things" for several years. Finally my wife designed together with a furniture designer something to "integrate" the equipment and the loudspeakers (white of course) with the decoration. This "original" furniture design was more expensive than the music equipment. Now, after moving to a new home I am going thru my first serious system upgrade and my approach has been to look for speakers within my budget (white of course) and show them to my wife: it is important for her to feel that her views are taken into consideration. At the end I have been lucky because I've found a dealer that visited our home and really is interested in design. He offered a nice and expensive Artesania Audio rack (white of course) and also MBL speakers because he thought that the speakers could match our home ¡bingo! I would never have imagined that MBL speakers would be acceptable to my wife. I have showed her dozens of speakers thinking that my wife could like some of them: fatal error. What I have learned from this long process is first, that she has to have very clear that music is an important part of your life and you want to listen to in the best possible conditions. Second, that you understand that your home is a place where she has to feel comfortable, just like you, and you will not force her to see every day something horrible for her in the room. Third, that she participates in the speakers selection so, look for them TOGETHER THRU YOUR PREVIOUS AND VERY WIDE SELECTION and do not close your mind to any design. But do not let her to search for herself and if you can get the help of a WAF experimented dealer, better indeed. |
This could be a nice option to consider:
https://magnepan.com/collections/on-wall/products/magnepan-mc1?variant=42607774335212
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