Man Cave or No?


I'm curious whether most folks have a dedicated room for their rig or have their setup in one of the main living areas of their home. Since our house is of modest proportions, with no family room, media room or finished basement, my system sits in the living room (where we actually "live"). As a result, we have tried to (have been forced to) integrate the stereo into the surroundings so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. Sometimes I wish I had a dedicated room where I could go and escape the noise and distractions of "living"--a real "man cave" for my hifi and music collection. A place where I could set up the speakers optimally in the space and leave cables running here and there without concern about someone tripping (or chewing) on them. On the other hand, I wonder whether I would listen as often if I had to "go somewhere" to listen to music--it is real nice to drop right onto the living room couch and hear some tunes and sometimes my wife will join me for awhile. As long as she's not talking to me I like the company. In the "man cave" I'd be ALONE. Anyway, from the looks of some of the systems I've seen posted it looks like most audiophiles have a "special room" where they set up their rigs. Just wondering how people view the trade off between "man cave" and "system in the living area" thing.
128x128dodgealum
My system is in the living room with an open kitchen, so I can cook to my "good" system. This is a compromise but I think the system gets more use this way (maybe to much use for my tube budget). The problem is WAF of room treatments, cords etc.
I was at a party last week and saw a real "man cave". There was a bar and game room in the basement, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves along one wall. One of the shelf units was hinged, and opened like a door into the guy's theater room.
Definitely Man Cave. This may sound selfish but I like having "one" place that is totally mine. Admittedly I would listen to my system more if it were in a family space but I guess I prefer quality vs quantity.
I had my system in a couple of small living rooms. My wife was always cool with it but there never was enough room. I did enjoy having music in the main part of the house, particularly on weekends when we have the usual beer-wine-cooking events. Now I have my system in a finished room above an attached garage. The space is nice and I can crank music and my guitar without bothering anyone. But I do feel stupid sometimes sitting up there by myself. The room is pretty isolated from the house and I have to climb a set of stairs so I don't listen as often. I think my ideal setup would be to have a large enough open living space to accomodate my system, music, and instruments.