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
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.
We have a 5.1 HT in the family room.
I have my 2 channel rig in my new finished basement.
Neither of us ever use the living room.
A priority, in my opinion. You can always have a home theater setup in the family room for background/movies, but nothing beats a dedicated room for audio. Now, however, after reading these posts I want a man cave with a hidden bookcase entrance.
Nice to read posts that echo my sentiments. I'm single and have my cave downstairs but I am probably going to move my rig to the 1st floor...living room or family room...because I too find myself not going downstairs to listen as much.
Main 2 channel rig in 16'x24' den, space shared with separate A/V system. Secondary rig in my private home office. Use headphones there late. But too small to entertain others. Guess I don't have a "man cave". Just a Bat Cave......