Wife trouble

I bought some Martin Logan Requests. They are maybe 6' tall. On the way home I called and said "I think I made a mistake, they are too big. Maybe we can just use them for a week or two and then put them up for sale." They have been in the living room for about 10 years now. After she heard how fantastic they sound she never said a word about selling them. Moral: If you want the wife to approve make sure they sound better than anything she has ever heard before. When she hears about all my friend's WAF problems, she likes to remind me just how lucky I am.

Spouse likes my hobby, but demands simple functionality.  OK....

Simple system in 'common' living space:  TV, receiver, DVD with CD function, and sat system.  Still too many remotes for her tastes, but got it down to 2 for the most common uses....

Main system in our 'uncommon' shared space (has her exercise bike, sauna, and 'puttering' table) is a whole different story...

Main is Very Complicated, but very adaptable per my desires.  The addition of a 'stand alone' receiver that's tied into it allows for her to play what she desires to watch or hear with a minimum of 'fiddling with switches' makes for martial detente'.

It took awhile to develop this...she's suffered through many systems through 30+ years that joking got referred to as the 'third member of the household'.  Current main system is admittedly beyond anything she's lived with (2 TT, 2 cassettes, CD, Eq, stand alone Xover, 3 switch matrix, 12 channels of amplification, a TV, a sub, and a computer...oh, and a mob of speakers of various sorts) so I was happy to respond to her request for 'something I can just turn on and just be able to listen to music'.

If you love her and would like her to respond to you with the same, be a gentleman and 'do the right thing'.  We all have enough stress in our lives already...your pursuit of audio nirvana should include her if she isn't deaf.  Making it look good and perhaps not so intimidating can be a plus.  Making it simple enough that she could perhaps listen to something that you personally can't stand but 'floats her boat' will almost get you to 'hero status'.

Been there, did that...works for me, might for you. ;)

I don't get it. Traditional floor plans are the problem. Living rooms have become the appendix of the modern house. People love congregating in kitchens! The poor living room stands alone without hope, envious of the popular kitchen. What to do? A great looking audio system is the only real answer! Now the entire house can be happy!

...Now THAT is logic.

You are welcome.

Been married 41 yrs. Wife has always complained about looks and position of equipment, and especially the wires. I used two stereo systems to get 4 channels in the beggining of my theater. One all seperates and the other integrated amp. She hated all the connecting wires in the back of the rack. I gave in and bought an AV receiver and that cut alot of cables out. The sound was not powerful enough though. I made an agreement with her to let me control one room in the house and she could have the entire rest of the house. Now I have a rack 7 feet tall. I went all seperates again with a large 5 channel amp Anthem P5, and two smaller Nikko Alpha 440s two channel amps for the height speakers in an Atmos system. Using Anthem AV60 for pre pro. I have wires all over the floor. Using 4 ADS L1290/2s and a matching self built center channel with similar drivers and crossover. I have two 12 guage extension cords for the P5 and they are running into two seperate rooms. Speaker wires and subwoofer wire on floor also. No rug to hide anything. She hates the mess but after shutting the lights she loves the sound. Remodeling the home now and she doesn't know it yet but I am not running the speaker wire in the walls or ceiling to hide them. CL rated wires not easily upgraded and selection is poor. Just bargain with your wife and give her something to control even everything but get control of the living room.