Rant: PSA to builders, housewives, and general complaint


In our search for a new house, I’m seeing some disturbing and annoying trends, mainly, living rooms where the ONLY place to put a TV is way high above a fireplace. This leaves zero flexibility for tv placement, additional audio components etc. Most don’t even have plugs. I'm also in Texas and there's ZERO need for a fireplace.

Not to mention all the "open concepts" we’re seeing where the living room is strangely shaped and the kitchen is basically in the room where you hear all the kitchen noise and you’re 100% accessible to your spouse and their conversation (ramblings).

This isn’t a problem if you have $2m to spend but for most of us, we’re limited in where we can set up our toys and this does not help.

Thank you for listening.

dtximages

My house is a 1905 model. I am 50 years newer. My 3 systems are vintage as well. I solved the television problem by simply not having one. I watch a movie on the computer from time to time. I have 10' ceilings on the ground floor, a dungeon look-alike basement made out of stone, and 3 bedrooms up stairs with 9' ceilings, one is a library/listening room, another is my drum room/recording space, and the third has a bed. The living room is connected to a real dining room by an arch. Kitchen right angle to dining room. The electric service was redone by a previous owner, an electrician, so I'm at least up to NEC circa 90's. I miss the wood stove from my old farm house (Minnesota winter). My problem is the floors downstairs; not a level space to be found, and they are soft and springy. Many turntable experiments for the 4 in use, even bringing back my old sand box, but leaning toward three speaker spikes under butcher block cutting boards for leveling, various isolation feet in trials..... Sorry I couldn't help with the TV issue  ;)

 Thought it was just me. Never liked the open floor plan. Been looking to move for over 5 years, first priority is a dedicated listening room.  As U2 said, I still haven't found what Im looking for ....

Didn't the grid go down when it was below freezing?

I have lived in Texas all my life and no the grid did not go down. They did rolling brownouts for several days and you would be without power every hour for 30 to 45 minutes. Our fireplace was what saved us as it has gas logs and we sat in front of it all day and read. The latest freeze last year was not the grid going down but many were without power for up to a week because of ice downing power lines or tree limbs taking down power lines. Luckily where we live our power lines are buried. Personally I would not be without a fireplace. I have a separate room for my listening. 

And most newer homes have gas fireplaces, not woodburners.  I am all for a separate listening room.  Most of our guests do not appreciate HI-FI anyway.  

There are few things I love more in winter than sitting on front of a mature wood fire with glowing coals, sipping a fine Bourbon and listening to my rig. 

There is something primal and magical about a wood fire and the deepest, warmest heat there is.  It's a lost luxury IMO. Add fine liquor and Hifi and I'm deeply happy.