Not trying to be provocative. I just genuinely don’t under why people who obsess over creating the best possible sonic experience in their homes—and are willing to spend a fortune on equipment to do so—don’t seem to care much at all about the appearance of the rooms that they’ll be spending so much time in. There are so many photos on here of dreary man caves with bad carpets and tacky furniture, many of them overstuffed with multiple sets of amps and speakers and giant cables snaking all over the floor. I love this subreddit and the passion people have for stereos and great-sounding music. I’m just a bit confused by why people who have so much aesthetic sophistication in one area seem to lack it another.
I’m with you. I tried to make my listening room bright and airy, rustic and modern all at once, without too much clutter. The goal was to create a space that despite being dedicated to stereo sound would be pleasant to spend time in even with no music playing (entertaining and such).
I spent maybe $1,000 on the rug, and about $2,000 on all the furniture combined, including the modded equipment console. The couch, included in that tally, was a FB Marketplace purchase. Everything else came from Amazon and Overstock.
The acoustic panels were the biggest expense, at around $4.5K.
For what I was trying to achieve, white walls help, and the acoustic panels are white too so they don’t draw too much attention (I hope). It’s not perfect but most people seem to like it. I do too. :-)
https://imgur.com/a/897Csqa