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 have been saying the same thing for years. I am frustrated on both ends. Interior designers don’t care for HiFi. You’ll often see them design living rooms with awkwardly placed TVs and no speakers. Sometimes you’ll see the occasional KEF LSX or KEF LS50 placed on a sideboard underneath a TV (which is too high). In a recent AD video I saw an enormous palace of glass and steel. It looked empty and cold. But there was a living room with a pair of KEF LS50 speakers which looked puny. Room acoustics are the bottom priority. Architects love huge empty spaces with hard shiny surfaces. Everything has to look like an international airport.
On the HiFi side of things it’s exactly what you described. I don’t care if you have $300k Magico speakers if the room feels like an empty basement with neon lights. I am referring to Jay’s Audio Lab. And he’s so adamant about room treatment and not having any tables to reflect the sound. Spending any amount of time in Jay’s basement would make me uncomfortable. It’s just not cozy.
On a different note, I think we’re chasing the wrong things. Diminishing returns happen very early. There are countless amazing amplifiers and speakers from the 80s, 90s or 2000s on the used market for hundreds of dollars. Buy that before it gets hyped out of affordability like the Marantz amps of the 70s. I would definitely focus on the decor most. Your mood has a greater impact on the appreciation of music than fancy cables and electronics.
And where the heck are the Focal and Ligne Roset collabs !?