I bought my home 2 years ago in the SF Bay Area. With the prices of homes here, there's a good reason for people not to own expensive rigs - just can't afford it. I also suspect most people store away the good stuff before a bunch of strangers wander through their home. I know I would.
Current Trends In Home Audio
This is not a question, but a personal observation.
For the past few weeks I've been house hunting in the Ann Arbor area and consequently I've walked through about 25 homes. Not a single audiophile setup in any of the houses. Not a single phono rig, though one household had about 100 albums next to their CD collection. There also weren't any elaborate home theater setups. The most common audio systems were mini systems with built in CD/DVD players and computers with satellite/subs. Also saw a few Bose Wave radios. In talking with our broker he stated in the new subdivision construction, which he specializes in, that whole house audio systems are a big selling point. He also stated that in the high end housing market ($1 million plus in Michigan) that dedicated media rooms are the norm, but all the speakers are in wall/ceiling types.
Apparently audiophiles are a small chose few.
For the past few weeks I've been house hunting in the Ann Arbor area and consequently I've walked through about 25 homes. Not a single audiophile setup in any of the houses. Not a single phono rig, though one household had about 100 albums next to their CD collection. There also weren't any elaborate home theater setups. The most common audio systems were mini systems with built in CD/DVD players and computers with satellite/subs. Also saw a few Bose Wave radios. In talking with our broker he stated in the new subdivision construction, which he specializes in, that whole house audio systems are a big selling point. He also stated that in the high end housing market ($1 million plus in Michigan) that dedicated media rooms are the norm, but all the speakers are in wall/ceiling types.
Apparently audiophiles are a small chose few.