Integrating speakers into contemporary decor - can WAF ever be overcome?

The first order of business is to find something that you agree on looks wise. I'm surprised of no mentions for either Sonus Faber (pretty much every model) or the Focal Kanta's. 

Good luck, you're going to need it!

For a designer to say speakers are ugly and are not allowed is essentially the same as the designer saying light fixtures are ugly and are not allowed. If the design intent is to have a room include audio reproduction at a certain quality and purpose then the designer needs to fulfil that design requirement.

The purpose of interior design is to implement chosen design objectives in an artistic, functional, and fiscally attainable way into an architectural space.

If one of the design objectives is to have a high end audio experience then use of appropriate speakers and electronics located in appropriate positions is definitely part of the interior design. And the interior designer or architect needs to incorporate them in the same way as lighting, HVAC, plumbing, or meeting fire and safety codes.

Architects and designers often object to the audio visual components that need to be incorporated into a particular space for it to serve its intended function while accepting all kinds of other components that bring nothing to the artistic side of the design.  

Think of all the ugly but required functional elements of a room that get overlooked by designers on a regular basis while AV components like speakers receive objections: electrical outlets, light switches, smoke/fire alarms, HVAC grates and thermostats, holes in the walls for doors and windows, recessed lighting holes in the ceiling.  

It is not that the speakers are innately ugly.  It is that the designer does not accept that the speakers are required to serve the intended function of the room and need to be incorporated in the same way as the other functional and aesthetic elements of the room.

@jjss49 ...not a viable option for most of us, but....

I'd bet she can feel what they're like...

"...for something that sounds so nice....why are they just a box?"  ;)

I'm working on my own solution...

@audiotroy has mentioned the Cabasse Rialto and IO3.

I often walked around with my wife around the showrooms and showed her the various speakers. Cabasse’s speakers without a doubt have the highest WAF. They can be easily put on the table or TV consoles. My wife would actually like a pair of Pearl Akoya for herself in the future. I have a pair of white Rigas and she thinks they are lovely.

If Cabasse’s is out of your budget, Elipson and Gallo Acoustics provide similar spherical speakers. Gallo’s in particular can be hung from the ceiling.

My wife also likes Jern’s nesting doll speakers. The red and the white ones are beautiful.

Maybe, just maybe, these could pass? They look more like a sculpture, than the speaker, but never the less, its a great speaker for small or medium room.Had them in graphite color

https://www.francoserblin.it/en/projects/lignea

 Just recently I bought new speakers (also in graphite), from the same company (Francoe Serblin, ex Sonus Faber) and my gf who lives with me cant stop 'complaining' how the previous ones were beautiful as the new ones have ' disproportionate dimensions' according to her...it does not help that nobody could say that this is not a beautiful speaker..

https://www.francoserblin.it/en/projects/accordo

.As for the advice reagrding relationship handling, I would not dare to give any. There is an old saying that says that man can be either in right or happy, in a marriage...(I am not married)...

The KEF LS50 look like buttholes. They're so hard to integrate into a tasteful decor. 

I find this topic so easy to solve: wood veneer, bookshelves, wall paintings. You basically want to blend the speakers into the decor. Wood is universal. The worst thing you can do is buy giant black boxes.

Happy wife, happy life.  That’s part of a good marriage.  I’ve had a dedicated music listening area, such as a basement or room (AKA “man cave”), where I can be along and listen to what I want.  And good quality headphones also work.  

WAF???  WTF!

Agreed.  I was going to reply that WAF can certainly be overcome - with the right "W".

Then I read lemonhaze's comment and decided there was no need because......super. 😉

If you’re working around your OP’s situation where you have furnishings already in your possession like his Colonial and Chinese pieces, that’s a difficult situation to design around without your speakers clashing with your belongings and being eyesores. I had an acquaintance who parked his prized motorcycle in his living room. Needless to say he was single. If your wife/partner is into having an attractive home environment, way too many great sounding speakers are definitely not going to cut it any more than that motorcycle.

Having speakers that are not ostentatious like his KEF's on stands is helpful, limiting the palette of your components too, and having furniture and decorative items that draw your eye away from the speakers and other components also helps. It's not difficult to work in a small bit of industrial design (i.e. the KEFS and a flat screen) into a part of a room which ends up providing a nice contrast for your antiques. If you google your KEF speakers under Google Images you might get a couple of ideas. Music Direct has a picture there you might like.

Mike

Wow is this timely.  My wife and I are moving, from a nice eclectic home to one with a different feel. See the pictures. I have black Linn speakers. If they sound good in the new house then I think I need to sell them and but white to appease. They do sound great in this current house but in an earlier house they did not, I preferred my Totem Forests in the bigger space. So not sure what I will do.

But want suggestions on placement. I doubt I will get them in front of the book shelves so am thinking the left wall for my set up. Thoughts anyone? Or is there a bookshelf option that could equal floor speakers?  The house does have Sonos ceiling speakers and I will get a sonos Arc and base for tv sound.

Now, how do I post pictures?

@lbarbish Have a look at these that’ll likely sound much better than your current Linns (I used to sell Linn gear) and might work well with your new decor.  Good luck with the move and the speakers!

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649985660-joseph-audio-perspective-2-graphene/

+1 @avidlistener 

@soix With the grills on... yuck! Without the grills, sure... maybe. But the shape is overly masculine and chunky. This looks pretty to audiophiles. But the proportions will dwarf any piece of furniture next to it. 

I would get Pearl Acoustics Sibelius. I'm a sucker for single driver speakers. They're made out of real wood, you can pick the wood and stain. The pencil shape is discrete and won't overshadow existing furniture. 

I have the Closer Acoustics OGY which are basically the same thing in bookshelf form and with a smiley face port. 

@kokakolia I can't get over the smiley face hole on the OGYs

I have not read all opinions in this thread to be frank... :)

But most wife at least half of them, dont think about speakers being a beautiful design but an annoyance to keep clean which obstruct their free walk in the room and dont go well with their "own object of beauty" ... At least the wife who dont listen music much if at all, as my wife...

I solved the problem with headphones, but most headphones are in my experience not satisfying compared to a dedicated audio room ... But luckily when the child go out for their own life, i picked a left room from my speakers and dedicated it to them for many years ...

I just sold my house this year though , i must forget speakers in the NEW living room for sure...I was sad...

Luckily. i own an AKG K340 a marvel when optimized right which help me forgetting about my dedicated acoustic room for good  ...So much, i know i will never need any upgrade, and trust me i am very picky for sound and acoustic translation of music ... They are more than good...

«Speakers are only most of the time useless  empty boxes to clean »-Groucho Marx wife 🤓

It's one thing if your partner believes there's no speaker she could live with, based on limited knowledge of the possibilities and another thing if she's flat out unwilling to accept that audio is a passion for you and cannot simply be "sidestepped". You can most likely work through the first scenario but not the second. For your sake, I hope greater exposure to the variety of speaker designs leads to a solution that works for both of you.

@avidlistener, good sensible post.

@hartf36, cheers. My current speakers are rather ugly being large OB with a 15" driver and my wife loves them because of the sound. We spend many happy hours listening to a wide variety of music. Tonight we're taking Jacob Gurevitsch for another spin.

@OP, good luck.

If you can't reach a trade off where you get speakers she doesn't particularly like and she gets something in other rooms she likes, consider investing in an acoustically transparent movie screen (possibly a motor driven one that lowers from the ceiling). It would make the room look smaller but no speakers would be in evidence. A 10 foot screen would cover a lot of systems'' speakers,

If she still objects get a picture of your dear wife and have it projected on the screen, telling her that you can't think of anything more attractive that could replace the look of your speakers

@kletter1mann --sounds like our wives are twins--my wife is/was an interior designer and sold very high end Italian contemporary but we collected Asian when we lived in Indonesia and Singapore -- and all our art is contemporary abstract (except my sanctuary where vestiges that a man actually lives here exist).  The short answer to your question is probably not, but the only way to approach it is to take her to various high end shops, if available, and let her look.  I did that and it was a failure so we have in-walls in the great room but fortunately i have a listening room and she never sets foot in there.  Good luck

This thread prompts me to reflect on how fortunate I've been in the matter of wives and audio.  Without going into too much detail, wife #2 got me started in quality audio.  I was supporting her equestrian habit, and really didn't buy much for myself.  Out of the blue, one day she asked, "why don't you get yourself some nice speakers?"  I did, and loved them.  She enjoyed them, too.  More equipment followed.  We shopped for amps together.

I was even more fortunate with wife #3 (current, and hopefully the last one)!  She is a former classical musician and recording artist.  When we went shopping together for speakers about three years ago, she told me "I don't care what they look like.  Sound quality is what matters."  Thankfully, our tastes in both music and speakers are closely aligned, but I care more about appearance than she does.  We ended up with Sonus Faber floorstanders, which we agree sound terrific -- the best speakers we auditioned -- and look good.  

May you all be at least half as fortunate as I've been!

I have been fortunate to have only one partner for the last 37 years. We have a very supportive relationship. She has done everything she could to enhance my life and dealt with me working all over the world and my audio obsession, even when it clashed with her aesthetic. I always tried to make her life better… expand her experiences (she is disabled) and she has always done everything in her power to make my life better.

When I think back on the women I did not choose they were in the relationship for them and not me. I think I chose wisely. We have had a really caring relationship for nearly 38 years, trying to help each other achieve their goals.

Thinking about what I have said. My advice should be clear.

Larsen loudspeakers are engineered precisely for extreme WAF problems like you have.  They sit up against the wall.  You need to have them both on the same wall of course, and an appropriate distance apart.  Don't let the wife put them on different walls.   Shoot her if she does.  No jury will convict you.

@russbutton....Only if she's 'into' current modern sensibilities of design and the architecture that it fits into...

Otherwise, you're just as lost in the morass as most... and most juries' won't care a fleas' tush about why you popped a cap into her, wherever it landed...

(...even if you had access to a Trump-level of legal beagle...likely worse if you did...;)...)

Mine of 45+ likes the small Maggies' we have, doesn't care much for the 'typical' boxes about, and is 'trying to remain open-minded' over my DIY Walsh's (although they're currently in a 'raw' state....).

It's a dance with the mantis at mating season.....and we males don't do well overall....😏

Good variable factors, tho'

J

I'm reading these posts and it still looks like your speakers are the centerpiece of your room. Or that you don't have much decor or furniture. I personally find this topic silly. Are you all using Tekton Moab speakers in black? Is your living room just a TV, speakers and a grey sofa? Do you have acoustic foam on all 4 walls and in random spots? To me it just sounds like you have to decorate, regardless of the speakers. But good luck making an aesthetically pleasing room with giant black tower speakers... 

I also want to add that the Mission 770 is a tasteful design. It's a giant box, but the white font lightens up the visual impact and the wood veneer sides add warmth.

And what's up with Wilson Audio? Their speakers look like something out of an Alien movie. They are menacing like insects from Starship troopers. The Wilson XVX is an eyesore. The automotive paint finish is reminiscent of bumper cars in an amusement park. The head designer of Wilson Audio must be a 7 year old boy. Seriously...

@grislybutter A lot of people say that. You gotta loosen up. A room without quirky/interesting elements feels like an office rec room. Bring curves, plants, patterns, real wood, color and cozy fabrics into the room. You'll immediately feel better. 

There is an option to have a Speaker put to use, that can enable a creative minded individual to be very involved in how a fascia for a Speaker can appear, as well as be a design for a speaker that is non-intrusive and easily overlooked as being a Speaker.

I suggest visiting the the DIY Audio Forum Full Range Speaker Section, and see how 'The Study of DML as a Speaker' Thread catches your imagination.

I have contributed materials to be tested for this design and was pleasantly surprised by the reporting back on the findings.

There are aesthetics selected for finished models that will be stimulation for ones own ideas.

Have a look at post 10342 in the Link.

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/a-study-of-dmls-as-a-full-range-speaker.272576/page-518

It’s called the Tune Audio Marvel 😃

See my ad elsewhere 👍

You havent mentioned budget nor associated equipment. Large, medium or small space?

My wife LOVES the Devore O96 look but we also have a mix of mid-century and mountain contemporary (Aspen, CO). I have multiple systems and she thinks I should just have them in every room…LOL…and no I haven’t told her that wouldn’t make alot of financial sense.

Depending on your system, room and desires perhaps if you took a look Audio Note E’s or J’s…they can be made in any of about a bazillion veneers and they are made to be placed in corners. Devore will build the O96’s with almost anything if you have the time, exotic veneers or even paint with multiple coats of laquer.

Have you tried to take her to some audio stores and see which type or design she likes the most?

Or dislikes the least?

My wife have accepted that I want speakers in our living room. These are at least good looking when you see them in real life. The lacquer is many layers and it is real wood beneath. 

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4a79b0_9996eddaebd74c46bc7e332faa756eac~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1512,h_2016,al_c,q_85/4a79b0_9996eddaebd74c46bc7e332faa756eac~mv2.jpg 

@kokakolia 

I am not uptight about it. But if my choice comes down to looks, it matters.

And yes, Wilson and Tekton and a lot of others are very unpleasant to look at. Even Harbeth can be perplexing. Money can't buy taste.

Partners, equal, you have the right to have some great speakers, make that plain and to the point of not in contention. Then offer to let her help you pick them out, emphasis on help. If she refuses to work this out then you are already on a slippery slope.

I learned the hard, very very hard way, give to much, lose all respect, suffer through the years, end up being very unhappily single and broken hearted.

Next partner, I simply said I am living part of my dream now, racing cars, building them as well and I will change that when I am ready. I also treated her with full respect, took breaks away from my interests and learned to enjoy hers as well. Now more into her hobbies that I was even into mine but it was my choice. I am the happiest married man I have ever met and I can have any speakers I want as long as they fit in the space I setup for them, front and center but I still want them to look like something she likes to see.

Topics like this always turn into sexist nonsense combined with exposing obvious yet utterly random weaknesses in many relationships. Would a spouse with a loud multiple exotic birds hobby feel slighted if they couldn’t impose this on their live-in partner? Most interior design doesn’t care one bit about hifi, except for the ubiquitous hidden in-wall/ceiling speakers with out-of-sight electronics. Look at Architectural Digest...maybe one speaker system (a Wilson floorstander some time last year maybe)...maybe a bookshelf speaker in a bookshelf. If you can’t work this stuff out and need advice from strangers you’re just lame. Period.

Any time the subject of spouse acceptance factor is raised I immediately think how lucky I was in that regard. One of the first times I met my girlfriend and wife to be was at a teen hangout where she invited me to join her in her new 1968 Chevelle to hear the Lear 8 track stereo with separate amplifier and upscale speakers. I swear she was as excited by the sound of the stereo as she was by having a popular new car.
We dated for two and one half years and then were married for fifty-one years. In all that time her love of music and appreciation for a great sounding stereo never dimmed. For years we had Acoustat 2+2 ESLs plus a pair of 16 cubic ft. subs plus amps, preamp, sources and wires in our den. She never once complained about the clutter but instead often marveled at how great they sounded. Only a few years before she passed away my large DIY horn speakers with bass bins of Klipschorns for bass sat in our den. I told her I was unhappy with the limited bass extension of the Klipschorns and that I wanted to replace them with a pair of 18 cubic ft. folded corner horn subs. After asking me if I was sure they would sound better she not only approved the change but also spent many hours helping me veneer and finish them.
My Mary was not only a smart, beautiful, loving woman but also that rarest of creatures a genuine female audiophile. At her funeral during an interlude when friends and relatives were invited to comment a close mutual personal friend, a former high end audio dealer, noted how rare she was as a woman who loved reproduced music but also had great knowledge and enthusiasm for the equipment which made it possible.

My Wife was with me every step of the way during the period of time that the system was being built, she has met most who I have met, and is still meeting today, individuals who I spend time with as a extension of my enthusiasm for enjoying replayed music.

The Line has been drawn on Stacked ESL 57's in the Homes main listening area, in her wisdom she suggested I create my own dedicated listening space. Strangely this was one request that was not presented to myself numerous times before I seemed to be able to hear the request being made 😎. 

Tough problem with the partner's insistence on owning decor (and sound apparently). This may just end up being the 'whip' to finish the basement as soon as you can and make it your own. Sounds like nothing will satisfy her; sorry on that.

I do know our living room decor helps support our small burl walnut Raidho D2 floorstanders. And even if much smaller than the Dyne Sapphires I traded away, the little D2s sound so much better in every way. And, they are pretty for us both.

It ain’t easy being a eunuch in audiophile city. @kingharold i teared up reading your very poignant post, am so sorry for your tragic loss, but am so happy that you got to spend so many happy decades with such a rare and clearly wonderful life partner. You won big man, and Goodonya!  BTW, you had me at 1968 Chevelle.

Hide the speakers underneath the two tiger skin rugs that she got while she was on safari.

Very bright idea for a safari hunters  spouse..

It is not my case... Thanks for the more than good suggestion if someone can adapt it to his own spouse  habit...

😉

@wolf_garcia I mostly agree with you. But there’s something to be said about the unsightly accumulation of Hi-Fi boxes, cable salad, dust accumulation and giant black boxes with gloss finishes. Designing a cozy living room around industrial speakers is a tough challenge. Yes, this is an exercise of compromise. But it’s easy if you have some interest in decorating and mixing styles up. Using only one style can make your room feel like a catalog, and everything which doesn’t fit the theme will stick out like a sore thumb. 
 

In hindsight you can style around Wilson Audio speakers with lots of wood/books and oriental rugs. Use a darker wall color to hide these eyesores. Overload the room with stuff. More plants. Yes. Balance the anxiety inducing angular lines with soft materials and curves. 

@kletter1mann 

Option 1: A dedicated room, away from your significant other, that you can disappear into and is solely under your control.

Option 2: Wife approved total house sound system that doesn't meet your expectations.

Option 3: Sorry, there is no more options.

Stylish / Flexible https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/us/speakers/beolab-90

What's not to like ... ?

Very good description of my case...

Option 1: A dedicated room, away from your significant other, that you can disappear into and is solely under your control.

Option 2: Wife approved total house sound system that doesn't meet your expectations.

Option 3: Sorry, there is no more options.

I’m divorced. Yes, it can be overcome.

I would bring home some giant speakers. Pour a big glass of bourbon and blaze up the biggest Cuban I could get. And let her negotiate something smaller. 

Tis some funny 💩 here boys…LMAO…best open source marriage counseling you could possibly hope for…

I agree with some posters here. Giver her the MIER choice completely. You get the dedicated audio room and pick your components and speakers. All done. Your welcome.

I must be lucky. My wife likes my LaScala AL5s and the gear powering them. She even thinks the tube amps look cool. She does ask me to keep the cables organized and neat. 

Probably your wife love you so much she unconsciously integrated all your peculiarities as GOOD and meaningful...

The more unconditional is the love the more we go over for the sake of the other...

You are lucky, but being an astrologer among many things, i know that we make our luck in this life or from another life... Anyway there is always a reason...

And anyway at the end no one know if what we live is good or bad...

When i studied indian astrology masters 20 years ago, i stumbled on a paragraph about the Rahu /ketu axis in a chart... The indian student interpreted in a dialogue with his master  some aspect related to this axis and say to his master: Wow ! master this kind of planetary alignment in the axis is terrible : all miseries will happen , health lost, children lost, fortune lost, it is terribly bad... The master was smiling... He answered not at all my child...If this asspect is observed in the Gandhi chart these aspects are a benediction that will push him  to go  more swiftly to GOD away from mundane matter, but  if it is a chart for  Rockfeller this will be catastophic... Then what is good aspect and what is a bad one ? i learn somethin more than  just astrology this day 20 years ago... i think the writer was B. V. Raman because it was my main books among many others Raman was  an astronomer in the british royal society of astronomy ( the British welcome him for many reasons for sure and not only for science) and the greatest Indian astrologer...

I must be lucky. My wife likes my LaScala AL5s and the gear powering them. She even thinks the tube amps look cool. She does ask me to keep the cables organized and neat.

Some people may find this article helpful: https://hometheaterreview.com/its-complicated-understanding-a-womans-relationship-with-av-gear/

In it, author Adrienne Maxwell make three generalizations that may apply to many women, including:

1) Women put a high value on practicality and convenience

2) Women care more about the result than the process

3) Women who work at home may find it difficult to de-stress at home (they want to go out to de-stress)

Whether you agree with her or not, it’s important to understand your partner’s needs, ideas, and motivations. Applying the above three key points might look like 1) if we move ’audio’ into the main room of the home, we can repurpose that old ’man cave’ for something else, 2) show some examples of main living areas incorporating AV that are highly appealing (show some potential end results), and 3) consider how watching movies at home can save money and help bring the family together. For example.

Approaching the idea together, and really listening to what she wants and needs, can help create areas of consensus, help you understand their motivations and interests, and help derive paths to solutions.

It’s not always about the aesthetics, though that can also be important. Speakers that don’t look like ugly black boxes (or boxes at all), that only come in black or ’woodgrain’, and speakers that don’t look like space-age tech objects, can also be helpful. It’s where we started. (https://phillips-design.com/)

It may also help to drive toward the 'practicality and convenience' notion to have a simple, minimalist system - a simple two-channel setup for audio and TV, with a power amp, DAC, and one single streaming device for music, movies & TV (Roku, AppleTV, etc.). Add to that a good screen, a good pair of speakers, and a single remote. (We like the AppleTV + Gustard X16.) You'll have a convenient, simple system with fewer components and cables, great sound, and you can even Bluetooth your phone to it.

Again, focus on the end result, not on the process or the gear minutiae...

Here is my situation and how we worked it out:

100 year old house. 10’ ceilings. Living room is fairly formal. Crown molding. Formal looking fireplace. Oriental rug. Eclectic furniture. Mostly traditional but some contemporary. Nothing particularly fine. Eclectic art. Audubon to abstract.

My wife of 35 years has excellent taste in such matters and like this living room the way it is.

I already have a music room of sorts.

Then I inherited a pair of Aerial Acoustics 6T towers. Piano black. To me they are ’pretty’ speakers. Very elegant. I do not need them in my music room but I wanted to keep and use them.

She was not thrilled especially when she envisioned a large multi component system like my primary one.

When I told her I would make the components invisible she consented to the speakers.

So, I got a Sonos Amp. Sure, beneath the dignity of the speakers. BUT, we already had Sonos throughout the rest of the house so it made sense....AND it sounds surprisingly good even compared to a Bryston amp. It is under a side table so essentially invisible. Plus, she can use them since she already uses Sonos.

As for the aesthetic question I think the speakers look pretty good in there. Grills off so people won’t think they’re room air filters etc. I wondered if wood grained speakers would be less intrusive but in reality you can’t hide 4’ tall towers anyway. In that regard I think the piano black looks like a design choice and not camouflage.

So consider various compromises. Consider speakers that are ’elegant’ in appearance. Consider a Sonos Amp or something comparable for invisibility. Or something like this if invisibility is not an option:

Finally, tell your wife how important it is to you and (sincerely) tell her that you are confident that with her good taste and ability she can make something work.