Speaker recommendation for married couple

Earbuds.  Anything else will be too loud for her.

I know this thread has about run it's course, but had to share how much my wife is LOVING the look of our new Vandersteen Quatro's.  As most know, I got them painted in Havana Black. Highly metallic. My wife LOVES that we will be putting in spot lights above each speaker.  She was 'fine' with the look of our Treo's.  Said they were much nicer looking than those 'box' speakers with their taper.  They were in cherry and fit in nicely, but once the Quatro was installed, I was worried as auto paint is different than wood.  Boy was I relieved when she said, 'oh, those are pretty' when first installed.  Once she started to hang out in the room with me, she said how pretty they were.  Now she's spending more time with me in the loft where we keep the system.  She's really happy that I had them painted as they disappear into the room, but when you look at them, she said it's hard to take your eyes off of them.  

I asked if I should have gotten them in Ferrari Rosso Red.  She said that would have been cool and given the room a different look.  She said that they were just really pretty and is glad that I love them as much as I do.  I'm glad that she's spending more time with me enjoying music. lol.  

I felt bad and happy when I found this killer deal on a barely used SHL5 (not Plus) Harbeths. See, I was not too crazy for the SHL5 Plus version. Actually liked the Compact 7ES3 better. I have never heard the SHL5 before but I compared the 40.1 & 40.2 (not that I could afford). I liked the 40.1 better. So, I thought I have a chance of my wife liking the non Plus version. Because from what I have heard from people they are different speakers.

They are playing as I type and they are AMAZING! I love them. I don't want to talk big but I think the search is over. After all these years I have found the speakers I have been looking for. I don't think it is everyone's cup of tea though.

OK. Let's see what wife thinks. She loves them (at least that's what she says). She is a very honest person though. I know she would tell me if she didn't like them. Actually when she was listening Taro by Alt-J like me she couldn't believe how real and emotional the vocals were. She also loves the Tiger Ebony finish and surprised how cool even the stands are!

These speakers are amazing! Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. We both appreciate it.


Wife says, "Yes, I really love them too :) The warm sound, the look, and my happy husband :)"

Glad you are happy.  

Cello,

I'm happy for you that you found the speakers you both like,certainly not a easy task.

Happy listening,

Kenny.

My wife likes the Martin Logan Months  with gloss cherry finish 
Very stylish and modern , And the music is seamless and musical.
The newer ML impressions I was thinking on getting instead but the Bass box
Is huge over 28 inches deep and you need do give the back of woofer at least 8 inches  from the wall meaning 3ft minimum. Montis only 18 inches. 2 ft from walls

My wife won't try to stop me from any particular speaker purchase based on their looks, but she does care how a speaker looks and so do I.  My listening room is the front living room of the house and I had originally chosen a decor based on brown and black because most audio equipment tended to come in those colors.  It worked, as just about every speaker I ever put in there - usually brown wood, black grill - seemed to fit in pretty seamlessly instead of being an eye-sore.

When I renovated the room to do home theater duty as well, I kept that theme.

The main motivating factor for why I've been searching for a possible replacement for my Thiel 3.7s which are visually too room dominating due to their size (in our small room).   And my wife is picky, doesn't like equipment in general, and  often thinks speakers look "weird."  (Though doesn't hate the Thiels).

I purchased Harbeth SLH5 Plus speakers to try out, both because they were significantly smaller than the Thiels and I thought as a bonus my wife would be good with their more subtle, traditional speaker-look.
And they were in a gorgeous rosewood finish too.

Turned out to my surprise my wife hated the looks of the Harbeth!  Thought they were totally ugly in our room and said she much preferred the look of the Thiels.  I thought she was right.  It was just an issue of style-matching.  The room is furnished in a contemporary feel, and the speakers have to be brought out well into the room.  The Harbeths just stuck out like a sore thumb, both in their hard edged boxy shape and their orange-red finish, nice as it was, didn't match with anything.  The big Thiels are more sleek, rounded, modern design that actually manage to blend in and look more subtle in the room, despite their size. 

The fact I felt the Harbeths (as excellent as they were!) couldn't hold a candle to the Thiels sound-wise made it an easy decision to sell them quickly and move on in my search.  I"m about to try a smaller version of the Thiels (2.7) and perhaps some others.

My speaker were purchased on sound alone.

"My speaker were purchased on sound alone."

I certainly get that many audiophiles have only that criteria...and the look of many audiophile rooms suggests it ;-)

For me, aesthetics plays a role and adds to any experience - whether it's a beautiful old, grand movie theater vs a non-descript movie theater, a restaurant with beautiful decor, or just a nicely decorated room in a home.  I love beautiful hi-fi equipment, the way it can enhance rather than detract aesthetically in a room.  I especially love gorgeous speakers and since I'm looking at them as I listen, if they are beautiful to look at it enhances my satisfaction, rather than looking at an eye-sore collection of drivers in drab box or whatever.

I have always purchased on sound alone for anything I change. When I ordered my Vandy's and asked that they be painted in a favorite color I was shocked at how awesome they would look.  My wife and others who visit also love them as they are works of art.  

You can have both if you want to.