Here's what worked for me recently. GF and I bought a house for the two of us and 1.83 of her 3 daughters (based on average occupancy :-) She knew going in that I wanted a listening room, so the deal is that I don't compromise at all on the listening room, and we do things by consensus everywhere else in the house (except for the kids' rooms which are of course off limits to normal human beings).
It's worked out well. I give her a majority say on how the rest of the house is set up, which works fine because our tastes are identical. She lets me do what I want in my audio refuge.
Two things help with this. The main one is around the money issue. GF says that the money I brought into the relationship is mine, and as long as I bail my end of the boat I can do what I want with it. It's a far cry from my ex-wife, where every expense went through a major justification exercise (and "It's better than what I have" didn't count...) If you can get an agreement that there is a pool of money over which you have complete dominion, it saves a lot of grief. There's a lot to be said for having three bank accounts - yours, mine and ours.
The other thing that helps is if she likes music. GF doesn't get the audiophile thing, but she loves good music that's well reproduced. As a result we have a semi-extravagant system in the living room as well as my big rig.
Aesthetics aren't as big an issue with GF as with the ex, so having a stack of electronics on a rack in the corner fo the living room is OK with her. She even likes the Cain & Cain Abbys flanking the leather couch. If appearances count, as they do with most wives, the only way around it is to get the electronics out of sight in another room or a nice cabinet, and to take her shopping for any speakers that will be in "her" space.
But putting the "serious gear" into a room in which you don't have to compromise is the best way I know of to keep peace.
It's worked out well. I give her a majority say on how the rest of the house is set up, which works fine because our tastes are identical. She lets me do what I want in my audio refuge.
Two things help with this. The main one is around the money issue. GF says that the money I brought into the relationship is mine, and as long as I bail my end of the boat I can do what I want with it. It's a far cry from my ex-wife, where every expense went through a major justification exercise (and "It's better than what I have" didn't count...) If you can get an agreement that there is a pool of money over which you have complete dominion, it saves a lot of grief. There's a lot to be said for having three bank accounts - yours, mine and ours.
The other thing that helps is if she likes music. GF doesn't get the audiophile thing, but she loves good music that's well reproduced. As a result we have a semi-extravagant system in the living room as well as my big rig.
Aesthetics aren't as big an issue with GF as with the ex, so having a stack of electronics on a rack in the corner fo the living room is OK with her. She even likes the Cain & Cain Abbys flanking the leather couch. If appearances count, as they do with most wives, the only way around it is to get the electronics out of sight in another room or a nice cabinet, and to take her shopping for any speakers that will be in "her" space.
But putting the "serious gear" into a room in which you don't have to compromise is the best way I know of to keep peace.