My speakers flank a hearth. The wall space above the mantle is dominated by a Tanka print. This is attractive but not distracting. It's just there. . . which fosters listening. Personally, I wouldn't want anything that might seriously detract from focusing on the music but each to her/his own.
Wha'choo lookin' at?
As I relaxed to Charlie Haden’s Quartet West on the stereo last night, I thought how much I enjoyed my view when sitting in my main listening position, and I got curious about what others’ eyes came to rest on when listening. My system is in the living room. Much of the front wall is a big picture window. If I want to, I can pull shades down and draw curtains to cover just the first reflection points behind the speakers and not cover up the center part of the window. The main attraction between the speakers, however, is a large floor-to-ceiling plant stand made of oak. (Equipment rack and TV are off to the sides.) It’s a very open affair – no large, solid surfaces -- and on it are a couple of large geranium varieties, an aloe and some other succulents, a cast-iron plant, and assorted other greenery. It’s a very restful composition for my eyes to look absently at and get lost in as I listen. Passive but full of depth, interesting shapes and subtle colors. I swear it enhances my listening experience, and I like it lots better than closing my eyes. I’m gonna call it a tweak. Have not, however, experimented with varying the mix and positioning of plants on the plant stand ;-) .
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I stare blankly at my stereo system, seeing everything, and nothing. Sometimes I experience synthesia (it comes and goes now) or I just come to, realizing that I've been half way into a trance of sorts. Very therapeutic. Even without going full blown with the synthesia, those moments when I'm looking and seeing nothing and everything can be explained. My rig is just there but not really stimulating me visually. My minds eye, however is conjuring images of the performers with no real effort: it just happens. All the best, |
Wow good responses. Never thought about getting into plants. Likely they would all die at my hand. I threatened the roses to bloom last year and it worked. "You think about blooming, or I got a shovel." It worked. Anyway, a large tapestry on the front wall might the TV screen if I could pull it up and down. Most of the time I am imagining the performance in front of me though. |
Angela, the next thing we need to get the Audiogone folks hip on is HTML in the audiochathouse! Then along with our discussions we could include pics of our systems, etc. Now wouldn't that be cool! I promise though, when I get it done I will get you a picture. I wish I were lookin at the pacific though, that is too sweet. I am about 15 miles from the Golden Gate bridge. If I could build a small tower from my roof, say 20 feet, then I believe I could see the ocean, fog permitting:^) I'd also have to get a bigger amp so I could hear the system from up there! |
No fair that Angela has an ocean! I have a dedicated room that has french doors behind me to cut off the outside world. I have a fireplace, with my equipment lined up on the stone raised hearth. The fireplace takes up the full area between the speakers. I have a Charles Russell knock-off painting above the mantle with a great horned sheep scull next to it. I have my grandfathers 1890 wind up train in the center of the mantle and a couple nick-nacks that hold special memories. There is a bear skin rug (sorry peta, family airlum) between the speakersand me. In each corner 7' behind the speackers is a single small window. Inbetween the southeast window and the speaker is an 8' tree/plant. I love it but I've had alot of friends wonder why I don't use the fireplace. Simple, it would be really hard on the powercords. |
I have my rack against a wall which has one slim floor to ceiling window at the far left. The entire wall is bare. We removed a bookshelf from the wall in December to make room for the Christmas tree and since the tree was taken down we felt the wall looked better without the bookshelf. Not very attractive. This thread got me thinking though and I remember I have these two large watercolor paintings I received as a gift about a year ago and have not gotten around to framing. I am going out this weekend though and getting those puppies framed. They are beautiful paintings of the seashore. One is of a boat on the beach and the other is of a small harbor with a bait shack and a few boats. I can't wait to get them up on the wall! Thanks Jayboard for getting me going on this. |
hey david, can't see the toobs in that rogue 99 preamp, eh? well, that's another reason to get a cary slp98, besides better sonics! ;~) the cary is a bee-yoo-tiful preamp, w/those babies out in the open for all to see. if only it sounded as nice as my melos, which also has hidden-toobs... re: what *i* look at -a li'l slice of the potomac river, w/the blue-ridge & harpers ferry gap behind it. at nite, the black-boxes which make up my amps, speakers & x-over; also a li'l stone sculpture, carved into man-woman-two children... |
Garfish - Not really a strange experience so much as a non-audiophile one. More of an end-of-a-hard-work-day experience. Most weeknights, I'd last about 5 minutes if I sat in my recliner and put on music and just sat and listened. I'm a complete hoops junkie, so I don't need the commentator to tell me what's going on. But, definitely, it detracts from the intensity of focus that can be placed on music listening. |
Sports on mute with music has got to be a common practice as well as reading. Sometimes the game gets too exciting and the music goes down and the tv goes up. Sometimes the music gets so envolving the tv goes off. Best listening is with the lights off, just a couple of leds, digital readouts or glowing tubes to help me find my beer. |
The Pacific Ocean is the best one yet. I stare at my reflection and the room in the big screen TV (off). Actually this set-up is really good, because I can imagine musicians in the room and also enhances sense of being in the hall via visual clue ( of course in addition to the aural clue). The back wall has closed black vertical blinds that forms end of the soundstage in the reflection. All this works because I listen near field and screen size is large and wide( Pioneer Elite 16:9 ration 62" TV) |
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