Would you move to a bigger house if you could just to have a better listening room ?

to sum up: audiophiles prefer not only to isolate their listening rooms but also themselves from the rest of the World by moving as far away from people as possible

@feldmen4  That's awesome and heroic. You share my sentiment about developers. I hate them.  

We did however buy the 10 wooded acres directly behind our house last year rather than listen to construction noise for the next 10 years while some yahoo developer throws 30-40 houses back there.

@mikelavigne I just visited your link. I have only one word: Stunning.

Happy listening.

My house is very nice plenty big for listening purposes.  I had some things done when built to make it amenable for listening and I am setup to listen in 6 different rooms.  So I have it very good in every regard when it comes to room for us all to do their thing.

I am looking at retirement in the not too distant future.  Would like to downsize.  THE hit to my audio listening conveniences and flexibility is a big thing for me.   We will see what happens.  I am very spoiled in this regard currently!

I have dedicated listening and viewing nook in my basement, so , sure, I would trade up.  But my retirement apartment that I  will move into in 3 years already has a room that will be my listening room, so no harshing my buzz!

then I understand your desire for space. Have you been to Littleton, NH? Not as cheap as it once used to be but still, my favorite part of New England.

We’re searching for our next home for when my wife retires. The main reason is to find a home without stairs but I’ve been promised a dedicated audio salon. My system is in our living room and while it sounds good, it’s a compromise. 

The next place will have proper acoustics with little consideration for esthetics. And if I can possibly accomplish it, be sealed enough that I can enjoy a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur #3 Claro and a cocktail while listening to Miles!

Happy (and comfortable) listening. 😉

@yoyoyaya 

That's good perspective. I think that many Americans like me don't realize that most Europeans have smaller homes. I do know that, and I feel fortunate to have a 13 x 11x 9 dedicated room, knowing that that is the size of living rooms in some European homes; and don't even talk about Japan.

Inna, took care of that business thirty-four yeas ago. Well worth it and have enough surrounding acreage to not bother neighbors with the sound of music. What a joy every day.

Mike

The size/price ratio in Europe is different to the US so moving to a bigger house (in a suburban location) is not a realistic option. When I bought my current house, the overarching criterion was that it be detached - an awful lot of suburban houses are either terraced or semi-detatched. So I can play and record without any fear of complaints. Lastly, I would rather have a smaller dedicated listening room than a larger space that has to be shared.

Just for a better listening room ? NO. There are many other factors to consider first if I sold my home to move to another home. 

Currently, my/our audio 'collection' is in the largest space in our collective past of 40+ yrs.  But it has its' own faults, drawbacks, etc.

A 'dedicated space'?  SURE....That, and a Lotto 'big win' would do just Fine, thanx...

...and I'd have to 'disappear' for long enough that a 'handle name change' would become imperative, not to mention a lawyer, accountant used to 'tall dollar$', and facial surgery enough that even spouse wouldn't recognize...nor I, her....

@nonoise re 6/5 at 1:24 am....'so OK, sold the soul for what you shouldn't ask about anyway.... ;)

...do tell....*grits for impact*  DoItToIt

grislybutter, it's Connecticut, not too far from NYC.

Yes if I won the lottery.

BUT, the more you have the more you have to take care of.

You have been warned.

@inna now I am really curious, my geographer self, and calling New England my second home, about  where you live, which county? If it's not too personal.

I’m with @hifiguy42 - don’t need to be sequestered to a life alone. We still live in the same 1700 ft2 house on 1 acre we bought in 1992. We did however buy the 10 wooded acres directly behind our house last year rather than listen to construction noise for the next 10 years while some yahoo developer throws 30-40 houses back there. Living the dream.

No. 

Indubitably!!!!

I would if I could, but I can’t so I won’t.

Yes I would

yes I did

Bill, I have similar taste, even though I’ve never lived in a grand house. And I don’t like small rooms either.

Last year I got lucky to rent a big 1800 sf two bedroom two floor apartment in a late 19th century building for a reasonable price. It was almost incidental, I was not really looking for so much space. The living room along with the kitchen downstairs are huge, but it would be inconvenient to have my system there so I put it in bigger bedroom upstairs. I can play music at moderate level in the middle of the night, nobody hears anything, the construction is quite good.

@mahgister your skill might not be enough for lofts unless you partition it.

You are probably right!😊

I only worked with 2 relatively small room..

Probably it will take me more time to do it right but it will also cost me way much in a way bigger room...

i prefer small room because of cost and it will be easier to do it for me...

@mahgister your skill might not be enough for lofts unless you partition it.

We like houses and have owned some pretty nice ones over the years--although having a listening room is a consideration, it never drove the purchase. It was the architecture, quality of construction, location and other attributes. We've done some extensive work on some.

I've always had a dedicated listening room, even when I was a youth living with my parents. I'm now in my 70th year. When we downsized and moved to Texas a number of years ago, I had planned to build a separate building, but the way we use this house-much smaller than most of the previous ones--I found that the upstairs-- a large room that is roughly 30 long and 14 feet wide, narrowing at the front wall to about 11 feet, was perfect. It may be the best sounding room I've had, with minimal treatment-- mainly bass traps.

One factor in houses is that I don't like low ceilings or small rooms. The interesting thing about this current house- built in the 1880's-- is that the main floor is scaled to mansion-like dimensions in the public rooms. But it is actually a relatively small (2400 sf) home. 

I don't know if this is my last house. We had planned on buying a modern style house but the quality of construction for new houses was pretty low. Austin was a very hot market at the time, and we would have been forced to spend crazy money to build. So, apart from the house I grew up in (which was custom built in the early '60s), all the properties I owned as an adult were old: a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, a Spanish Revival in Westchester (circa 1911) and a Greek Revival in Grandview, NY that at its core, was from the late 18th century. 

I do think there is something special about old houses and if I had my druthers, it would be a big old manse with butler pantry, back staircase and all the other elements of a grand house. Now that I'm retired, I'm thankful that I had an opportunity to enjoy some of those houses, but relieved that I don't have to carry the cost of them. Maintenance and upkeep alone are a killer, let alone property and school taxes. 

Yes, but daunting.  I live in Silicon Valley and home prices are ridiculous so increasing space is expensive.  Pressure to stay local so that my triplets won't have to commute far after graduating college.  

I learned enough to make any room to sound at least good...

Acoustics rules...

😊

No.

Most definitely. 

Interesting to see the different reasons for/against.

So, to answer my own question, no I would not move just for that but would take it into consideration. Had to pass that Vermont opportunity - too far away and too expensive to build a proper house there.

to me moving to build a dedicated ultimate HiFi room, is like buying a boat, which i did multiple times when the kids were young. except that my investment in that home and the sunk cost of building that room in 2004, which was finishing an 1800 sq.ft. barn, has added lots of appreciated value to my home. likely greater than all the rest of my HiFi purchases since.

of course, the alternative would have been to buy neither the larger home or boat, but to invest it. which can have many results. but that’s a different road to go down. we all have to figure out the whole nest egg question for ourselves. i’ve never touched my retirement plan for hifi.....yet. :-)

hard to project these things. but R.E. investment has an upside. OTOH Boats not so much. there are certainly collectables that appreciate. but as far as something you can actually use, a boat is a reasonable compare. and i absolutely get a huge use and great pleasure from my room.

a summer home is probably better yet, but in my case with my 6 day a week job, neither a boat or summer home was a real world choice for me. everyone has to decide what makes them happy. my wife and i are home bodies, and i traveled enough with my job that that type stuff does not have much interest from me or my wife. so this fits us well.

the only alternative to the @mikelavigne sound barn is divorce 😂

If I presented a plan like this to my wife, she'd say, yes but not across the property but across the country

No - the room is exactly what I need and I am too old for a bigger house.

for better or worse, i might be the poster boy for this question.

i would do it, did do it, and glad i did it.

in 2003 after seriously considering adding a dedicated listening room to my previous home, which had a very nice sounding but small den where i had my system, i did move to a larger home with a barn mostly for HiFi purposes to build an ultimate room.

https://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue16/lavigneroom.htm

so guilty as charged.

now 20 years later it’s been a great ride.

OTOH such a large commitment is not for everyone. you get so far down the hole it starts to run your life. you need a wife/partner who understands you and can support that. and in my case my kids had not provided me any grandkids to dote on so my extra time was mine to use. and i just retired (likely delayed a few years by my audio habit) and had my 50th Wedding anniversary this past year. so life is good.

but careful what you ask for.

Recently saw $40k small house in Vermont with 50 acres of woods included. No electricity, though, or other utilities. Could be a great project for someone. You could build big there. Deep Maine has interesting offerings too. And that's just New England, imagine Montana or Wyoming.

@mitch2 I live in the suburban settlement where property sizes are up to half-acre and unfenced. Having livestock there will score pretty much as zoning violation.

I’ve found smaller house on the bigger property at country side... I’ll be able to have my livestock there and nearly same dedicated listening room.

I’ve had complains about my "Creeping Charlie" and other obnoxious weeds on which I’ve firmly responded that I’m not going to poison neither my loan nor my soil no matter how "safe" fertilizer products claim to be. I can just imagine how those Karens will react when they hear chicken at early AM!

For my efforts to keep my soil free of any fertilizer or chemicals, I've been blessed to have wild life around me such as rabbits, chipmunks and significantly more birds!! 

After all in all, swapping houses seems to be a lot easier process than selling audiogear :-)

@czarivey 

So to clarify my curiosity, you currently do not have either livestock or complaining neighbors and you would like to have livestock, or you currently do have both livestock and complaining neighbors and you would like a larger lot so the neighbors would stop complaining?

the 22"X25", dedicated listening room. It even has it's own private full bath and HVAC register.

@awise1961  , you are living large!

Anyway, I like large listening rooms, I don't have one but I do like them. I would have to replace the speakers and amp, though, if I had one. But my current 250 square feet room with little furniture is actually not bad, it will do.

The very reason I bought this house was for the symmetrical living room..., but could always do better.

no one said you are not crazy 😂 that's an entirely different question. We just commented on the move.

We are not all that crazy after all, or so it seems. Bigger property size, yes, definitely, though I don't know what I would do with it. Probably nothing, just more private space.

I would not move on the basis of a single reason like audio room. But moving is typically predicated on many reasons or a big compelling one (like a job). Then, while looking for a new house, you keep your eye out for one with a good place for an audio setup.

I was really fortunate to have chosen a house 25 years ago during a corporate job move. The house had two floors and one floor turned out to be my man-cave… library, fireplace, audio room (one of the best I have ever heard), office, bathroom, huge storage room, changing room. The first three areas open and connected to make the acoustics excellent. I was lucky.

naw, I like to listen in the same space all the rest of my life resides in. I don't want to sequester myself in a little acoustically padded cell. 

I might be odd in that I consider music to be a social thing, while listening room seem decidedly antisocial.

I like things the way they are and I don't like large listening rooms! I'd probably move to a BIGGER property size so I can have my own livestock without neighbors complaining :-)

When my wife and I moved from Nashville, TN to Charleston, SC in the Summer of 2021, one major deciding factor in the home we ultimately chose was indeed the 22"X25", dedicated listening room. It even has it's own private full bath and HVAC register.. It also helped that it is on the 6th tee box of our golf course and has a deck completely across the back. My wife got the pergola she always wanted.

In a heartbeat.  

I have considered adding on, but building is so expensive now that it is easy to just be content to love the one you're with.

I have had a dedicated listening room in most of the houses I've owned, and those rooms have been larger than the one I have now, which is a spare bedroom, but I find that I enjoy this one just as much.

Keep the house and dedicated listening room, ditch the shepherds and labrador, renegotiate services rendered by the wife or ditch that too--that is the way to downsize.

Our current home is 4500 finished square feet with another 800 square feet unfinished in the basement. I turned an extra bedroom into my listening room. It’s just my wife, 2 shepards, and an older chocolate lab. I would like to downsize, less to take care of.