Man Cave or No?


I'm curious whether most folks have a dedicated room for their rig or have their setup in one of the main living areas of their home. Since our house is of modest proportions, with no family room, media room or finished basement, my system sits in the living room (where we actually "live"). As a result, we have tried to (have been forced to) integrate the stereo into the surroundings so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. Sometimes I wish I had a dedicated room where I could go and escape the noise and distractions of "living"--a real "man cave" for my hifi and music collection. A place where I could set up the speakers optimally in the space and leave cables running here and there without concern about someone tripping (or chewing) on them. On the other hand, I wonder whether I would listen as often if I had to "go somewhere" to listen to music--it is real nice to drop right onto the living room couch and hear some tunes and sometimes my wife will join me for awhile. As long as she's not talking to me I like the company. In the "man cave" I'd be ALONE. Anyway, from the looks of some of the systems I've seen posted it looks like most audiophiles have a "special room" where they set up their rigs. Just wondering how people view the trade off between "man cave" and "system in the living area" thing.
dodgealum
A priority, in my opinion. You can always have a home theater setup in the family room for background/movies, but nothing beats a dedicated room for audio. Now, however, after reading these posts I want a man cave with a hidden bookcase entrance.
Nice to read posts that echo my sentiments. I'm single and have my cave downstairs but I am probably going to move my rig to the 1st floor...living room or family room...because I too find myself not going downstairs to listen as much.
Main 2 channel rig in 16'x24' den, space shared with separate A/V system. Secondary rig in my private home office. Use headphones there late. But too small to entertain others. Guess I don't have a "man cave". Just a Bat Cave......
If you have a choice- be a man and get a cave!
If not, be a man and get a good club.
I can attest to the great difficulties one encounters when merging the "man cave" with the living room, but it is a worthwhile goal.

In my house, there are two generous 'living rooms' but one doubles as a dining room and family room, so I was forced to integrate my cave into the other which we have now dubbed "the music room".

Hiding wires is always a problem and one that in general I have failed to solve. Custom lengths for everything would go a long way in fixing that problem, but for now, I would rather allocate funds elsewhere.

You can see pictures in my system link just below. Since those photos were taken I have rearranged the room and will add new photos soon.