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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
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 
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.
jb8312
247 posts
 
When we moved into our current home, all I asked for was control over the "family room", which is 21x21x8. Which I got, the wife give me complete control over the decorating and media in this room and all I had to give up in exchange was any iota of control in every other room. Thankfully, at that point in our marriage, I understood, trusted and liked my wife's tastes in decorating. So, it was a win-win as far as I was concerned.

In the end, I got one large room with two separate systems. If you click on my “systems” and take a look, I have to warn you that the room has been changed since those photo's were taken and the layout now is much more 2 channel audio friendly. I hope to update them soon….

To answer your question, if you can have an audio set up in a generally occupied and functional room with as few audio compromises, I think that would the preferred action plan.

But, at either end of the spectrum and forced to decide between cave or no cave, I would vote cave.

John
hi5harry's avatar
hi5harry
185 posts
 
Because some people don't understand why the stereo needs to be on 7 straight days to burn in my new ic's. Because 16 Realtraps might not be enough. Because tubes and flying footballs don't mix. WE ALL NEED MANCAVES!!
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I got my dedicated room when we became empty nesters. It's an upstairs bedroom that's occupied by three chairs, the system, cd racks and room treatments. Much better for audio but it can get a bit lonely as my wife has zero interest in listening. Also, on the rare occasion a non-family member visits for a listen it feels strange walking through the upstairs.
This thread is timely for my situation as I'm considering a second system for a more public area of the house. Probably the living room as it is more suitable for a system. Lord knows there's enough extra stuff around.
glenfihi
525 posts
 
To have a nice system and having your mate to listen with you from time to time ain't bad at all. When I built my "man cave", I did find myself becoming more disconnected from the wife and kids. Kids grow up so very fast and the wife,I would want to hang onto a lot longer than my gear. {did I really say that} Spending time with them both is more important. Besides when you are home alone, the whole house becomes your man cave, enjoy it to the utmost them.
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