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House has open floor-plan.
Last week's question about car systems prompted many readers to respond that their car is the only place where they can crank up an audio system. Are you restricted to quieter-than-ideal listening levels at home?
Well, on the surface of things it looks like I've got it made. I've got my own house, I live alone, my listening room has fabulous acoustics, I'm thrilled with the sound of my gear, and my neighbours can't hear a darn thing, even if I crank it like a mad fiend at 3:00am on a weekday. But not so fast . . . Right now I can't play my system at all, because for the first time in years, it has crapped out on me! My left Ionic tweeter ignites properly, but buzzes very loudly after ignition (turn on, as we say outside of Houston). I figured:"Oh yeah, it's either the rectifier diode or one of the filter caps in the power supply". Well, it may be the lone vacuum tube nestled behind the tweeter horn, after all. Or the loose obsessive/compulsive nut in the listening chair . . . I know it sounds like a pretty weird speaker, but it's really just a very old pair of B&W's! And how I ended up with them probably had something to do with my being technically knowledgeable around tubes, and not living in fear of them. They worked perfectly after I retubed them when I first bought them about 12 years ago, but until I repair the bad one, silence is golden. Or else I just wait until I get Monomania.
Designing a music room and then building it means 24 hours of available music at the appropriate volume! Never again will I have to return to the days of "If I want to hear Dark Side of the Moon I'll play it on my system" coming from the caretaker who lived seven units over and one floor up. I pity the audiophiles who still have significant other or neighbor hassles.
I have a budget system (integrated amp, cd + "bookshelf" loudspeakers. I spend the day at work. If I get in before my wife, the first thing I do is to power up the stereo. From then on, the volume knob will be at the 10:30 position. I do not wanna annoy the neighbours (link house,common wall. When she walks in, she will 'automatically' crank down my knob to the 8:45 position. Should we decide to watch tv, the the party's over immediately. My daughter (three-years-old) also enjoys music a lot (her fave being Madonna's "Immaculate" and we will listen to her sing at 8:30 position. I just cannot crank up loud enough. That's why I got a budget system (all-inclusive: USD $750 only)
I've got three kids of grade-school age and a commute that gets me home just in time to read them bedtime stories. Further, the two older children take music lessons, so if I do manage to get home early, the only thing I get to listen to is piano practice. Don't get me wrong, the music study is great and far preferable to other childhood "lessons" like, say, hockey. It's just that I end up looking at my system more than listening to it. And it frankly isn't that attractive. And don't get me going on the trials of weekends! Why is it that non-audiophiles think that sitting down and listening to music is "doing nothing"? Sure, those other husbands are raking leaves and such . . . but can't anyone see I'm in the sweet spot?