# Any women here enjoy a good audio/video setup?



## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

So there is something I have been curious about and wonder if it's really just a guy thing. I have always loved getting a good TV and audio set up, yet every one of my ex gfs would tell me it was "such a waste of money" or "I can't tell the difference". I have a 60' plasma TV mounted on my wall and a 5.1 surround sound system, all of which I have payed good money for. However, I have also done lots of work to hide the cables and get optimum performance. I actually don't even have cable, but I do watch blu ray movies and play video games a lot. 

And when I have guy friends over they say things to the effect of "wow man, that's an awesome setup". But again, with my ex gfs they never seemed to care. My last ex said she couldn't tell the difference between DVD and Blu Ray. So I am curious, is wanting/enjoying a good aduio/video setup primarily a guy thing?


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## ScarletBegonias (Jun 26, 2012)

I'm sure it's all over place. Is it possible the ladies who are against it are already feeling neglected and ignored by their man when he's lost in gaming land/tv land/sports time? 

I like having nice electronics...it's just my thing. There IS a difference in sound quality/picture quality between the bargain electronics and the really good stuff. When I'm beating DH's ass in kinect javelin throwing, I REALLY wanna see every blade of grass and detail  Likewise,when he's beating my ass in soccer he wants to see the looks of disappointment on my player's faces.


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## Jellybeans (Mar 8, 2011)

I love a good audio/TV set up. Mine is pretty nifty.


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## Kerry (Jan 9, 2009)

I don't think it is a gender issue. There could simply be some resistance due to other issues in the relationship - you did say these were ex's...just sayin'. 

My H has super good vision. He sees the tiniest detail from very far away. So, it would make sense that he'd be more sensitive to quality in AV.

If this is something that you truly enjoy, I wouldn't make it about "right or wrong" I'd make it about "this is important to me." As long as you're not going into debt buying this stuff (or not feeding the kids), then you have a right to enjoy something that your SO doesn't.

It sounds to me as if you have some guilt about buying this stuff and you may be projecting it over to your GFs. If you feel good about it and enjoy it, I'll bet you'd not get any resistance. That said, did your ex's see something wrong with you buying this stuff? Did you stir it up b/c of your own guilt for spending the money? Just curious...

Kerry


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## ReformedHubby (Jan 9, 2013)

My wife was actually against me building a home theater. Like your girlfriend she thought it was a waste. I ignored her and built one anyway. My attitude was I bought her the entire house, so I figured I deserved something I wanted in it. 

Fast forward to today and its the room she likes to show visitors the most. She even throws movie nights for her girlfriends. They watch movies like Steel Magnolias and literally quote most of the lines. So for us, it worked out. She sees the value in it now.


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## dubsey (Feb 21, 2013)

My wife enjoys it, but would never get one set up herself.

Especially when she's heard all the cursing I do to fish wires through walls, etc to make it "right".


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

I appreciate good (enough) quality sound and picture but if it were left up to me, I would spend the money on other things. Plus...as some have alluded to...my stbxh spent more time in front of the t.v. than he did with me and I resented it. I like watching t.v. and movies but I don't like how t.v. keeps people from really interacting in general, so it's a love-hate. 

From an aesthetics point of view, I don't like to have the t.v. dominate the room visually. The huge t.v. becomes a focal point in the room and it's just not great looking. I prefer setups where the t.v. (and ideally speakers) can be hidden when not in use.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

ScarletBegonias said:


> I'm sure it's all over place. Is it possible the ladies who are against it are already feeling neglected and ignored by their man when he's lost in gaming land/tv land/sports time?
> 
> I like having nice electronics...it's just my thing. There IS a difference in sound quality/picture quality between the bargain electronics and the really good stuff. When I'm beating DH's ass in kinect javelin throwing, I REALLY wanna see every blade of grass and detail  Likewise,when he's beating my ass in soccer he wants to see the looks of disappointment on my player's faces.


Well, that's good to know. The thing is I have always done my best to spend time with them and do things. It's just little comments here and there that bug me. I have had 3 ex gfs. The first was before I had a good TV/surround sound system. I remember when I told her I was thinking about upgrading she rolled her eyes and said "What's the point? It's just wasteful to spend money on". When I was with her I got a then new 40' TV and when she first saw it she said "Do you really need a TV this big?". 

My second ex when I got my sound system she said "So you can hear around you, what's the big deal?". She was very dismissive of it and would say "The speakers on the TV sound just as good".

My last ex whom I got my new 60' TV with complained it was too big and when I told her you see more and can get a better picture she complained "So you get a better picture, I can see a picture on my TV just fine". She also complained about my speakers making the place look "ugly". 



Kerry said:


> I don't think it is a gender issue. There could simply be some resistance due to other issues in the relationship - you did say these were ex's...just sayin'.
> 
> My H has super good vision. He sees the tiniest detail from very far away. So, it would make sense that he'd be more sensitive to quality in AV.
> 
> ...


I don't feel guilty, but my exs have tried to make me feel guilty for it. The funny thing is my last two ex gfs were HUGE fans of collecting LARGE purses; the kind you could fit a small arsenal in, yet I never made fun of them for it.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

firebelly1 said:


> From an aesthetics point of view, I don't like to have the t.v. dominate the room visually. The huge t.v. becomes a focal point in the room and it's just not great looking. I prefer setups where the t.v. (and ideally speakers) can be hidden when not in use.


Can you elaborate on this? How does a TV become the focal point of the room? I understand how it can be the first thing people notice when they go into a room and may make a comment on it, but I have never known people to really spend much time just looking at the TV unless you're watching something.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

I never thought about it. I do know that H will go all ga ga over something and I don't see the difference lol. I don't like the surround sound but that's because my hearing is bad in my left ear so the sounds are just horrible.

Although, I have to say, they have these rounded TVs now...curved, I guess, and HOLY CRAP! I loved those 

But for the most part, I couldn't care less how the sound was or the visual.

I had a 19 inch box TV until H met me :rofl: and I was fine with it.

I still have my VHS too.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

Marcus588 said:


> Can you elaborate on this? How does a TV become the focal point of the room? I understand how it can be the first thing people notice when they go into a room and may make a comment on it, but I have never known people to really spend much time just looking at the TV unless you're watching something.


That's just it. She doesn't want people looking at the TV first. 

Ours hangs on the wall across from the living room (weird set up) so it's not the first thing you see...

So perhaps she'd have her TV in something that can be closed or just not make the TV the main focus of the room.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

ReformedHubby said:


> My wife was actually against me building a home theater. Like your girlfriend she thought it was a waste. I ignored her and built one anyway. My attitude was I bought her the entire house, so I figured I deserved something I wanted in it.
> 
> Fast forward to today and its the room she likes to show visitors the most. She even throws movie nights for her girlfriends. They watch movies like Steel Magnolias and literally quote most of the lines. So for us, it worked out. She sees the value in it now.


See, this kind of thing bugs me. A man can buy a house yet the woman will totally dominate and dictate how it looks, especially inside. I understand lots of guys not caring as much about the furnishings and such so they leave that up to their wives/gf but doesn't a man have just as much say as what goes inside a house as a woman? A man could just as easily say something a woman bought for the house was ugly and wasteful.


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Marcus588 said:


> Well, that's good to know. The thing is I have always done my best to spend time with them and do things. It's just little comments here and there that bug me. I have had 3 ex gfs. The first was before I had a good TV/surround sound system. I remember when I told her I was thinking about upgrading she rolled her eyes and said "What's the point? It's just wasteful to spend money on". When I was with her I got a then new 40' TV and when she first saw it she said "Do you really need a TV this big?".
> 
> My second ex when I got my sound system she said "So you can hear around you, what's the big deal?". She was very dismissive of it and would say "The speakers on the TV sound just as good".
> 
> ...


Yeah...I have a hard time seeing the point of getting a 60" t.v. when you already have a 40". But - I think you hit the nail on the head - this isn't really about whether or not women and men see electronics differently, it's about how your SO communicates with you about things that you like. You don't like to be shamed about your electronics purchases and I'm sure your gf didn't like to be shamed about her purse collection. You want your SO to be supportive.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

that_girl said:


> That's just it. She doesn't want people looking at the TV first.
> 
> Ours hangs on the wall across from the living room (weird set up) so it's not the first thing you see...
> 
> So perhaps she'd have her TV in something that can be closed or just not make the TV the main focus of the room.


Must be a woman thing. I have never known any man that cared, and if anyone does give me your address and I'll send you a $100 check lol.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

firebelly1 said:


> Yeah...I have a hard time seeing the point of getting a 60" t.v. when you already have a 40". But - I think you hit the nail on the head - this isn't really about whether or not women and men see electronics differently, it's about how your SO communicates with you about things that you like. You don't like to be shamed about your electronics purchases and I'm sure your gf didn't like to be shamed about her purse collection. You want your SO to be supportive.


Well, the 40' was quite old by the time I got the 60' and only had one HDMI port and was LCD. So not only did I get a bigger screen but got a much better overall picture and many HDMI ports which made hooking up things A LOT easier.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

Marcus588 said:


> Must be a woman thing. I have never known any man that cared, and if anyone does give me your address and I'll send you a $100 check lol.



Well, most men don't care about decor much at all, do they?

Doesn't mean it's not to be cared about. Some people don't want TV to be the main focus of their room/life.


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Marcus588 said:


> See, this kind of thing bugs me. A man can buy a house yet the woman will totally dominate and dictate how it looks, especially inside. I understand lots of guys not caring as much about the furnishings and such so they leave that up to their wives/gf but doesn't a man have just as much say as what goes inside a house as a woman? A man could just as easily say something a woman bought for the house was ugly and wasteful.


I think a man should have as much say in what goes in the house as the woman does and if my SO wants a 60" t.v., I don't have a problem with it per se. UNLESS...I've really been wanting a new couch and our household budget doesn't allow for both. Or we don't have a room where we can put a 60" t.v. where it won't look like a giant black hole and overpower the room visually. (I'd compromise if he put it in a cabinet that had doors that could cover it.)

The thing is - if I asked for my stbxh's input on what goes in the house, he would say he didn't care. When I wanted to paint the interior of the house I sought his input first - I told him the color I was thinking of painting and showed him paint swatches. He said he didn't care. It wasn't until I had painted the whole house (by myself) that he said he didn't like the color. If you don't give your input, then the woman will assume she can decide for herself. And if she's used to making all the decisions about decorating, then she will assume she has the deciding vote on the t.v.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

My home is pretty masculine, which I like. We have 2 TVs (one in the den, one in the living room) both over 50' which make me laugh because they are NOT my preference but H was adamant. Fine. lmao.

I would LOVE a theater room, if I was rich. With theater chairs and a screen  Oh gosh! That would be awesome.


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Marcus588 said:


> Can you elaborate on this? How does a TV become the focal point of the room? I understand how it can be the first thing people notice when they go into a room and may make a comment on it, but I have never known people to really spend much time just looking at the TV unless you're watching something.


That's the first clue - if it's the first thing you see, it's a focal point. But then typically you will arrange the furniture to face the t.v. too, right? That makes it even more of a focal point. And then there's the size in relation to other objects in the room - there's a visual balance to things. If the t.v. is larger in area than the window on the opposite side of the room, for instance, the room can feel lopsided.

Color also makes a difference. The t.v. is typically a giant, black rectangle. Nothing else in the room is black so it throws the color balance off.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

On Netflix, they had a fireplace for the winter :rofl: That was what I played during get-togethers so it wasn't just a black box. We have no fireplace


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## Miss Taken (Aug 18, 2012)

I do appreciate this a lot. We don't have cable either but do have the Xbox to play Netflix/Youtube (lot's of free movies, docs and tv shows on YT). We also hook our computers up via hdmi which is awesome. 

We all - oldest son included love watching movies together so the surround sound and HD picture on the big screen is important to all of us. We did go down to a smaller TV. Our old 60" went kaput six months ago and got a smaller flatscreen Samsung for SO's BD gift from his dad. Still nice though.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

firebelly1 said:


> I think a man should have as much say in what goes in the house as the woman does and if my SO wants a 60" t.v., I don't have a problem with it per se. UNLESS...I've really been wanting a new couch and our household budget doesn't allow for both. Or we don't have a room where we can put a 60" t.v. where it won't look like a giant black hole and overpower the room visually. (I'd compromise if he put it in a cabinet that had doors that could cover it.)
> 
> The thing is - if I asked for my stbxh's input on what goes in the house, he would say he didn't care. When I wanted to paint the interior of the house I sought his input first - I told him the color I was thinking of painting and showed him paint swatches. He said he didn't care. It wasn't until I had painted the whole house (by myself) that he said he didn't like the color. If you don't give your input, then the woman will assume she can decide for herself. And if she's used to making all the decisions about decorating, then she will assume she has the deciding vote on the t.v.


Okay, then let me ask you this: If you bought a new couch/chair but your husband said he really hated how it looked in the room would you get rid of it? 

I understand a woman thinking that she can have most of the decisions on decorating but if a woman decorates most everything else is it really that bad if a man carves out a space for himself even if the woman doesn't like it?


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

Miss Taken said:


> I do appreciate this a lot. We don't have cable either but do have the Xbox to play Netflix/Youtube (lot's of free movies, docs and tv shows on YT). We also hook our computers up via hdmi which is awesome.
> 
> We all - oldest son included love watching movies together so the surround sound and HD picture on the big screen is important to all of us. We did go down to a smaller TV. Our old 60" went kaput six months ago and got a smaller flatscreen Samsung for SO's BD gift from his dad. Still nice though.


How did you have your 60' set up? And how is your current TV set up? Is it just out on a stand or mounted on the wall? Currently mine is mounted on the wall nearer to the top of the wall for best viewing angle.


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## ScarletBegonias (Jun 26, 2012)

Marcus588 said:


> See, this kind of thing bugs me. A man can buy a house yet the woman will totally dominate and dictate how it looks, especially inside. I understand lots of guys not caring as much about the furnishings and such so they leave that up to their wives/gf but doesn't a man have just as much say as what goes inside a house as a woman? A man could just as easily say something a woman bought for the house was ugly and wasteful.


Well in healthy households both people have a say in decor and electronic purchases. 

Also,it isn't always just the man buying the house. The woman buys it too.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

Yea. I pay the mortgage here   He pays equal amount on other things.


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## TiggyBlue (Jul 29, 2012)

Big audio/video fan myself (more audio probably). The only time I would probably see a 60" screen a problem is if it was in a small room.


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Marcus588 said:


> Okay, then let me ask you this: If you bought a new couch/chair but your husband said he really hated how it looked in the room would you get rid of it?
> 
> I understand a woman thinking that she can have most of the decisions on decorating but if a woman decorates most everything else is it really that bad if a man carves out a space for himself even if the woman doesn't like it?


I wouldn't buy a couch or chair without asking for my husband's opinion and I wouldn't buy it if he said he hated it. But if I had asked his opinion ahead of time and he said he didn't care, I bought it and then he said he hated it, he would have to suck it. If he gave me some input as in "Yeah, that will work" and then I bought it and he realized he didn't really like it in the room, I would take it back and try to find something else. 

I'm okay with a man having a man cave as long as the woman has a woman cave, if the definition of "cave" is that there is somewhere in the house where each of them can go with a reasonable expectation of not being disturbed. 

If by man-cave you mean a room that is decorated in a masculine way, where the man and his friends and the rest of the family might spend leisurely time, I don't have a problem with there being a man-cave and the man making the decorating decisions. Maybe a whole different discussion.

Most t.v's aren't in rooms that are for the man's sole use, though right? They are in common rooms used by the whole family most of the time. Or do you mean if the woman makes most of the decorating decisions, isn't it fair for her to relinquish the decision-making about the t.v. entirely to him? I would have a hard time not having input on a t.v. if it was to be placed in a common room where I spent a lot of time.

If I were a guy I'm guessing my answer would have been "yeah."


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## ReformedHubby (Jan 9, 2013)

Marcus588 said:


> See, this kind of thing bugs me. A man can buy a house yet the woman will totally dominate and dictate how it looks, especially inside. I understand lots of guys not caring as much about the furnishings and such so they leave that up to their wives/gf but doesn't a man have just as much say as what goes inside a house as a woman? A man could just as easily say something a woman bought for the house was ugly and wasteful.


True, but being honest most men myself included don't really care about decor. I actually really did buy the house for my wife. She earned it after what I put her through. As long as I have a designated area that is mine I'm fine. I made the basement my man cave. Even put in shag carpet!!!!

Regarding telling my wife I hate the latest frilly floral thing she purchased why bother? I tend to only pick my battles on the big stuff when it comes to the house. I let everything else go.


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## CuddleBug (Nov 26, 2012)

My wifee has also said, its a waste of money, but after I did the research, bought and installed everything perfectly, she isn't complaining at all......She loves our 55 inch LED Samsung TV and full HD TV package. Complained when I talked about it beforehand but after I got it all done, she loves it. When we watch Blu Ray movies, she loves it because of how realistic it sounds. Sometimes, she says, was that the door bell, phone? Nope, was from the movie because I setup everything from THX standards.


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## Miss Taken (Aug 18, 2012)

Marcus588 said:


> How did you have your 60' set up? And how is your current TV set up? Is it just out on a stand or mounted on the wall? Currently mine is mounted on the wall nearer to the top of the wall for best viewing angle.


The 60" was an older model Sony about 5 years old? and only 720p still nice but it was a floor model, rear projection flat screen. This one is 40" Samsung but has 1080p so a slightly better picture. Right now it's on a stand... I am torn as to whether to mount it. I like to re-arrange my living room quite often so that's why we haven't mounted it yet. Probably should do it though, our toddler is a thrower ha, ha!


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

A good amp for the record player.... vitally important.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

Here are a few good articles I'd encourage everyone to read, I think they bring up some excellent points:

It's Complicated: Understanding a Woman's Relationship with A/V Gear

Confessions of a female audiophile - CNET


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

Curious - what do you feel are the excellent points that have been made?


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## CuddleBug (Nov 26, 2012)

What's a record player? 

I do remember my parents having a record player and my best friend's dad has a laser disk player, both way back in the day. Good times when I was a kid.:smthumbup:

Now, its all Blu Ray 1080p everything and soon to be replaced with Ultra High Def 4k or 4096p, 4x of blu ray 1080p. And in a few years time, Japan already has 8k TV's ready......so real you can take a camcorder right up to the 8k TV screen and you think its actually a real window. No joke, seen the tech. Once we get to 8k though, the human eye can not see more detail. Its engineering limited has been reached, but fear not, then its holographic TV's and I've seen the prototypes. Amazing, just like in the Star Wars movies.:smthumbup:

Japan is also working at downgrading speaker setups to 5.1 again, with newer tech.

And some tech is wall paper thin and you can wrap it around anything you want, table edges, sides of laptops and cell phones, animated info moving across. Really cool.

I've seen the first cloaking device and it really works. They used a paperclip. Turned on the device and the paper clip disappear right before your eyes, but its still there. Imagine an army suit? Or jets? Bunkers? Limitless applications for that.

I've seen the prototype for real hover cars. Like the old Star Wars movies, just like that and it works.

Amazing tech coming out in the near future. Just incredible tech.

I've even seen real shields on an experimental tank. They shot cannon shells at it, and they bounced off.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

This is what you see when you walk into my house. 










If you turn to the right, you'll see...










TV has since been replaced with another and this one put in the den, but the speakers there are supposed to be around the room...however it messes with my hearing and it doesn't make anything enjoyable.


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## murphy5 (May 1, 2014)

CuddleBug said:


> What's a record player?


Hi Tech! :rofl:

If see this image on his AV equipment, you KNOW you are styling!


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## ScarletBegonias (Jun 26, 2012)

Same here,intheory. We have final veto power if we truly don't like something the other person is showing us but usually I like so many different styles that I don't care if he gets the final pick. His style is less fluid than mine so I end up feeling bad for him that he just can't like more things LOL

Last night I declared the unused 3rd bedroom as my woman cave. He dedicated the basement to his future theater room. It works out 

Also,gallon of glue mixed with glitter...paint on wall. Glue dries clear and you're left with the most pixy girly sparkly wall ever. Good luck with your future woman cave!


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## T&T (Nov 16, 2012)

Marcus588 said:


> Must be a woman thing. I have never known any man that cared


Hey Marcus, now you do lol 

I'm into interior design and it's kind of a hobby for both of us. 

Unless you have a massive room with large furnishings a 60" TV with not only become the focal point but will dominate the room and throw off all balance. 

General rule, small TV, if any, in the living area and save the massive TV for the basement. 

It can actually make _some_ people feel very uncomfortable being in that room. I'm not one of them...I live by the "to each his own rule" and don't care what other people's homes look like unless it's a pig pen.


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## T&T (Nov 16, 2012)

that_girl said:


> This is what you see when you walk into my house.


Very nice, TG

Can I make a suggestion?


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2012)

T&T said:


> Unless you have a massive room with large furnishings a 60" TV with not only become the focal point but will dominate the room and throw off all balance.
> 
> General rule, small TV, if any, in the living area and save the massive TV for the basement.


In the house my ex-husband and I shared, our living room was 26x32, with cathedral ceilings that peaked at 30 feet high. We had a 62" tv mounted on one of the short walls. It was about the right scale. In my current home, I scaled back to a 50" tv because my living room is only about 19x17. That tv's probably "too big" for a lot of people, but once I got it home I realized I could have gotten the 55". What can I say? I _really_ like college football. 

As to the basement thing, well, shockingly enough, there are whole swaths of the country where there are no basements. Here in the South, it's not even uncommon for homes of all sizes to have only one living space. You learn to deal with visible a/v gear.


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## T&T (Nov 16, 2012)

Rowan said:


> In the house my ex-husband and I shared, our living room was 26x32, with cathedral ceilings that peaked at 30 feet high. We had a 62" tv mounted on one of the short walls. It was about the right scale. In my current home, I scaled back to a 50" tv because my living room is only about 19x17. That tv's probably "too big" for a lot of people, but once I got it home I realized I could have gotten the 55". What can I say? I _really_ like college football.
> 
> As to the basement thing, well, shockingly enough, there are whole swaths of the country where there are no basements. Here in the South, it's not even uncommon for homes of all sizes to have only one living space. You learn to deal with visible a/v gear.


19 x 17 is a decent size room! And, you're correct, I forgot about the fact that basements aren't everywhere...Duh

Wide open living spaces seem to be all the rage right now. I don't care to see the kitchen from all angles though.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

T&T said:


> Very nice, TG
> 
> Can I make a suggestion?


no.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

that_girl said:


>


Ughh..No offense but as an audiophile having your speakers setup that way seems like sacrilege lol. But from the pics it doesn't seem as if you have much room to do a proper setup.
Mine is similar to this:


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

I explained why we can't set them up. My hearing issues. I can't enjoy movies with that kind of sound in a small room. We once had them in corners and the such but it drove me crazy and I wouldn't watch TV or movies.

It's a big room though.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

And that setup you posted would kill me :lol: Omg. I can't hear too well from my left year because of years of surgeries and issues as a kid. So it picks up weird things but not all things and big noises just echo around. Hard to explain but yea.


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## DoF (Mar 27, 2014)

My wife has learned to appreciate good quality Audio set up as we love music.

Both of our cars have nice 12" subwoofers and we also have a decent Polk set up/12" sub at home as well.

I'm by no means an audiophile, but I like to hear quality of the music (which is something that most people don't care for/thanks to Mp3 crap.......etc).

When you listen to music on quality system, it sounds different and you pick up things you never heard before while listening on crappy sound system.

Also, this day and age TV speakers are complete CRAP. So proper Receiver/speaker set up is a must....


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## DoF (Mar 27, 2014)

that_girl said:


> And that setup you posted would kill me :lol: Omg. I can't hear too well from my left year because of years of surgeries and issues as a kid. So it picks up weird things but not all things and big noises just echo around. Hard to explain but yea.


Distortion from low quality audio is what does more damage than "power" or size of speakers.


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

Damage? It's just my ears. 

Movies drive me crazy. I don't go often and when I do, I wear earplugs. They help.


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## ASummersDay (Mar 4, 2013)

My husband and I have a 55" LED TV and a 5.1 channel surround system in our living room. I have very high visual acuity, so to me, there is a big difference in the audio and visual quality of a blu ray and a DVD. To me, watching a blu ray with my husband's PS4 on our TV is awesome. Sadly, some of our stuff is already outdated though. They have the 4K TVs and 7.1 channel surround now. I'm sure we'll find an excuse to upgrade.soon. We're both very into it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

that_girl said:


> Damage? It's just my ears.
> 
> Movies drive me crazy. I don't go often and when I do, I wear earplugs. They help.


Strange. Are women more susceptible to hearing issues than men? Or do women perceive sound differently? Or perhaps both?


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

Marcus588 said:


> Strange. Are women more susceptible to hearing issues than men? Or do women perceive sound differently? Or perhaps both?


I wrote that I have had multiple surgeries regarding my ears...as a child. My last surgery took about 65% of my hearing (in left ear) or so when I was 12. So things are off balance when surround sound is on. Better than dealing with the issue though, I guess.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

I will say one thing I do not care for is the 3D craze. For one, I have bad eyesight so I can't really see it as well, even then most movies don't incorporate it well. What I really hate is when I go to the cinema to see a movie and they only have it in 3D and thus you pay more and have to wear those glasses and on top of being uncomfortable they make the contrast of the movie look worse.


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## Wolf1974 (Feb 19, 2014)

My personal experience mirrors yours Marcus in that women seemingly care much less about visual and audio setup. When I bought my first 60 inch HD tv and blu ray player my x wife could care less. I would catch her watching something on cable is standard definition. I would show her the HD version and she could care less lol.

As far as money spent not much she could say since my purchases couldn't touch her little handbag and footwear obsession.


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## DoF (Mar 27, 2014)

Marcus588 said:


> I will say one thing I do not care for is the 3D craze. For one, I have bad eyesight so I can't really see it as well, even then most movies don't incorporate it well. What I really hate is when I go to the cinema to see a movie and they only have it in 3D and thus you pay more and have to wear those glasses and on top of being uncomfortable they make the contrast of the movie look worse.


If the movie was designed around 3d, they are usually great (Avitar is a good example).

We have a 3d TV but hardly ever watch it in 3d.

It's a "nice to have" and a year or 2 ago when I bought my TV it was a $100 difference, I decided it was worth it.


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## Wolf1974 (Feb 19, 2014)

And this is what you see I through my front door.

Yep tv is focal point just like I like it :smthumbup:


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## EntirelyDifferent (Nov 30, 2012)

My SO is a tech junkie, and I don't get it at all. 
His 'hi def' blu ray stuff makes whatever is playing look like a really bad home movie to me, and I hate it. I also don't get the need to hear someone sneaking up behind you. But with that said, as long as I can watch my stuff in standard definition, I don't care what he does to his system.

Me? I'M looking for a new-to-me VHS player still works... Yeah, SO and I are from totally different planets!


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## Giro flee (Mar 12, 2013)

I don't give two hoots about hi def, low def, whatever. H will always come in and ask why are you watching that on standard when there is a HD alternative? Because I don't care or notice a huge difference.

I let H do whatever he wants as long as the tv is not monstrously large for the room, and I don't have to listen to surround sound, it doesn't seem to sync up with the picture and I find it incredibly distracting. I think he's a little deaf because he has so much bass going it sounds distorted to me.


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## Caribbean Man (Jun 3, 2012)

ReformedHubby said:


> My wife was actually against me building a home theater. Like your girlfriend she thought it was a waste. I ignored her and built one anyway. My attitude was I bought her the entire house, so I figured I deserved something I wanted in it.
> 
> Fast forward to today and its the room she likes to show visitors the most. She even throws movie nights for her girlfriends. They watch movies like Steel Magnolias and literally quote most of the lines. So for us, it worked out. She sees the value in it now.


When I was building ours, my wife thought that it was too costly, she's a saver

Fast forward today, she absolutely loves to feel the bass vibrating especially when we're looking at action movies.

However, I like to listen to digitized music especially digitally remastered classical music at full blast.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

EntirelyDifferent said:


> My SO is a tech junkie, and I don't get it at all.
> His 'hi def' blu ray stuff makes whatever is playing look like a really bad home movie to me, and I hate it. I also don't get the need to hear someone sneaking up behind you. But with that said, as long as I can watch my stuff in standard definition, I don't care what he does to his system.
> 
> Me? I'M looking for a new-to-me VHS player still works... Yeah, SO and I are from totally different planets!


Well, I really hope you don't make fun or make disparaging remarks about it like my ex gfs did. I have always found it funny how some women will make fun of or look down at guys "tech stuff" when the guys could just as easily make fun of or look down at all the girls shoes/purses/accessories/clothes.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

Giro flee said:


> I don't give two hoots about hi def, low def, whatever. H will always come in and ask why are you watching that on standard when there is a HD alternative? Because I don't care or notice a huge difference.
> 
> I let H do whatever he wants as long as the tv is not monstrously large for the room, and I don't have to listen to surround sound, it doesn't seem to sync up with the picture and I find it incredibly distracting. I think he's a little deaf because he has so much bass going it sounds distorted to me.


I wonder why this seems so common among women? Is it due to men and women seeing/hearing things differently?


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## Giro flee (Mar 12, 2013)

Marcus588 said:


> I wonder why this seems so common among women? Is it due to men and women seeing/hearing things differently?


Almost every man I have ever known turns the tv way up and loves stuff really loud. As soon as they leave the room I turn it way down. I always thought men couldn't hear well. I really don't like to see people talking on the tv but the sound is coming from behind me, I hate it so much I always leave the room when the surround sound is on. The picture looks no different to me no matter what when I'm watching Modern Family????


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2012)

I hear much better than my ex-husband, so if the surround sound wasn't perfectly set up and wasn't syncing to the video absolutely perfectly, I couldn't stand it. It was just horribly distracting and really marred my enjoyment of the experience. He wouldn't usually even notice a lag of up to a full second between the video and audio. What mattered most to him was that the system be high-end (read: an expensive well-known name so as to impress guests) and loud. Actual sound quality wasn't all that important, because he couldn't really tell the difference. 

I will say, though, that with a really well set up system that's syncing correctly, watching Braveheart in surround sound is a near-religious experience.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

Giro flee said:


> Almost every man I have ever known turns the tv way up and loves stuff really loud. As soon as they leave the room I turn it way down. I always thought men couldn't hear well. I really don't like to see people talking on the tv but the sound is coming from behind me, I hate it so much I always leave the room when the surround sound is on. The picture looks no different to me no matter what when I'm watching Modern Family????


Hmm...I wouldn't say I turn it up REAL loud, perhaps men and women just have a different idea of what "loud" is.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

Okay, I found a good DVD/Blu Ray comparison video. Make sure to set it to 720P and fullscreen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhEjtjSPlt4


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Marcus588 said:


> I wonder why this seems so common among women? Is it due to men and women seeing/hearing things differently?


I like surround sound. I notice better picture quality - it's just not that important to me compared to other things. I don't really understand the difference either. Why is it so important to a man to have the biggest and best system in existence?


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

murphy5 said:


> Hi Tech! :rofl:
> 
> If see this image on his AV equipment, you KNOW you are styling!



How very hipster


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## that_girl (Jul 6, 2011)

Yea, the loudness is ridiculous. Rattles the house sometimes with his action movies.

Our DD14 comes out and says, "Amg...like, I can't even read with all that noise." Our DD5 says, "DADDY! Get your headphones!" :rofl:

I don't like super loud TV ...so I just go in the bedroom  I can hear it fine from there. lolol.


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## Giro flee (Mar 12, 2013)

The men in my house listen to our tv in the 40-50 range. I listen in the 7-15 range. It's quite a bit of difference. Sometimes it is too physically painful for me to remain in the room when they are watching one of their "blow up things" movies. I have to speak very loudly to them as well, but somehow they have all passed a hearing test? It's a mystery.


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## Marcus588 (May 4, 2014)

To those complaining about noise: How do you feel about rock concerts? Have you ever been? And if so, would you say the experience would be just as good if they had two tiny speakers on stage?


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## Giro flee (Mar 12, 2013)

I'm such a nerd. I always wear earplugs to indoor concerts. Concerts are excruciating for the first hour otherwise. Then I'm deaf for the next two days. Movies are also a problem.

I'm just going to slink away in shame for being a complete nerd.😳


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

You're not a nerd. You're just taking care of your hearing.

Even though it's not good for my hearing, I listen to music at what I would call, a reasonable volume. Hubs would feel it's on the loud side. With concerts and gigs, my ears are always ringing afterwards. Ringing ears are not cool. At gigs I prefer to stand towards the back or middle of the room (preferably near the sound booth) rather than close to the speakers or front of stage, for a better sound experience.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

Here are some thoughts from someone in the industry:

Content is king. 

A bad movie is still bad in 5.1 or 7.1. Kevin Costner's Waterworld comes to mind :rofl: at the same time, Bo Derek in 10 looks like a 10 on a 70 inch plasma as well as on a 14" TV.

Variety beats quality.

Given the choice of content versus quality, most people will choose content. So you can buy a lot of equipment but if you don't have enough variety to watch it will be idle.

Accessibility beats quality.

Ten - fifteen years ago the awesome home theater / distributed audio systems started coming out and people cared for such things. Nowdays a movie off a home server viewed on a tablet is good enough. The iPod beats reference speakers any time (because you can take it with you). Anyone remember DVD Audio or SACD? of course not. 128 kbps MP3 is good enough 

Time is of the essence

The ultimate determinant is how much time you have to enjoy your content

My personal set up: Denon 5.1 surround with a pretty decent Samsung HDTV, distributed audio everywhere in the house (6 sets of Paradigm speakers), 3-4 more TV's, streaming media player talking to our home file server where something like 2500 CD's and a few hundred movies are stored. Yet we don't use it enough. The personal music players of everyone in the family are sync'd with the file server so we all have access to the content but it is rare we will sit down and watch or listen to anything together.


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2012)

Honestly, we just put the Roku on either Pandora or Plex and "watch the radio", as my son says, most of the time. We tend to have music on rather than the television unless we're actually sitting down to watch a specific program or movie. And in this smaller house, the Bose Solo (yeah, yeah, audiophiles everywhere are gasping in abject horror ) speaker under the television is more than adequate for decent sound. 

I keep a Soundlink III around for when we want music outside. Sure, the sound quality isn't what a really nice system would provide, but it's very hard to argue with that type of ease and portability.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

Actually good 5.1 or 7.1 does make the experience real good but... requires space and time. And when you are playing at the levels we are talking about it can get ugly for the rest of the house  if they are not watching. 

You can't appreciate an explosion without a downward firing 150-200w 12+ subwoofer on a concrete slab!! Rattles glasses on the OTHER side of the house.

Again the limitation is time and content, the Kardashians in 7.1 still svck so...


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## ScarletBegonias (Jun 26, 2012)

Marcus588 said:


> Wearing ear plugs to concerts? LMAO!! Are you all in your 80s?? Why would you want to wear ear plugs at a concert, you will ruin the experience. I have been to many Metal Concerts and I'm fine. Heck, I just spent $270 on a awesome pair of headphones with a mixamp for my PC!


For some concerts there is no need for ear protection,for others there is a need.

I learned my lesson on lack of ear protection when I saw Metallica indoors once and was having trouble hearing for days afterward. You don't have to be in your 80's to be smart about protecting your hearing...young folks can be intelligent about protecting themselves too


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

john117 said:


> My personal set up: Denon 5.1 surround with a pretty decent Samsung HDTV, distributed audio everywhere in the house (6 sets of Paradigm speakers), 3-4 more TV's, streaming media player talking to our home file server where something like 2500 CD's and a few hundred movies are stored. Yet we don't use it enough. The personal music players of everyone in the family are sync'd with the file server so we all have access to the content but it is rare we will sit down and watch or listen to anything together.


I DO really appreciate a man who knows how to set up the technical stuff and knows how to do things to make life easier. "Personal music players sync'd with the file server" - be still my beating heart. Being single again trying to figure out why my internet isn't working does make me nostalgic for the time a man was around who could fix this sh*t. Even if I had to ask him repeatedly to get to it. 

I always longed for a set up where there were speakers throughout the house that I could connect to one music source. I always want music playing in whatever room I'm in.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

It's a lot less fun if you do it for work but still...

Things have gotten easier in the last few years, basically there is a computer in the house with a significant amount of disk space and all of the content (music, video, pictures) goes there. Then each family member plugs in their iPhone or iPod touch to their laptop, their laptop sees the shared drive and shows them what is available. The computer also runs the house security DVR system and other functions. 

For whole house audio there are a few options like Sonos that are very flexible. You aren't going to get as good quality as with a dedicated high end speaker set out of a Sonos box but the price / quality / convenience is hard to beat.


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

ScarletBegonias said:


> For some concerts there is no need for ear protection,for others there is a need.
> 
> I learned my lesson on lack of ear protection when I saw Metallica indoors once and was having trouble hearing for days afterward. You don't have to be in your 80's to be smart about protecting your hearing...young folks can be intelligent about protecting themselves too


:iagree:


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## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

john117 said:


> It's a lot less fun if you do it for work but still...
> 
> Things have gotten easier in the last few years, basically there is a computer in the house with a significant amount of disk space and all of the content (music, video, pictures) goes there. Then each family member plugs in their iPhone or iPod touch to their laptop, their laptop sees the shared drive and shows them what is available. The computer also runs the house security DVR system and other functions.
> 
> For whole house audio there are a few options like Sonos that are very flexible. You aren't going to get as good quality as with a dedicated high end speaker set out of a Sonos box but the price / quality / convenience is hard to beat.


Yep - describing makes me want it more but still no idea how to get there. 

I'm picky enough that I'd want the speakers embedded in the wall. I saw that on HGTV once and did a lot of drooling. But if you wire the speakers, I can do the drywall and paint work.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

I actually installed six sets of Paradigm speakers in walls. Not a VERY good idea:

- need wiring to get to the ceiling, not a trivial project unless you live in a crawl space or basement single story. 

- need a multichannel amplifier and these can get very expensive very quickly. I have a second amp (old one) but can't drive more than two different streams at a time.

- controlling the beast is seriously expensive if you start putting touch panels or keypads (look up xantech)

- sound is not very good regardless of speakers used if they are built in. Can't get around the laws of physics...

Two zones with RF remote is not too expensive but four to six zones and a few keypads / touch panels and you're looking at several thousand dollars worth of parts plus installation. 

PM for details 

-


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## hawx20 (Jan 10, 2013)

My wife cant tell the difference in graphics from a Playstation 2 to a Playstation 4. She sees no difference in dvd vs blu ray. She sees absolutely no difference in a cheap lcd picture quality versus a 240hz high end LED. 

I guess its kind of like when she spends $75 to get a haircut and comes out looking exactly the same to me. She looks in the mirror and sees a new woman. I look at her and wonder what the hell she did that costs $75.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

Many people can't tell the difference... 

It takes a tremendous amount of listening to tell, for example, whether the vinyl version of "Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd sounds better than the cheapie CD or the home remastered CD from LP my friend the speaker designer did.

In a typical living room or car or dorm room, not many people can. In the acoustics lab at work with a half million dollars worth of equipment, even the typical person can tell.

So save a half million dollars first then worry about it


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