New house, new setup, new WIFE, need advice!

A

amayseng

Audioholic
Hey guys, been awhile but I need some help. Moving in in a few weeks and now have the wife factor to consider. I am going from a 5 channel system with 2 12 subs to front speakers and needing to hide the subs. Front speakers as in book shelf speakers as the tv room is already set up in an open floor plan with shelves built into the wall the tv can only go on.
My fiancé is wonderful though not a fan of speakers all over. I am thinking front bookshelf speakers in the shelves and possibly, and I know, I know, putting the subs in the shelves as well. I may have no choice for them anywhere else. Even with my wireless units there is not much room to hide them.
Looking at this picture I am uploading perhaps to the right between where the couch and love seat will meet for a 90 degree angle. Love seat will be against wall on the right by back doors and couch facing tv.
Appreciate all your help guys.
New home, new wife, and new audio!
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
No pic uploaded. Also provide makes and models of your gear and exact open deminsions please
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Love is compromise. She has to meet you somewhere along that road too.
Bookshelves and cubbies are not places for audio gear. If you want to hear it in any way that it was meant to be heard. :)
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Hey guys, been awhile but I need some help. Moving in in a few weeks and now have the wife factor to consider. I am going from a 5 channel system with 2 12 subs to front speakers and needing to hide the subs. Front speakers as in book shelf speakers as the tv room is already set up in an open floor plan with shelves built into the wall the tv can only go on.
My fiancé is wonderful though not a fan of speakers all over. I am thinking front bookshelf speakers in the shelves and possibly, and I know, I know, putting the subs in the shelves as well. I may have no choice for them anywhere else. Even with my wireless units there is not much room to hide them.
Looking at this picture I am uploading perhaps to the right between where the couch and love seat will meet for a 90 degree angle. Love seat will be against wall on the right by back doors and couch facing tv.
Appreciate all your help guys.
New home, new wife, and new audio!
As far as sound quality goes, you are stuck in a bad situation all around. Here are some suggestions to help mitigate the damage: look at horn-loaded speakers. They will not be as affected by bad placement as regular wide-dispersion speakers. I would look at bookshelf speakers from Klipsch or Hsu Research. As far as subwoofer go, can you try 'hiding' a subwoofer in an endtable type placement? That way you can actually have a good sub. Otherwise you will need a sub that can fit in a shelf, and any sub that can fit in a shelf is a sad subwoofer indeed.
 
A

amayseng

Audioholic
Good Lord can not upload a pic. Will try again later. Sorry guys
 
A

amayseng

Audioholic
As far as sound quality goes, you are stuck in a bad situation all around. Here are some suggestions to help mitigate the damage: look at horn-loaded speakers. They will not be as affected by bad placement as regular wide-dispersion speakers. I would look at bookshelf speakers from Klipsch or Hsu Research. As far as subwoofer go, can you try 'hiding' a subwoofer in an endtable type placement? That way you can actually have a good sub. Otherwise you will need a sub that can fit in a shelf, and any sub that can fit in a shelf is a sad subwoofer indeed.
Agreed. I know I can definitely hide one between the couch and love seat. Or behind the love seat. Wish I could upload pics.
 
O

Ortiz

Audiophyte
I have KEF T-205. They sound really good. They are not tower or bockshelf. They are low profile speakers, that were approved by my wife factor too since they look modern. They sound great, but a little bit expensive. It will depend on your budget. They are a set, so subwoofer is included. You could check on the specials that they have. I got them for $1,200 on Black Friday (regular price $1,800). They should run another offers during March. Currently, they are not on sale. Bought them on Amazon directly from KEF. Let me know if you need more information.
 
John Parks

John Parks

Audioholic Samurai
Hey guys, been awhile but I need some help. Moving in in a few weeks and now have the wife factor to consider. I am going from a 5 channel system with 2 12 subs to front speakers and needing to hide the subs. Front speakers as in book shelf speakers as the tv room is already set up in an open floor plan with shelves built into the wall the tv can only go on.
My fiancé is wonderful though not a fan of speakers all over. I am thinking front bookshelf speakers in the shelves and possibly, and I know, I know, putting the subs in the shelves as well. I may have no choice for them anywhere else. Even with my wireless units there is not much room to hide them.
Looking at this picture I am uploading perhaps to the right between where the couch and love seat will meet for a 90 degree angle. Love seat will be against wall on the right by back doors and couch facing tv.
Appreciate all your help guys.
New home, new wife, and new audio!
Congrats and how exciting! Unfortunately I am going in the opposite direction: from a house to an apartment and losing the wife. On the bright side, this affords new opportunities with my audio system! :D

Here's to many, may years of marital bliss for you and your spouse!
 
A

amayseng

Audioholic
Congrats and how exciting! Unfortunately I am going in the opposite direction: from a house to an apartment and losing the wife. On the bright side, this affords new opportunities with my audio system! :D

Here's to many, may years of marital bliss for you and your spouse!
Man so sorry to hear. Hope it is a positive change for you.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Agreed. I know I can definitely hide one between the couch and love seat. Or behind the love seat. Wish I could upload pics.
One subwoofer to look at that has a nice height and finish for an endtable is the Outlaw Audio Ultra-X12. It has a plexiglass top so it can be used as a table nicely, or you/your wife can put some kind of endtable cover over it. The point is it can be easily disguised as an endtable and it is a very powerful subwoofer for the money.
 
B

Brettc

Audioholic
I don’t have the wife factor but I like a clean room with no speakers or wit visible so I opted for sacrificing 30” of my room with a false wall to hide it all


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
A

amayseng

Audioholic
No pic uploaded. Also provide makes and models of your gear and exact open deminsions please
Have 2 Polk psw505's.
looking for new bookshelf speakers as fronts to fit the shelves lateral of where the tv will be on the wall. I do have Polk t15s I used for rears but they aren't vibrant enough for fronts.

So I need a new 4K receiver and 65-70 inch tv.

I can fit a 70" tv although none are as good as the 65" models out there. Can't do oled due to kids. Looking at the Sony 65900f.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Have 2 Polk psw505's.
looking for new bookshelf speakers as fronts to fit the shelves lateral of where the tv will be on the wall. I do have Polk t15s I used for rears but they aren't vibrant enough for fronts.

So I need a new 4K receiver and 65-70 inch tv.

I can fit a 70" tv although none are as good as the 65" models out there. Can't do oled due to kids. Looking at the Sony 65900f.
That kind of speaker placement is bound to be heavily affected by diffraction. Read the lower half section of this article that discusses diffraction effects. I would stay away from wide dispersion speakers for this reason. Like I said before, speakers with narrow directivity will not be as affected by nearby surface diffraction. Look at speakers that have horn-loaded tweeters. Klipsch Reference Premier, Hsu Research, or BIC Acoustech if you don't have a big budget.
 
A

amayseng

Audioholic
That kind of speaker placement is bound to be heavily affected by diffraction. Read the lower half section of this article that discusses diffraction effects. I would stay away from wide dispersion speakers for this reason. Like I said before, speakers with narrow directivity will not be as affected by nearby surface diffraction. Look at speakers that have horn-loaded tweeters. Klipsch Reference Premier, Hsu Research, or BIC Acoustech if you don't have a big budget.
Will do thanks!
Those hsu's are ridiculously affordable.
 
ARES24

ARES24

Full Audioholic
As far as sound quality goes, you are stuck in a bad situation all around. Here are some suggestions to help mitigate the damage: look at horn-loaded speakers. They will not be as affected by bad placement as regular wide-dispersion speakers. I would look at bookshelf speakers from Klipsch or Hsu Research. As far as subwoofer go, can you try 'hiding' a subwoofer in an endtable type placement? That way you can actually have a good sub. Otherwise you will need a sub that can fit in a shelf, and any sub that can fit in a shelf is a sad subwoofer indeed.
I don't know what your capabilities are but if you need to hide a sub and all other options are not SWMBO approved then this sub is quite good.
I have one in my master bedroom under the bed. I had to turn it down almost all the way, too much sub for my tiny room. It isn't as smooth as my Daytons but not much is. You can also do the same as me and just install it and not say anything like I did :D My wife didn't know it was there for weeks!
If it is entirely hidden (like mine) it can look hideous so don't worry about your finishing skills on the DIY.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Will do thanks!
Those hsu's are ridiculously affordable.
The Hsu's are very good speakers for the price. The reason why I recommend them is because they don't splash sound everywhere like typical 1" dome speakers on a flat baffle. The horn loading controls its directivity pretty nice, and allows for a lower crossover point for the tweeter. In your situation, that may be beneficial, since there is bound to be a lot of acoustic problems. Your intended placement is not idea for any speaker, but narrow directivity ones like the Hsu speakers may be more able to cope with those conditions than typical designs.
 

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