moving in with girlfriend, but still want good sound - thoughts?

[Hittdog]

I am moving in with my girlfriend in a few weeks. You can see the current system I have in my signature. She has a good size living room, but she's concerned about my large speakers detracting from the room's aesthetic. Another problem is that there's no easy way to run wires for the surround speakers. Wires would either have to go under the carpet or through the ceiling and I'm not equipped or qualified to do either. So, my questions are these:

1. How much would it cost to have a professional run speaker wires either under the carpet somehow or through the ceiling - ballpark figure?

2. If I go with smaller speakers, I am thinking of one of Definitive Technology's ProCinema systems or the Bose Acoustimass 10 system. Anyone have thoughts on either of these systems?

3. Are any wireless options available for the surround speakers that are decent?

Thanks guys.

 

[sawzalot]

moving in with girlfriend, but still want good sound - thoughts?


Noise cancelling ear buds and some fine cocktails with a do not disturb sign

J/K of course, you probably don't need the sign.

 

[sholling]

Get her to move in with you and she'll live with what you have.

 

[Seth=L]

Anything but the Bose.

 

[dkane360]

I'll answer question #2, pass on the bose

Here is a long but informative read on the bose satellites.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38446&

If you're looking at small satellite systems like that, check out Def Tech (which you mentioned), Klipsch, Polk audio, Energy, Mirage, or Anthony Gallo. Most speaker manufactures also have small bookshelf speakers in their line up, such as Aperion Audio. You need to make sure that the room isn't too big for such small speakers. If that's the case, you will need at least bookshelf speakers.

Or as sawz said, just get some in-ear headphones

 

[bmurphy2121]

Tell her ur paying half that being said then this part of the house is mine. LOL

 

[cvcgolf]

You need a whole new strategy going into this type of situation. Don't just set up your gear and start playing Metallica while telling her it sounds great. First thing first. Set your equipment up and see what it looks and sounds like. You're already planning on going from decent Polk's down to Bose. You're downgrading! Tell her you just want to set up the gear and if she hates it then you'll pull it all out. You need a strategy and buying Bose is no strategy.

You need to get her on your side without her knowing it and quick. The first cd you put on to test the system is her favorite. Not yours! The first movie you watch together is some chick flick. Preferably you know her favorite movie and you go and rent it. If she owns it that's even better. If it's Blu-ray then you might be having sexual intercourse afterwards. Score! If you put on some crap action flick for the first time you might as well shoot yourself in the head. That's not going to work.

I also advise a little romance while sitting between the speakers and listening to some good tunes. Try some Jazz or Sinatra. Your babe will dig it and you'll be surprised at how great this music sounds on a quality system. Pull out some delicious See's candy or make some good drinks and you shouldn't have a problem.

If she says something about how you've changed because you've never been good to her before tell her it's because you're now living with a hot babe. Make something up man while holding her hand. She'll be happy and you'll get what you want. More love making and your gear in the house.

Here's a simple drink recipe. Now get to it bro!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZUYP1gn-fY

 

[MDS]

1. How much would it cost to have a professional run speaker wires either under the carpet somehow or through the ceiling - ballpark figure?

I had an AV installer run speaker wires to the sides of my living room for surround speakers because the house came with speakers in-ceiling which is not ideal.

They charged $75 per hour per person and you need two people - one in the attic and one in the room to fish the wires. So basically $150 per hour.

I had many other wires run too, like additional Cat5, so they were here for almost 6 hours and that cost adds up real quick. Had they done only the speaker wires they could probably have been in and out in one hour.

 

[BMXTRIX]

If aesthetics is a major concern, I always recommend some good in-wall speakers. Even cheaper ones can sound better than smaller speakers, because you can get an 8" in-wall 2 or 3 way speaker design which doesn't intrude on the room at all, but is designed to go between standard 16" on center studs with 8' tall ceilings and produce very solid sound quality. It's by far the least intrusive method for adding audio to a room and can provide good sound (or better) depending on the speakers.

The wiring is facilitated by the use of in-wall speakers. Since the walls would be opened for the speakers it provides more of a pathway to get wiring in place. Maybe it will help, maybe not, but it typically does help and minimizes drywall repair which is sometimes necessary with pro-AV installers.

My general rates tend to be $70/hr for wiring, so that is in line with what MDS has experienced. The companies I have worked for generally charge a bit more than that.

 

[ErnieM]

I had our general carpenter guy run some conduit under our living room floor through the crawlspace for my rear speakers. The materials and labor for this 20 foot run was about $200.

 

[GranteedEV]

the aperion 4T wireless might be an option worth looking into, good SQ + small footprint with no wiring necessary...

if you've got $2500 to drop on it that is.

 

[JerryLove]

Or go speaker shopping and find stuff that blends with the room well. My wife loves the B&W N801's, and they are far from small.

There may be some pretty and mountable speakers. I honestly think I could have done all but the most critical of listening throught B&W DS6's I used to have, and there are quite a few attractive bookshelves around right now.

 

[jostenmeat]

I like the idea of in wall speakers. Just choose your locations very carefully, and with future proofing in mind.

$150 an hour is probably typical for AV installers, but you don't need "AV specialists" to do this if you know where the speakers are going. You can hire a handyman or contractor, and just one at that, while you help him. Of course many people read up on fishing wire, and save a lot that way. I think Clint did a video explaining how to do this, and IIRC it shows Tom being funny, hanging out, lemme see if I can find it.

Google works better than the AH University search function for me here:
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/do-it-yourself-diy-topics/installing-surround-sound-speakers

 

[miniSQ]

is it wall to wall carpet? Its easy...just pull it up around the edges and run the wire ....tape it down in the bare spot between the pad and the tackless strip...you might need to get a guy to come out and restretch the carpet...not a huge investment.

 

[Exit]

I would just go with headphones, or you may find yourself listening to her music or no music at all on that shiney new system. Also be prepared to turn the subwoofer off if she doesn't like that "boomy" loud noise. Invest in a good car stereo so you get some use out of it and get to listen to your music loud without complaints.

 

[Starmax]

Don't move in with her. Keep your own place and suit yourself. Trust me, you'll be happier in the long run.

 

[lsiberian]

You gotta decide the stuff you really want to keep and the stuff you don't. My wife knows that the Living room(outside of the furniture is my domain. If sound is important to you than she'll probably be ok with a compromise of some sort. I hate using a living room myself so if their is a spare bedroom you could give that a go.

 

[MatthewB.]

Having lived with my GF for seven years, I will now instill with you how I acheived great sound in my domicile.

1. You will like whatever she likes, no matter how lousy her tastes are.
2. It's always too loud, she can hear a mouse fart at 100 yards and that's too dang loud.
3. I love, love, love action movies....too bad I'm stuck watching stupid movies that have Julia Roberts and stupid romantic comedies. Did I tell you I love Action movies (sigh the memories)
4. No matter how much you beg, plead and cry, any speaker bigger than the head of a pin is too big and if that big ugly box that makes the Boom Boom noise doesnt go with the curtains, then the Boom-Boom gotta go.
5. At some point in time, you will be forced to watch the "Sex and the City" movie (either one doesn't matter) so I am giving you helpful hints here. Straight up battery acid or bleach in the eyes works pretty fast just give yourself a half hour head start. Oh yeah and she'll notice the ear plugs, so best to go in the backyard and shoot off a .50 cal handgun right next to both ears to help "numb" the pain of Carrie's (whom I call horseface) voice. Oh yeah and it's hard to do mental masterbation on Kim Cattrall, maybe like 40 years ago when she had some looks, but now that ship has long since sailed and plot, common sense and point of any of these movies was lost the moment the director said, "Action"

oh and one more thing, if your real real lucky, if your good and kind and nice to her parents, she may take the jar off the mantle from time to time and let you fondle em. Enjoy cohabitation.....sigh.

 

[Whitey80]

do what i did, find a girl that wont change your stuff around!
I'm gonna brag on this, cuz i scored huge!
i met my girlfriend about 2 1/2 years ago playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on Xbox Live. (i knew her in passing, she owned a tattoo shop my friend worked at). been living together for over a year. when i started getting more involved in audio and seriously uprading, she started researching the science of sound to understand what i was talking about and getting into.
the last 3 mocies we've seen at the theater were, by her request, Predators, The Expendables and Inception.
she made me hang with her all day last week to have an Aliens movie marathon!
she wants sex even more than i do. aaaand is an actual 102lb. fashion and art model!

you can all hate me now!

 

[Alex2507]

she wants sex even more than i do.

I know exactly what you mean.