Audiophiles without a dedicated listening room — what drives you nuts?

J

joedel

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May 27, 2026
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Hey all, Joe here; fellow audiophile, currently squeezing a system into a room that very much was not designed for it.

I'm talking to people in the same boat to understand the real-world headaches of listening seriously in a shared/living space: room treatment fights with the partner, speaker placement compromises, neighbours, WAF, gear that "should" sound better than it does, etc.

Not selling anything. Not a survey. Just a 10-minute call where you tell me what actually annoys you. I'm doing this as part of my bachelor's thesis and hoping the output is something genuinely useful for the community.

Looking for 10–20 people. If you're up for it, drop a comment or DM and I'll send a couple of time slots.

Cheers,
Joe
 
Hi Joe,

You may find many people are (smartly) hesitant to start talking to someone with no history on the forum and give out such info.
 
Shadowfax said:
The clock ticking and the hum of 2 Radon fans attached to the house are my maim beefs.
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Oh no... the radon fans are a nasty one, constant noise right in the listening band. Quick question if you don't mind: have you tried anything to deal with either of them?
 
Mike said:
My wife.
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Haha, fair enough!

What’s the main thing that causes friction: speaker placement, volume, visible gear/cables, acoustic treatment, or just the whole system taking over the room?
 
Michaels HiFi said:
Hi Joe,

You may find many people are (smartly) hesitant to start talking to someone with no history on the forum and give out such info.
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Hi Michael,

You’re right, that’s a fair concern, especially since I’m new here.

I’m not looking for private info, and I’m happy to keep the discussion on the forum. Even broad, non-personal replies would be really useful: what compromises people have had to make with speaker placement, treatment, volume, aesthetics, neighbours, or shared-room use.

Thanks for pointing it out! I should probably have made that clearer in the original post.
 
joedel said:
Haha, fair enough!

What’s the main thing that causes friction: speaker placement, volume, visible gear/cables, acoustic treatment, or just the whole system taking over the room?
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Competing sound. Talking mostly. But I have a dedicated room and usually head up there. The living room system is for playing when we are cooking or doing other things. More background than critical listening.
 
Mike said:
Competing sound. Talking mostly. But I have a dedicated room and usually head up there. The living room system is for playing when we are cooking or doing other things. More background than critical listening.
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Ah, gotcha! Since you already have a dedicated room for critical listening, you've actually solved the exact problem I'm researching. Just out of curiosity, did the competing sound in the living room drive you to set up the dedicated room in the first place, or did you always have it?
 
joedel said:
Ah, gotcha! Since you already have a dedicated room for critical listening, you've actually solved the exact problem I'm researching. Just out of curiosity, did the competing sound in the living room drive you to set up the dedicated room in the first place, or did you always have it?
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Always had it.
 
joedel said:
Hi Michael,

You’re right, that’s a fair concern, especially since I’m new here.

I’m not looking for private info, and I’m happy to keep the discussion on the forum. Even broad, non-personal replies would be really useful: what compromises people have had to make with speaker placement, treatment, volume, aesthetics, neighbours, or shared-room use.

Thanks for pointing it out! I should probably have made that clearer in the original post.
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No worries - just trying to help.
 
joedel said:
Oh no... the radon fans are a nasty one, constant noise right in the listening band. Quick question if you don't mind: have you tried anything to deal with either of them?
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Stop the clock and turn the volume up is the way.

The Radon Fans are getting old and you can hear the bearings now. Going to look into getting them replaced soon.
 
Shadowfax said:
Stop the clock and turn the volume up is the way.

The Radon Fans are getting old and you can hear the bearings now. Going to look into getting them replaced soon.
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Stopping the clock and cranking the volume, can't argue with that logic! Dealing with the whine of old bearings right in your listening band is incredibly frustrating. Best of luck with the replacements, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share your real-world headaches with me.
 
Morning Joe, like Mike my main rig is in my 'man cave' (14'6" x 24'6"). For the most part it's dedicated for my listening pleasure. With that said it remains a 'living space' and not an acoustic treated bat cave, I do have corner bass trapping.

Living room(2 channel integrated and CD player) and family room (basic 5.1 HT set up) are for the casual side of things.

With regards to annoyance in my main rig, the laundry room is adjacent so when the dryer is running some noise bleeds through, that's it.
 
Mikado463 said:
Morning Joe, like Mike my main rig is in my 'man cave' (14'6" x 24'6"). For the most part it's dedicated for my listening pleasure. With that said it remains a 'living space' and not an acoustic treated bat cave, I do have corner bass trapping.

Living room(2 channel integrated and CD player) and family room (basic 5.1 HT set up) are for the casual side of things.

With regards to annoyance in my main rig, the laundry room is adjacent so when the dryer is running some noise bleeds through, that's it.
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Morning! It seems like everyday household appliances are the ultimate enemy of audiophiles. First Shadowfax mentioned radon fans, and now the tumbling dryer! It’s great that you have the square footage to separate your critical listening rig from the casual family room setups, though. Even with it being a dedicated space, I totally understand the decision to keep it feeling like a normal living area rather than going overboard with treatments. Thanks for taking the time to drop your experience in here!
 
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