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

J

joedel

New member
Joined
May 27, 2026
Messages
7
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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!
 
I've never heard of a radon fan, or that radon is a problem - maybe because I live in radon-free UK! I'm sure there's radon everywhere, but I've never heard of it, or mention of it until today in this thread.

OK, I selfishly have no wife - far too costly, particularly if you feel the need to have an audio room / man cave to get away from their influence.

Instead, I have a lovely 945 sq ft, almost semi-circular room that serves all purposes I ask of it, including music from big speakers set where I want them and well-matched to the room. Electronics are just 2 boxes on a small rack that stands below my TV.

I regularly have music / hi-fi friends round and we play whatever we think may be challenging at whatever volume we think does justice to the music – often rather too loudly perhaps. Walls and floors are built to modern standards, so I hear nothing from neighbours, and they (as far as I'm aware) hear nothing from me, despite 8 x 12” bass drivers doing what they were installed to do. The only sound I ever hear is when neighbours slam their windows, as the frames continue up and down the outside of the building.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top