Midwest √
Nice
Symmetric
Dedicated √
Not Near Large City
I thought audiophiles are supposed to be fanatics who pursue quality sound no matter what! To me that would have to mean fanatic devotion to making an audio shrine. A room whose sole purpose is worshipping at the altar of music. That description would seem to belong to the home theater crowd instead. They seem to be the ones more devoted to shrine-making. I mean, if you're going to have a nutty hobby then have a nutty hobby! Why spoil it with practicality and compromise? Every time I read this forum I am grateful for being single because so many married guys spend all this cash on great gear, but they have no freedom! The audio fanaticism immediately ends at the proposal of putting something on the wall. The very thing which makes the most obvious, tactile, don't-even-have-to-measure-it difference in sound quality is strictly verboten. You're completely hamstrung. Now you've just got a nice collection of pretty stuff, but you're crippled in regards to the notion of reproducing live music in the home. There's no magic bullet that's going to come out where some simple, small electronic device is going to deal with the fundamental problem of sound bouncing around a given space. Headphones ARE one answer, but they just don't sound as good as speakers in a room. If that is the road you choose you have to deal with the realities of acoustics. It IS undoubtedly a pain in the butt. I may not have a rectangle-fearing wife, but I do have a landlord, thus no ceiling treatment for me.
And the room is still square, so it will never be as good as it could be if I could swing a sledgehammer and connect two rooms for golden ratio goodness. The holy grail of audiophiledom seems to be not so much who has the deepest pockets, but who is most willing and able to do radical architecture changes.
