do you consider hifi when looking at a house?

[admin_exported]

just wondering if anyone considers where their hifi will go if they are having to look for a new house/flat?

do you tie it in with your tv / home cinema setup or have a totally seperate listening room for music?

is hifi in a bedroom a big no-no?

does the type of flooring matter? i notice in an empty room, with laminate floor there is a noticable echo/hollow feel where as carpet seems to be a lot more sound-insulating.

just wondering as i have a 2 bed maisonette, which i cant afford on my own, so having to rent it out and return to parents for a while.

now i have realised hi-fi is going to be part of the future for me, i want to have an aim of having it set up right in a future property.

 

[chebby]

I guess hifi is not that important to me.

 

[Anonymous]

olneyben:
just wondering if anyone considers where their hifi will go if they are having to look for a new house/flat?

Absolutely. I didn't invest all of this time and money in a hobby that could be ruined with the purchase of the wrong house. There's enough out there to choose from.

olneyben:
do you tie it in with your tv / home cinema setup or have a totally seperate listening room for music?

Tie it in so that it works for me and my partner, particularly as we like to watch films together.

olneyben:
is hifi in a bedroom a big no-no?

Yes. The bedroom should be kept for sleeping not for noisy hifi. My partner goes to bed earlier than me too

olneyben:
does the type of flooring matter? i notice in an empty room, with laminate floor there is a noticable echo/hollow feel where as carpet seems to be a lot more sound-insulating.

Yes. Wood and laminate flooring can make a room very reflective and the sound bright and harsh. Soft furnishings and rugs are a must unless you have a very warm system. Add to taste.

olneyben:
just wondering as i have a 2 bed maisonette, which i cant afford on my own, so having to rent it out and return to parents for a while.

Been there, done that so used the hifi in the lounge. Hey, there's more to life than hifi. You could sell up and get an iPod touch with decent headphones. Brilliant.

olneyben:
now i have realised hi-fi is going to be part of the future for me, i want to have an aim of having it set up right in a future property.

A life long hobby to bring great pleasure and enjoyment. There's always good deals on kit and ebay is never short of good used purchases. If you need to downsize then it's a great opportunity to start again and do it better next time.

Good luck with it! Enjoy the music...

 

[chebby]

There are so many more important considerations about a house than whether it suits an appliance! (For all our interest in the subject, hifi is an appliance as much as any fridge or stove.)

Hifi comes and goes (monthly in the case of some people here!) on the whim of an upgrade or a night in front of ebay with a bottle of wine

You simply cannot buy a house - which may be your home for a lifetime - 'tailored' to the requirements of something so utterly transient. Far better to buy based on the needs of people.

 

[Charlie Jefferson]

chebby:
There are so many more important considerations about a house than whether it suits an appliance! (For all our interest in the subject, hifi is an appliance as much as any fridge or stove.)

Hifi comes and goes (monthly in the case of some people here!) on the whim of an upgrade or a night in front of ebay with a bottle of wine

You simply cannot buy a house - which may be your home for a lifetime - 'tailored' to the requirements of something so utterly transient. Far better to buy based on the needs of people.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. . . but I prefer hi-fi to people, most days of the week.

 

[chebby]

Charlie Jefferson:Yeah, yeah, yeah. . . but I prefer hi-fi to people, most days of the week.

To the people in your own home also? Your wife and kids? Seriously?

 

[SHAXOS]

Dont know about house as i am not at that stage yet but the next room/flat i will rent next will certainly need to be good for my system. At the moment my room is pants with a stupid shape which means i cant get the best out of my system. Im looking forward to moving to a bigger room.

 

[idc]

Yes absolutely! The wife would comment during viewings that I was considering how the hifi would go in the livingroom (where I think hifis should go).

However, after two houses on the trot where I had to compromise with speaker/seating I went all headfi.

But the next move still involved figuring out where the setup would sit on its cabinet and how the seating would be arranged so I can reach it and that the headphone cable is long enough. Things fell into place much easier than with a full sized hifi.

Next I want a posh shed in the garden and I will just live in it with with my headfi, laptop and books. £6000 including fitting and wiring should do it. So during a viewing my wife will explain how I am checking out the garden for space and placing the shed, orientation for the sun, how to get power to it......

 

[Charlie Jefferson]

chebby:
Charlie Jefferson:Yeah, yeah, yeah. . . but I prefer hi-fi to people, most days of the week.

To the people in your own home also? Your wife and kids? Seriously?

Well, it's possibly, at a push, a score draw.

 

[chebby]

I resent the space even my modest system takes up, and even now I am plotting to reduce it's 'footprint' and the cabling.

A naimuniti and smaller speakers (ideally on the wall or in the bookshelves) are the plan.

I rarely listen 'on axis' (who does?) because the living room is a social and functional place where domestic appliances take second place to humans. Anyone who starts measuring out and planning a living room with 'hifi' listening as a prime consideration must live alone (or probably will be pretty soon if they continue like that!)

 

[Anonymous]

I frequently listen 'on axis' as I frequently take a little time out of my day to enjoy music as best I can. I wouldn't have bought Spendor speakers if I never listened to them at their best. Hifi is not just an appliance to me as it fulfills a very important need in my day to day living. It's a bit like saying that someone who has motorbikes, cars or a caravan doesn't need to bother considering them when they move. Why wouldn't they?

We've always managed to fulfill the criteria of having a sociable lounge that enables hifi, entertaining and all of the things we like to do. It's really not that hard unless you're unrealistic about the sort of equipment you expect to fit.

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:
I resent the space even my modest system takes up, and even now I am plotting to reduce it's 'footprint' and the cabling.

A naimuniti and smaller speakers (ideally on the wall or in the bookshelves) are the plan.

I rarely listen 'on axis' (who does?) because the living room is a social and functional place where domestic appliances take second place to humans. Anyone who starts measuring out and planning a living room with 'hifi' listening as a prime consideration must live alone (or probably will be pretty soon if they continue like that!)

Sounds like your under the thumb chebby

Joking aside, I think living with Hi Fi is easily achievable with a bit of thought..........

 

[chebby]

MENISCUS:chebby:
I resent the space even my modest system takes up, and even now I am plotting to reduce it's 'footprint' and the cabling.

A naimuniti and smaller speakers (ideally on the wall or in the bookshelves) are the plan.

I rarely listen 'on axis' (who does?) because the living room is a social and functional place where domestic appliances take second place to humans. Anyone who starts measuring out and planning a living room with 'hifi' listening as a prime consideration must live alone (or probably will be pretty soon if they continue like that!)

Sounds like your under the thumb chebby

Joking aside, I think living with Hi Fi is easily achievable with a bit of thought..........

So not wanting to turn the most busy family room into some kind of 'dedicated listening room' is "under the thumb"? What a very 1950s "Saturday night and Sunday morning" attitude...

"ay, shoot yer mouth 'bout 't stereo lass or ye'll get soom 'a this..."

Really I am the one who wants make the system less intrusive in terms of space and position. The wife actually likes the Rega R3's despite them being floorstanders and does not mind the Naim gear either. Again, I am the one who wants to get it all down to one box and smaller speakers and it will be my money doing it.

I would rather have bookshelves in front of me than equipment. Boxes and cables are ugly.

 

[Anonymous]

I am with Igs on this one.

In fact I am looking for a new place and this one of the first thoughts that come to mind (apart from the obvious when you are seeing a property) is where TV/Hifi will reside and if it will be optimally placed with soft/hard walls and/or neighbors or bedrooms behind.

 

[Anonymous]

olneyben:
just wondering if anyone considers where their hifi will go if they are having to look for a new house/flat?

Yes, although it's not the be all and end all.

 

[Anonymous]

If you're someone who's going to spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds on hifi and AV equipment and part of getting it all sounding right is having it properly arranged in the room then certainly it's got to be something to consider. Best not to let on though, that that's what's going through your mind when viewing with your co-habitors.

 

[Anonymous]

If you're someone who's going to spend hundreds or even thousands of your hard-earned pounds on hifi and/or AV equipment and part of getting it to sound its best is to have it arranged properly then surely it has to be a consideration. How much of a consideration it's likely to be will depend on your other considerations. Someone looking for their own place can afford to be more picky about room layout than someone who has family members such as young children to take account of.

For myself it's quite high on my list of factors to consider.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought that might happen.

 

[crusaderlord]

anything thats an important part of your lifestyle would certainly merit a consideration

highest priority no - but i would look around for a good spot for the hifi though that would give me a listening area that didnt overtake everything else

 

[Messiah]

For me it is one of the most important factors. If there was no room for the hifi to be set up then it would be on to the next property!!

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly other considerations but the HiFi is one of the main things that has to be accomodated.

 

[Anonymous]

Im looking for a new house as we speak. It must have a nice big living room, for my av stuff. A second big sitting room for the hi-fi, and at least 3 bedrooms, one i sleep in, another for a home gym and a spare one for all that junk you aquire that you cant realy bin, boxes for hifi and av stuff etc.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

I have to agree with Chebby, no. I do think that some of the other posts were jokes though Chebby.

Buying a house is a massive thing. We bought our (not moving for 25 years) house two years ago and part of the brief was to find something bigger and better than we had before (in the new location with great schools). This would normally mean that you would have space for your hobbies. I certainly didn't walk around when viewing and think, right the sub can go in that corner.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I do notice that the first thing I'm taking notice of is whether (if it's a semi detached) the living rooms are connected - I tend to look more for houses that are detached, or if semi, the living rooms are on opposite sides.

 

[Anonymous]

Having invested a lot in AV, when my fiance and I move house, we have already decided that the living area will have to be big enough for our hi-fi and television. We both enjoy it and it is important that we can continue to enjoy it. Like Igglebert, music is an important part of my lfe and I want to continue listening to faithful and emotive reproductions of my favourite artist's work!

However, if push comes to shove and we simply cannot find ourselves the right amount of space, it will have to downsize the floorstanding speakers and television. I hope it doesn't come to that, though!

When my family moved back from the US when I was about 5, in 1983, my Dad had these huge floorstanders - about 40cm wide, just as deep and over a metre high. I remember my Mum saying that the house they chose when they came back was one of the few my Dad's hi-fi would have fitted in. Like father, like son!

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:
I resent the space even my modest system takes up, and even now I am plotting to reduce it's 'footprint' and the cabling.

A naimuniti and smaller speakers (ideally on the wall or in the bookshelves) are the plan.

I rarely listen 'on axis' (who does?) because the living room is a social and functional place where domestic appliances take second place to humans. Anyone who starts measuring out and planning a living room with 'hifi' listening as a prime consideration must live alone (or probably will be pretty soon if they continue like that!)

if I don't move house in the next 10 years I will of joined up my double garage and workshop to my house by way of a slate roofed conservatory which will add 2 extra bedrooms and a 7m x 8m listening room with a screen or big tv.
if I do move the new house will have a similar room.I fully expect my wife to be with me. watching "Maid in Manhatten"again.