Help me replace my Genelec 8341's for the sanity of my beloved wife

[Rednaxela]

@AdrianusG

She went on to tell me about the comments some of our friends have passed which include: "they look like a blood pressure monitor" the one's you see in hospital, the one's where you sit next to it on a chair and put your arm actually into a large machine and it prints out a report for you. Other evil comments were mentioned which I won't say on here as saying those comments will upset us audio loving people. The funny thing is, they are not wrong.

 

[sleepy.sock]

I am very grateful to my wife who tolerates a pair of white 8361s in our living room. In any objective terms, they are utterly monstrous looking beasts. But they do sound good.

 

[Anatols_Dad]

Just a thought. Is it possible to hang speakers in your ceiling corners, with In-wall cables?

 

[TonioRoffo]

Soo... replace them with the RAW ones? looks like it would match everything better.

 

[bajwe]

Given the size of your space, unless you need the power, LSX IIs are tiny - just 155mm width, and the matching stands are pretty - but they are not going to disappear. It will have a similar look to your genelecs. The website does allow you to "see" them in your own space - presumably through uploading a photo. I'd still keep the genelecs for a rainy day or the bedroom - you could play "Je t'aime... moi non plus".

 

[MattHooper]

I guess we haven’t seen the conclusion of this drama yet.

It’s a real bummer that the found the sound he likes so much and probably has to get rid of it.

On the other hand, I’m certainly with his wife on the looks of the Genelec. I would not place one of those in our house.

That said my wife’s reaction to different loudspeakers has always been fairly unpredictable to me. She’s ended up liking looks of certain speakers I would’ve imagined she would find repulsive. And liking other speakers were a bit more traditional.

Of course, to her the best speakers are ones she would never see.

 

[Esprit]

On the other hand, I’m certainly with his wife on the looks of the Genelec. I would not place one of those in our house.

Not my Genelecs, I would love to see your designer houses.

 

[MattHooper]

Not my Genelecs, I would love to see your designer houses.

View attachment 422052

While I still wouldn’t personally buy a Genelec, those are about as well integrated as I guess I will see anywhere.

Since speakers and decor has become a subject and you asked, though not that I have a designer home, I’ll post a few pictures of my listening room. In renovating the room I set myself a tough task of integrating a projection based Home Theatre with surround-sound, as well as separate two channel speakers which are driven by different front end and amplification. That’s piling a lot of speakers into one room (I keep all the source and amplification equipment in a separate room), and there were some ergonomic challenges, but in the end I got what I wanted. I swap between two different floor standing loudspeakers. Here’s a glimpse of the listening and Home Theatre room from the hallway with the Thiel CS2.7 speakers visible:

The design employed a professional acoustician - the ceiling bulkhead was actually designed using stretched brown felt fabric that looks like a solid ceiling, behind which acoustic material is strategically placed as well.

Closer and you can see the speakers share a room with velvet covered Home Theatre speakers (to make them more discrete against the black velvet background);

Inside:

My Joseph Audio speakers:

Inside:

Towards the seating position (my JVC projector is hidden behind the sofa - it’s on an automated lift that rises the projector up to the right height when the Home Theatre mode is activated):

Night listening:

Not to everybody’s taste, I certainly understand, but since I’m not a fan of the look of pro gear, this suits me fine.

 

[Esprit]

I thank you.

 

[Travis]

Tannoy, there will be something that everyone can live with.

 

[pablolie]

Just drop a thin silk veil in your wife's fav color over them...

Personally, I could not unsee them though.