What is it with men and speakers???

Can you put the speakers underneath a table that has either has a shelf or just legs? How big are these speakers and how does your husband want them placed (ear level, behind the sofa, floor level, back of the room, etc).

The front speakers are 9 1/2" Width by 21 1/4" Height by 15" Depth and the back ones are sort of triangular: 15 1/2" Height by 9 1/4" Depth.

I like your idea of putting the speakers underneath tables but he likes them at ear level with one in each corner of the room. At least the center speaker sits on top of the TV. This is his thing so since I've decided to live with it, I have decided to at least try to get some extra drawer space to organize into under the speakers.

Hasn't your dh heard of Boze speakers??? They're teeny tiny and they are awesome!!!!!!!

He doesn't like Boze. Don't ask me why but he refuses to buy them. Besides, he has good speakers and I'm not trying to replace them. Tables, I think, would be much cheaper.

you might seriously consider custom, if you think these particular speakers will be around for a while.

How high up off the ground does he want them?

If only about 15 inches, note that there are lots of 15-inch "cubes" around. Some are particlewood, 1/2-inch thick, part of modular storage systems.

http://www.stacksandstacks.com/html/6447_modular-system-i-2-drawer-cube.htm

Or, you can often get these in plywood (therefore sturdier) from unfinished-furniture places. Here's the one in my area, but I bet there are ones in lots of other places that make these sorts of things.

http://www.gothiccabinetcraft.com/product_info.php?products_id=668

They're often pretty sturdy; you could stack 2, perhaps.

Or, put legs underneath the cube, to lift the speaker another 6 inches.

There's no rim, which would be nice; maybe you could get a similar cube that's more like 20 inches square, and have them put a rim around the top to keep the speakers in place.

Another idea would be to simply look for nightstands. Often they're kinda short--I remember having trouble finding a pair that I considered to be tall enough.

remember that if you want something in wood with drawers, it will cost a little bit, simply because drawers add to the expense--each one is at least 5 joints, sometimes 6.

here's an example: 21" wide, 16" deep, 22" high. $240.

http://amos.shop.com/amos/cc/pcd/10511710/prd/16049538/ccsyn/260

This one's lots cheaper--only $90--but marginally smaller
H:23 7/8" x (60.5cm) x W:21 3/4" (55.4cm) x D:15 5/8" (39.7cm)

http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?DeptID=0amp;CatID=022089&Grptyp=PRD&ItemId=09f9e3e

Good luck!

Can you build the speakers into a storage tower, or set them into a space in the tower?

Take the measurements of the speakers and start looking at ANYTHING that might hold them - linen cabinets, bookcases, etc.

lazygardens, that's an interesting idea and one I hadn't thought of. The only table I've seen so far is at Target. It is a game table and I would never use it as a game table but it does have drawers. I have a problem in that I love items with drawers which feeds my problem of stuffing them with stuff.

The table is at Target.com under game tables or http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-16/qid=/ref=sr_1_16/602-4157491-5236668?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0002HDV7K

This is a very old thread I know but as a woman who is very interested in Audio Video and a regular on the AVS forum I have to say that THIS is the reason all the men on there talk about their wives the way they do and it is not pretty.

Speakers have a purpose and it is to create good or if you are lucky great sound. they cannot do it if you don't apply the laws of physics and acoustics.

They are not to be stuck under tables or in cabinets or stuck in the corners for that matter. and the room itself needs decent acoustic treatment for proper sound.

the men on there talk about the WAF Wife appreciation factor and talk about how their wife will not ALLOW them to do this or that with audio equipment. it must conform to the wife's design asthetic. even if it then sounds like junk.

I am including a link to my personal home theater which I designed and it has superior sound and superior Video.

Women actually have better hearing than men so I don't understand why so many women are perfectly happy to watch a crummy TV with even crummier speakers plaes in all the wrong places. It is embarrassing to listen to what some of the wive's do or say to their husbands.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mickelodeon Cinema thread AVS forum

Part of the problem is that the rooms these sound systems go into have other functions as well--ones that the wives value far more, and ones that are frankly used more often than the sound.

You created a personal home theater in its very own room. I don't have room to do that, and neither does Marie.

Any "sound system" has to fit in my living room. The room that makes my home feel welcoming and orderly. Which it must do 24/7 (and the speakers do their work for about 2 hours at a time every now and then).

This is generalizing, but...
-Women are far more focused on the SOCIAL INTERACTIONS in their homes. Those interactions area affected by the physical appearance of their homes. And they are not affected by audio or video--except in a negative way. People don't end up w/ richer relationships from watching movies or listening to music.

-Women are judged (both by others and by themselves) by the beauty of their homes. Far more easily and far more harshly than men are judged by "not quite wonderful" quality of their sound systems.

-The attractiveness of the home is not actually considered a luxury by most women; they do consider hobby-level focus on sound quality to be a luxury.

If the men who love their sound systems would be clearer in their explanations about what would affect the sound, then their wives might find it easier to cope with.

The problem is that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what makes women think that it has to be their way or no way. I also have audio systems in my living room including 52" TV in my Bedroom and in my Guest room they all look nice. Music good quality music that SOUNDS GOOD can certainly enhance social interactions.
Are these homes not everyones in the family not just the wife's?
Most speakers in and of themselves are not ugly, it is simply a learned reaction that many women have. If you look at it from a different perspective you can make the room with the equipment, and housed properly for the use of the equipment,very attractive. But speakers should never be stuck in cabinets and never UNDER anything, tables etc.
Let me give one example of what I once did in one home with the equipment to make it unobtrusive yet sound good. I placed my at that time 5 speakers in Large weave baskets in the appropriate placement for best sound. you could come in that room and hear beautiful music but not see where it was coming from. So there are ways to do it.

I don't agree at all about the women are judged more harshly. I can't imagine judging a woman negatively because she has a nice looking great sounding, sound system in her home. and MEN do judge the audio quality of other men, at least those that know anything beyond LOUD, LOUD is not good sound.
Unfortunately too many people have not got a clue about sound equipment and so fall for the marketing of such companies as BOSE, on the forums we have several names and comments for BOSE chiefly BOSE BLOWS but too many consumers have been sold a bill of goods to think they have a great system with BOSE. They are inconspicuous though and so have a high WAF.
Honestly What I saw in that thread was all about "MY" house meaning the wife's. Why are her needs and wishes the only ones that matter?

I know this subject is off topic for organizing, but it was here and that is why I responded, and it is still relevant since women continue to behave as in this thread.

I am not trying to be difficult but would like to see women broaden their perspective on this subject.

McCall--I'm on your side. My husband is a high-end audio freak, and frankly, I love music, so I indulge him and he pays me back by letting me decorate everyplace else. I think that if you can have a den where the audio stuff lives with one big comfy chair or sofa, then you've got a happy home.

We have Tannoy speakers--they're big steel-grey cubes (about 3 feet x 3feet x 3 feet) and they sit on stainless steel frames. It's not a look I just love, but hey! They sound amazing. They "go up to 11" as the guy in Spinal Tap says.

We have a big leather sofa at just the right distance, and all our records, CDs and such stored neatly.

We have a TV projector and screen, and when it's movie night at our house (speaking of social interaction) it's an event.

I agree that decorating around these items can be a challenge, but I can't believe how many people stick an enormous flat screen above the fireplace and think it looks good. I'd rather have the TV in any other room, than make it the focal point of my living room.

I can't believe this old thread was brought up again. The tables I had purchased to place the speakers on broke. I had purchased them online from Target and returned 2 of them. The other 2 are about to be put in the garbage. In this house, we haven't even hooked up the stereo system in the living room because the room is too small and not used that much. DH has decided he'll listen to music in our bedroom on his other stereo system. I'm not happy with this but it's not worth the fight.

On the other hand, after I clicked on McCall's link and saw the purple, maybe the decorators have a valid point. Audio and visual--can't we all get along?

"Most speakers in and of themselves are not ugly, it is simply a learned reaction that many women have"

Really?
Show me a good looking speaker that you keep out in the open.

(BTW - I am the audio junkie in this house. I am a woman. And my thought that speakers are ugly is definitely NOT a 'learned reaction'!)

Talley Sue NYC has summed it up my position on this perfectly.

I will tell you where the problem starts: it starts with the man who wants the audio/video to be great and doesn't have a clue that visual asthetics matter. I am sure that accommodations can be made to have both, but all too often the equipment gets bought and installed, and only then does the asthetic cleanup come into play.

I lived in a house for way too many years with cables exposed, wall-to-wall carpeting ripped up and then not put down correctly, and a big-arse TV plunked into a room that couldn't be adapted to it. As soon the audio and video were in there, as far as my husband was concerned, the room was fine. The room made me feel sad, and no amount of quality sound or video could overcome that.
Mccall - I looked at your link, and I'm not sure what the point was in posting that. Show us a link to a sound system that fits into the average size family room. And include the cost of the room, excluding the equipment.

Of course, a happy husband might be considered an important element in any house. The aesthetics matter, but I'm not expecting Architectural Digest to show up to shoot a photo spread, so I'm willing to live with our big-ass speakers. At least I know where my husband is. LOL!

As the saying goes:
If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy.