OK, you have a good sized living room. You have a rootin’ tootin’ hi-fi or theater dressed to the nines. But can you actually USE it the way you want?

Um… not really. Your wife doesn’t want to be assaulted by the “noise” as you do. She likes TV more than we do. And heaven knows that women like to be on the phone most waking hours. Your fancy schmancy AV system barely gets used.

So let’s consider plan B.

In this case, I don’t mean to set up shop in a den with tiny speakers or headphones. That IS an option for some guys who love to piddle around on the computer and listen in the near field. I’ll take it over being shut out but it’s not what I want.

I want a space where I can be left alone to enjoy all manner of music and even screen programming. I’m reasonable. I won’t insist on intense volume to take over the house. But I do want great sound per dollar invested for a DECENT, but not assaulting volume level.

Let’s get a little more adventuresome than operating out of a den around the corner from a living room. That can still be quite constricting.

How about… let’s do up a room where some kid went off to college and now that room is vacant. You might say, I’d rather do the basement. Fine, but basements are COLD and you can’t get the bass going with a cement floor substructure without some big guns. Let’s take that upstairs bedroom instead. It will be warmer and more comfortable. Because it has the benefit of your home’s construction, you’ll get much richer sound at a much lower volume- than the dreaded dungeon.

A typical guest room or upstairs bedroom option is tremendously usable. Generally, our wives don’t care if we spend a few bucks or make some noise up there. Just close the door and you’ll both have some peace- and elbow room. Your relationship will be better for it too.

I was reading in a mag where a reviewer did just this with a home theater in a 11×9 room. Really buddy? Are you insane? Yes, clearly he IS. You’re gonna spend over $100k shoehorning a pile of Wilsons into this tiny room? That’s just ridiculous, logistically and financially. I have a better plan.

The premise of having a sweet hi-fi, proportionate for a room of this size is enticing. Sure, go ahead and throw a screen in there too. Now you have YOUR COMFORTABLE TURF for music and video. No, you don’t need a center and a myriad of surround speakers. Your video content will sound AMAZING with a stereo pair of speakers- and maybe a sub if your lady can tolerate a little extra octane. But I don’t think you need a sub.

Speakers

Atohm Sirocco 2.24s, $3800 Per Pair

The absolutely gorgeous 2.24, diminutive towers, will be perfect for this room! They have class shattering resolution and plenty of bass to fulfill your demands. The clarity of sound for music or TV applications will not leave you wanting. And nope, you don’t need a sub.

Stereo Integrated Amplifier

Atoll IN200 With DAC $3200

Atoll’s IN200 is a seriously sophisticated amplifier. It runs a pair of 340VA transformers along with a huge bank of filter caps and generous array of matched output transistors. IN200 will sound great with any speakers, but the pairing with Atohm is magical. Both companies are French. They’re not related, but they’re friends and work with each other regularly. It’s no wonder they play fabulously together. Literally everyone else talking to you about this kind of system is going to waste your money with a flimsy Chinese amp that’s loaded with bells and whistles. Make the effort to see how big the transformers and filter caps are in the Chinese alternative. No thanks! Go Euro all the way and get Atoll.

Atoll CD50 CD Player, $1650

I’ll love CDs- much more than vinyl. Drop the disc in and hit play. You waste no time with the nonsense of mechanical alignments nor record maintenance. Atoll CD players perform much fuller and warmer than the bargain Chinese players you’re probably used to. Get an Atoll CD player and you’ll find out what a lot of people are learning today. There is a resurgence of interest in the CD format because with a fine player like an Atoll, CDs sound better than streaming and are much less hassle than diddling with records or a streaming device and Wi-Fi. Please don’t tell me you have no room for an array of CDs you might be interested in at a certain time. Sheeze, it’s your house too and this room is now your man cave.

TV of Your Choice

Virtually every TV is good these days. The streaming apps work reasonably well. You can use the Spotify app (now available with wide bandwidth) for streaming music to boot. Just run optical out of the TV into the DAC of the Atoll IN200 and you’re IN BUSINESS with all the content your TV can access. It’s a big wide world of music and video content out there. You’re gonna luv the new man cave!