We demand and expect great sound in our homes.  Good sound, whether for the enjoyment of music and movies, comfortable conversation, or even quiet, when you wish it, truly enriches our lives and our enjoyment of the spaces we occupy.  Good audio systems can transport us to the concert or musical performance, and immerse us in our movies.  However, we need them to do so without compromising the visual aspects of our home environment.  After all, few of us want to live in a recording studio, on rock concert stage or in an electronics lab.  Also, when we address acoustic problems in our spaces, we should do so in ways that are as visually tasteful as they are acoustically effective.  We should craft our spaces to have excellent sound and our desired visual aesthetic … great sound that looks good, too!

There are a few ways that we can achieve this.  We can have our audio system match the look of our space, or we can have the system make a bold visual statement, or we can even make it effectively invisible.  Fortunately, high-end audio provides sonically excellent solutions for each of these approaches.

Make it Blend In

Audio systems form part of the domestic environment.  Therefore, we can combine them with the other furnishings to define the room’s visual aesthetic.  Many high-end equipment manufacturers are sensitive to the fact that their products will reside in their customers’ spaces, and must work harmoniously with those spaces.  They draw from a rich palate of exquisite veneers, varied materials and wonderful colours to produce products that visually complement the room’s look.  This particularly relates to speakers, but also applies to other components and to acoustic treatments.

Wood finishes have long been used for speakers, in particular, complementing the wood and earth-coloured design elements of our rooms.

A range of colours is also used to complement and contrast with the fabrics, furnishings and wall colours.  White in particular, has become quite a popular choice for audio components, to match the all-white decor of some modern homes.

Make it Bold

Perhaps you prefer to make a dramatic visual statement, rather than choosing to fit in.  High-end audio and acoustics components are engineered systems, developed to provide excellent sound.  To achieve this, designers draw on a wide range of technologies and approaches, yielding products with a variety of shapes and sizes. These can also provide canvases on which to express a range of aesthetic ideas.  Taste is a personal, and potentially divisive, thing, and many of these components are merely visually striking.  However, some are definitely worthy of being considered visual works of art.

It’s important to recognise that we’re not thinking here of ornamentation for it’s own sake, with tinsel, glitter and flashing lights. Rather, these are high-end audio components, expertly designed for their sound quality, whose visual design is firmly grounded in their acoustic performance, and whose visual impact is achieved without any penalty in terms of their sound.  If you want to make it bold there are lot’s of options to delight the ear and excite the eye, whatever your preferred look.

Make it Disappear

Maybe you believe that audio systems should be heard, but not seen.  There are also several effective solutions for this.  Audio electronics can generally be easily concealed, once you provide sufficient ventilation and routing for cables and power cords.  Speakers tend to present more of a challenge.  Deep bass does more than just provide the driving beat of dance music or the excitement of movie sound effects.  It’s important in conveying realism, and a sense of space and 3-dimentionality to sound.  Realism also demands the ability to play at real-life volumes. This is not about dangerously high sound levels, which should always be avoided.  It’s about reproducing the variations in loudness and momentary peaks in volume without strain.  In seeking both to reproduce bass and play easily at reasonably volumes, the laws of physics generally reward size.  This tends to make speakers conspicuous, and sometimes obtrusive.

In-wall and in-ceiling speakers represent a viable solution.  They can be largely invisible, merging seamlessly with the room.  This arrangement has the added attraction of giving you great sound without costing you any floor space.  Installing in-wall speakers is much easier with drywall, rather than the block-wall construction often used in the Caribbean.

In such cases, on-wall speakers are a reasonable option.  They are almost as unobtrusive, and some speakers designed for in-wall installation can also be installed on-wall, using an appropriate frame.  On-wall installation also affords greater flexibility, and allows easier changes to the speaker positioning, should you desire.

Small speakers can also be used to provide sound with low visual impact.  In this case it is important to understand how to choose and implement them.

Many mass-market small speakers are simply not capable of high-quality sound reproduction.  They often exhibit strain and distortion when called upon to reproduce bass or play at reasonable levels.  The lack of bass can be addressed by using a subwoofer, which may be relatively easy to conceal.  This can definitely be a satisfying solution, but to be effective, subwoofers need to be carefully integrated with the main speakers so that together they provide a seamless sound, rather than midrange and treble with disconnected, boomy bass.  This approach can also assist in addressing the dynamic limitations of small speakers.  If all the low frequency sound is routed to a subwoofer, the small speakers will then only have to play the midrange and high frequencies.  Freed of the burden of playing the bass they should be able to play both better and louder.

Hiding speakers away inside or behind furniture is generally not a good idea.  It affects how well they radiate sound into the room, and limits their ability to produce good 3-dimensional sound.  However there are speakers and items of furniture specifically designed for this kind of concealment.  The arrangement requires acoustically transparent enclosures which provide solid, vibration-free support for the speakers, adequate ventilation, and accommodation for the necessary cabling.

Make it Happen

Whichever approach you take, you should always put the sound first.  After all that’s what the audio system is for.  So it shouldn’t just be about adding objects d’art and splashes of colour to your room.  Rather, your aim should be to bring great sound into your space, while maintaining or enhancing its look and how it feels.

Your first step is to determine what you want from your audio system: where you want to listen, and how.  Next, decide how you’d like your space to look.  Based on these initial ideas you can search for systems that match your needs and your budget.  An experienced high-end audio dealer will be a real asset in guiding your search, as would experienced audio hobbyists and knowledgeable online sources.  You should also collaborate with your interior designer or architect, if you have one. They can help to refine your ideas about looks that work for you.

Recognise that it will most likely be an iterative process, developing as you better understand your desires and the possibilities, and become familiar with the available options. Take your time, the results will be worth it.

You can have great sound while enjoying the visual aesthetic you want.  The next step is up to you.

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