[Link: info.aia.org]!

I get that in general there is a trend toward wireless speakers and away from equipment racks.

However, architecturally, this seems backwards: Wireless speakers are not architecturally friendly. Racks are.

And, this study is from the AIA.

Do architects need better schooling, or am I missing something?

I think they are just throwing in something like a Sonos.

But I agree. What architect would spec a freaking ugly ass Sonos system?? None. They need better schooling on what they are talking about IMO

An architect designing a high end residential space, doesn't want the technology to encumber the architecture or vice versa. You don't slave over every detail of a Great Room and that then a Sonos Play5 on the media credenza.

For that matter, you may not even want a media credenza. In that case, where you are you going to put the video sources if not in a rack? (OK, maybe in a closet, but that's not the elegant solution.)

They may be feeling (not thinking but feeling) that some warm friendly wooden structure with comfortably rounded edges is much nicer than a flat-front shiny (even if black) rectangular metal structure, so racks are seen as a no-no.

A trend toward wireless speakers is, similarly, a trend toward the way things look instead of toward performance. I'm sure wireless speakers feel nicer, as well as being easier for the architect to allow, than speakers built into a space where the space gives in to the acoustic needs of the speaker, instead of the speaker's performance giving in to the appearance of the speaker.

Think about this one and how it might apply here:
Q: Why can't architects get into Heaven?
A: Because Jesus was a carpenter.

IME, any speaker that you can't see where the wire is attached when installed is a "wireless speaker" to the general consumer.

A friend from college used to say "AIA stands for 'Alcoholics In Architecture".

Draw your own conclusions.

Each Architect has their own "thing". For some it is rounded corners with wood, others want square corners with stark white and metal. Anyone with an opinion outside of their viewpoint just "doesn't get it". Beyond the obvious "no visible wires", the allure of wireless is that the architect can change their mind late in a project without the expensive bother of rerouting the wires. The driving force for some seems to be what the photos might look like when submitted for potential publication. In many respects I think that the arguments raised by the architect/designer/significant other are simply an attempt to exercise control. At some point in real life they felt powerless. We can raise a multitude of technical reasons why something should be done a certain way, but the designer must assert their ultimate control by forcing us to do something that we don't want to do.

I'd say nearly all the architects I work with want the speakers in-ceiling or in-wall. That's the least intrusive on their architectural vision.

I walked a job where the engineer homeowner had specced an entire 8,000 sqft house to have nothing but Play 1 and Play 3 speakers. Had spaces for them in the trayed ceilings and power pulled to them.

The rest of the walk was a giant word cloud of Monoprice, HDMI splitters, Logitech, Airport express, fixed bid, labor discounts, homeowner participation and a DIY HDMI distribution system.

Yeah, I ran......

Architects are also control freaks. I studied architecture, so it comes from anecdotal and personal experience.

The problem I have with designers is that they think the project should be a testimony to their prowess, rather than a place where people live.

I'm dealing with this crap now- I installed an AV system in a den a bit over ten years ago and last year, they decided to remodel some parts of the house. They added to the scope, as usual and this included the den. I removed the equipment so the walls could be stripped of wallpaper, repaired, floors refinished and trim painted. They're living in another part of the house, so it's not a matter of not seeing them and discussing things. Two weeks ago, we talked about how to mount the Dynaudio Audience 52 front speakers and it seemed that all was fine. Yesterday, when I told her that I was leaving so I could buy the materials for the small shelves we had discussed, she started talking about how she wanted the TV centered on that part of the wall, how she would like to paint the Cherry veneered speakers and how she thinks they're too big. It's almost as if she had forgotten how the speakers look. I mentioned using a sound bar and she got excited. She clearly doesn't give a rat's ass about the sound and I think this whole thing started because the designer stuck her effing nose in and started making noise about the AV equipment. The time to talk about this was last year, not after the paint & wallpaper are done. The doorway could have been moved, I cold have put the TV on the other wall,...

Getting tired of this crap- I have other work to do and if they continue to cram extra shit in, I'm thinking of stopping.

What I learned about architects from an old timer, many years ago -

"You can't shi* through a paper a**hole".

Whaa? You want to buy more speakers. OK GREAT! You want to move this and add that OK GREAT! That'll be a 10k, 20k, or 30k Change Order sign here and we can get started.

Bad architects (builders, interior designers etc) do not want to be bothered with other peoples stuff. If they had it their way they would require the client to carry water in from a well so they don't have to design around water pipes.

Good architects get that the home/business/whatever has a lot of pieces and their job is to make all those pieces fit properly. The "trend" towards wireless is much like the trend towards smoking. Stupid.

Embrace them and prosper or talk shit about them and suffer.

They want shit hidden...then expensively hide them....pretty simple really when you think about it

Not simple. They press on the homeowner, then the homeowner somehow thinks he can press on us to do it for less money than is possible.



They need to be told early on that changing speaker locations costs a lot of money, no matter what.