Like everything else, she back tracked. Now we need to build a deck first. Yeah, that makes sense. The deck will cost $6000 +. Yeah ok...save up another $6000 and then we can get the M80s (after first saving up ANOTHER $1300). I wanted to ring her neck when she pulled that crap on me. Of course i'm sure there'll be something else we'll need to get first.
It's always been the same way at my house too. Since I did most of the work on our basement finish project, it was one of the rare occassions where I had complete control over the finances (usually the other way around in my household). Anyway, I never discussed the cost of any of the equipment until after I purchased it all. As I mentioned at the top, my wife nearly went into shock.
I originally ordered two subs and a 1080 projector. After the equipment started arriving, I really thought my wife was going to lose it. I knew I had to find somewhere to make a compromise because the living room couch was starting to get uncomfortable, if you know what I mean. At the same time, I did not want to compromise the sound. So, after the subs arrived and I saw how big they were, I realized my eyes were bigger than my ears, so I made the painful decision to send one back. After many "lively" conversations, I also decided to compromise on the projector and sent the 1080 back, opting to go with the cheaper 720. Oh, and I also sent back a Velodyne SMS-1 (sub equalizer) since it was no longer necessary with only one sub. Anyway, I ended up dropping nearly 3k off the initial set up cost. The wife was happier, but most important to me, I got to keep (the most important parts of) the audio components.
Any regrets? yes and no. As for the 720 vs. 1080, most of the HD broadcasts we recieve via satellite are 720 anyway so I'm not missing a whole lot. Blu Ray is only in 720, but it still looks amazing. So, I think that was a great compromise. The only thing I regret is sending that second sub back. Do I need it? No. Would it be awesome? Yes, yes, yes.
As stated above, though, my wife seems to really be on board now and absolutely loves the sound and vision. She even made a comment the other night that blew me away. She said, "when (not if) we upgrade the projector, maybe there will be something even better than 1080." That's my girl!
