Am I the only one who sees what is going on here? This was a deliberate, (potentially) evil, pre-emptive move by the wife to keep the husband from spending much money on the sound system. She went to her family with "You have to help me keep my husband from spending $____ on a bunch of speakers that are too big and ugly and will ruin the look of our room. Go out and get a really cheap - but most importantly really small - system and give it to him as a gift to get him over this home theater phase he is going through so I can spend that money on something else."
Depending on the family's financial situation it may be the right fiscal answer, but it is something the two of them should come to together. Because of this, I am willing to bet that it is so not about the sound that no amount of convincing with comparisons to good speakers will change her mind...
