"Looking at the room makes me feel uncomfortable"
"I find the speakers attractive / unattractive"
Oddball stuff to me. The last thing I feel is attraction for speakers. They are a hobby and it ends there.
If someone comes to my house and tells me how comforable my room makes him and how attractive my things are, that guy ain't coming over again.
I guess that makes me obtuse.....
My goodness. This is the last reaction I expected my post to elicit.
z-adamson, here's the picture in question:
https://vgy.me/9wJlm4.jpg
I could be off, but I'm pretty sure that's a 5x7 rug there, which means that the area is relatively small. On the one side you have 4 large blocks -- two speakers, the AV stand, and the television. There is no space between any of those objects, so visually they blend together and become one large block. So you sit down on the couch, you are staring at a large, mostly dark-colored block. And it's about 6-7' away from your face. On top of this, there doesn't appear to be any negative space in the room. There's a coffee table in the middle of the room, a plant in the corner... overall the space is visually cluttered.
I prefer to be in spaces that aren't visually cluttered. It's not that I couldn't come visit, sit, and listen, but given the choice between that space and one that feels more open, I will gravitate to the one that is more open.
I will also add that I am 6'5" tall and weigh just over 280 lbs. I myself am a large mass, and therefore tend to avoid spaces that feel small. That picture makes that space feel small. Put me on that couch in that space with two other people, and I would begin to feel very claustrophobic very quickly. Chances are I would try to find a chair where I could sit off to the side and feel more comfortable.
Now, as for the issue of being "attracted" to stereo equipment... yes, you're being deliberately obtuse. If I find a speaker to be "attractive," it means that I find it's shape and/or styling to be visually pleasing. There is nothing "arousing" about it. It's no different than saying "Wow, that's a good looking car" or "Wow, that building's architecture is really cool." To some people, the car you think is good looking is just seen as a means of transportation. Who cares what it looks like? And to others, the building is just functional; the visual appeal doesn't matter. But some of us care about aesthetics and design. We discuss and critique it, and while my critiques in particular might be amateur compared to trained designers, I still love the resulting discussion.
Back to audio. I tend to like speakers that have a wood veneer, as opposed to a high-gloss black finish. I like things that feel "organic," as opposed to mechanical. And, as hjames noted above, the look of the speaker is a machine-lover's dream. There's nothing wrong with liking, or even preferring, that look. But it's not for me.
Now, of course, I didn't say this to attack the OP. I said it to agree with another poster -- not all of us found the speakers to be attractive. I especially don't care for them in the limited space allowed for the listening area. A pair of small bookshelf speakers would be much less visually imposing. Even more so if they were white.
Maybe the style fits his and his wife's aesthetic. That's not my place to judge. But yes, if I were invited over to somebody's house and asked for my honest opinion about their speakers/system/room, I would give it. Tactfully, and with respect, but I would give it. And I would be invited over again, because I'm friends with the kind of people that can handle a differing opinion without it bruising their ego.
And lastly, the OP did indicate that the living arrangements are temporary. People tend to be more tolerant of crowded spaces when they're temporary, so maybe the whole thing is just fine. But I do understand why the wife didn't initially like the speakers.
