Audio, just for men ???

[schaefer11]

My wife loves music. Cares very little about "sound". As long as it's not too loud or distorted, she's happy. She mostly listens with music as a background to other activities.

[tdelahanty]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Donna does enjoy movies as much as me in the Theater; just not as loud.

2-Channel she leaves to me alone...

When my wife comes upstairs the first thing she says is turn it down. Conversely most of my friends say turn it up. We never listen "seriously" together.

[tdelahanty]

Originally Posted by 80B

Boss-girl got bitten by the bug when I started looking in earnest for a high-end system just over 2 years ago. She's more concerned with acoustics than aesthetics, so I think I'll keep her.

One Christmas I suggested we put a Lionel train under the tree. That was all it took, she was bitten by the bug and together we built a layout. We had a lot of fun doing something together. Colleen refers to herself as the town planner and to me as the engineer ! So far she hasn't caught the audio bug.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by tdelahanty

When my wife comes upstairs the first thing she says is turn it down. Conversely most of my friends say turn it up. We never listen "seriously" together.

My wife says it makes her heart beat fast.

[Mighty Favog]

Around my house??

[80B]

Originally Posted by tdelahanty

One Christmas I suggested we put a Lionel train under the tree. That was all it took, she was bitten by the bug and together we built a layout. We had a lot of fun doing something together. Colleen refers to herself as the town planner and to me as the engineer ! So far she hasn't caught the audio bug.

Trains are cool. My dad's got a bigass HO setup which we enjoyed as kids, and my son does to when we're up to visit. My Mom stays out of the basement except to bring stuff up from the freezer.

As far as the audio room goes, we have two recliners next to each other. I'd have gotten a small sofa but am getting older and forget why I'd do that.

[tdelahanty]

Originally Posted by jdandy

tdelahanty.......High-end audio is not exclusive to men by any stretch, although I think the hobby is weighted heavily on the male side. I have known several women who had very nice two channel audio systems, one having a McIntosh system that sounded excellent.

Generally speaking, the audio industry directs it's energy towards men in the same way the fashion, jewelry, and cosmetics industries target women. Male hifi buffs spend a fair amount of discretionary income on audio gear. Females, continuously pressured to look good, will often spend a large part of their discretionary income to that end. Of course, high-end audio is an expensive hobby, so unless a woman has made the commitment to dedicate dollars to the hobby, their priorities divert the income necessary for audio into other areas.

I also believe there are many women who enjoy the sound of high-end audio systems by association. Men spend the dollars, and set up the systems. Their wives or girlfriends come to appreciate the quality of what they are hearing from contact. I know Marlene appreciates good quality sound, although we don't sit and talk hifi gear, or discuss the finer points of interconnect cables or phono cartridges. She often tells me she loves hearing music in the house. When we visit friends, sometimes after we leave she will comment that their music system wasn't very good. This tells me she can hear the difference, and enjoys the better quality sound that comes from a high-end sound system. Even though all the equipment associated with my various systems and home theater is strictly my domain, I would have to say that Marlene has become an audiophile. I just don't think she actually realizes it, or is concerned about what is necessary to make great audio happen, but she can hear the difference.

That was the long way around to answer the priginal question. My answer is no. Audio is not just for men.

One of my long time audio buddies is Sally, she can talk the talk with the best of them ! We met, of all places, a stereo store. When we got to know each other we discovered we had similar tastes in music and equipment. I bet she has had more gear than I have. To this day we're still friends and get together for lunch and serious audio shopping. Sally is the only female audiophile I've known.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by Mighty Favog

Around my house??

Very nice.

[jdandy]

So true.

[Pyro]

Originally Posted by Mighty Favog

Around my house??

This is an old engineer joke. Still true these days.

My GF and I enjoy listening to music together. When I come home occasionally I catch her jamming. Only think to do is join.