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Post by geeqner on Jan 30, 2019 9:53:25 GMT -5
One thing that has struck me over the years in my search for "Audio Nerdvana":
Why is it that it seems that (nearly) only Men get-into spending ludicrous amounts of money on their sound systems?
I know that LOTS of women have extensive music collections and/or are "into" MUSIC (listening / musicians / singers).
However, but it seems that they typically do not expend anywhere near the effort on the system on which to play said music collection that men often do.
More often than not - they seem to fall into the "it's good ENOUGH for me" camp with Consumer-Grade equipment or hand-me-downs from Dads / Uncles / Exes...
(I'll bet that more than a few have inherited some seriously "choice" pieces of Audio kit and have NO IDEA of what they have.)
One of my wife's friends / co-workers surprised me the other day - we were discussing some musical reminiscences, and she revealed that when she did her residency in Alaska, she actually owned a pair of Klipshhorns "back in the day" (and regrets not keeping them). I said that I thought it was "cool / rare" for a woman to even know what those ARE, let alone having formerly OWNED a pair of those beauties...
Please note that this observation IS NOT intended to belittle women in any way or diminish any related accomplishments - the intent here is to spark some meaningful conversation about a fairly casual (but I believe, LARGELY factual) observation. I am a great admirer of women in general and married to one who certainly makes me greater than I would be on my own. She seems to find the lengths to which I will go in search of better sound to be mostly funny / amusing, but harmless as long as I keep the spending reasonably in-check (but I also think that she "secretly" enjoys having a good Sound System in the house quite a bit - but she will NEVER "admit" it...)
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DYohn
Emo VIPs 
Posts: 18,340
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Post by DYohn on Jan 30, 2019 9:56:51 GMT -5
Men tend toward gadget-loving much more than women do. Women tend more toward being music-lovers. The Audiophile world is full of gadget-lovers.
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Post by mgbpuff on Jan 30, 2019 10:03:47 GMT -5
Who knows? But vive la difference!
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Post by cwmcobra on Jan 30, 2019 10:22:55 GMT -5
Who knows? But vive la difference! Amen!! |
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Post by 405x5 on Jan 30, 2019 10:24:14 GMT -5
Men tend toward gadget-loving much more than women do. Women tend more toward being music-lovers. The Audiophile world is full of gadget-lovers. I think 🤔 this IS the answer. One of my lady friends was a DJ for a College station in NY. I’m always surprised when we go to her house, her passion for great music is over the top, but there is nothing in the way of even half serious listening gear. A timid boom box supplies audio for the outdoor patio. Bill |
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Post by Bonzo on Jan 30, 2019 10:50:39 GMT -5
Men tend toward gadget-loving much more than women do. Women tend more toward being music-lovers. The Audiophile world is full of gadget-lovers. Similar to cars. There are women who love cars, but the number of them is FAR smaller than men. When I say cars, I don't mean in general. I mean the meat and potatoes part of cars. Working on them, fixing them, modifying them, painting them etc. Grease monkey mechanic sort of stuff. Except for the LOVELY Miss Vito of course!  |
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Post by wilburthegoose on Jan 30, 2019 11:01:19 GMT -5
Women are smarter than us  |
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Post by Bonzo on Jan 30, 2019 11:08:46 GMT -5
Women are smarter than us |
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Post by gus4emo on Jan 30, 2019 11:25:10 GMT -5
Or videophiles?
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Post by graphic on Jan 30, 2019 12:00:09 GMT -5
Men tend toward gadget-loving much more than women do. Women tend more toward being music-lovers. The Audiophile world is full of gadget-lovers. I think 🤔 this IS the answer. One of my lady friends was a DJ for a College station in NY. I’m always surprised when we go to her house, her passion for great music is over the top, but there is nothing in the way of even half serious listening gear. A timid boom box supplies audio for the outdoor patio. Bill Including women in a broader group, most ‘performers’ of either sex have little value for audio video equipment or “recorded” music. I know several folks in big city opera companies, orchestras and chamber groups. I’m aquatinted with several ‘hard core’ vocalists doing everything from Bach and earlier to vocal jazz. As you note, Bill, the highest performance hardware among them may be a Bose radio. My impression is they can DO, and have no need, or place any stock in ‘devices’. Our church organist, who has TWO PhD’s in music, told me the other day he uses U-tube on his laptop to find alternative performances of some of the old standard hymns. Hi-fi, huh? |
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Post by Casey Leedom on Jan 30, 2019 12:01:02 GMT -5
Or, look up Enid Lumley. Enid was certainly in the subjectivist's camp. She once claimed that she could hear the difference when a flashlight was shown on a speaker cone in a darkened room ("they sounded brighter"). She used to have a regular column in The Absolute Sound but apparently none of those are available on line. However, just google her name and you'll be led down a series of interesting byways.
Casey
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Post by 405x5 on Jan 30, 2019 12:19:49 GMT -5
I think 🤔 this IS the answer. One of my lady friends was a DJ for a College station in NY. I’m always surprised when we go to her house, her passion for great music is over the top, but there is nothing in the way of even half serious listening gear. A timid boom box supplies audio for the outdoor patio. Bill Including women in a broader group, most ‘performers’ of either sex have little value for audio video equipment or “recorded” music. I know several folks in big city opera companies, orchestras and chamber groups. I’m aquatinted with several ‘hard core’ vocalists doing everything from Bach and earlier to vocal jazz. As you note, Bill, the highest performance hardware among them may be a Bose radio. My impression is they can DO, and have no need, or place any stock in ‘devices’. Our church organist, who has TWO PhD’s in music, told me the other day he uses U-tube on his laptop to find alternative performances of some of the old standard hymns. Hi-fi, huh? Who knows...…..I spent most of my life with and around musicians, being a serious drummer for years. A few had some serious gear, but for most, the bucks went into the insturments, some of which cost as much or more as any serious playback equipment. Recording equipment and studio time weighed in also. Bill |
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Post by tchaik on Jan 30, 2019 12:28:14 GMT -5
I think 🤔 this IS the answer. One of my lady friends was a DJ for a College station in NY. I’m always surprised when we go to her house, her passion for great music is over the top, but there is nothing in the way of even half serious listening gear. A timid boom box supplies audio for the outdoor patio. Bill Including women in a broader group, most ‘performers’ of either sex have little value for audio video equipment or “recorded” music. I know several folks in big city opera companies, orchestras and chamber groups. I’m aquatinted with several ‘hard core’ vocalists doing everything from Bach and earlier to vocal jazz. As you note, Bill, the highest performance hardware among them may be a Bose radio. My impression is they can DO, and have no need, or place any stock in ‘devices’. Our church organist, who has TWO PhD’s in music, told me the other day he uses U-tube on his laptop to find alternative performances of some of the old standard hymns. Hi-fi, huh? As a professional musician and audiophile I can attest to what was said. (I have my Phd in music also). most musicians listen past the sound of an audio system directly to the performance and interpretation, although they usually are quite impressed when they hear a well set-up high end system with some excellent recording and performance. Still, if the performance is not first rate, that is what they will notice long before they consider the sound quality. as for me, my quest for the best sound began at a young age (14) as I was also preparing to be musician. (my earliest audiophile system was an AR turntable, Dynaco ST-70 Tube integrated amp and a pair of Dynaco A25 speakers, the quintessential system for the poor man audiophile.). As for women audiophiles, my wife (who is also a musician) has been around my audio hobby since 1977. she can no longer tolerate poor sound quality anywhere even with the best performances. tchaik............. |
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Post by Bonzo on Jan 30, 2019 12:36:11 GMT -5
Why don't men make quilts? Take one trip to JoAnne Fabrics and see how many men you find in that place. Its like the hifi store for women.
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Post by drtrey3 on Jan 30, 2019 12:42:04 GMT -5
In general, women are more relational than men, and our passion is not really a relational event. Even if we listen together, we listen in silence.
Trey
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Post by garbulky on Jan 30, 2019 12:46:51 GMT -5
This has been something I wondered too. I would think this and to a lesser extent HT would be an ideal thing to catch women's interest. I think the problem is that when people think of audio or good sound they think of it as being very technical, gadget oriented - which it is. But I see the reproduction of music and video as being more artistic. Re-creating the records of the past as accurately as can be to experience them - to one's taste - is just as much a participatory experience as it is gadget oriented. But I don't think many people see it that way. But it's a reflection of the individual's likes when you hear a good setup that somebody puts together.
But as a musician - albeit non professional, I see audio and to a slightly lesser extent video as being incredibly important. Better audio and video has improved my abilities as a musician. It has been able to preserve important music performances. It has enabled me to appreciate way better the intentions and performances of an artist.
Having said that - my wife DOES have some appreciation of good audio. I recall every once in a while how she would mention to people about class A and monoblocks. She definitely enjoyed tube sound and she really liked the experience of surround sound. But if we didn't have any of that, I don't think she'd be too upset.
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Post by annjones13 on Jan 30, 2019 12:49:02 GMT -5
Maybe its genetic... All m life I have loved and needed music. Since I have no musical talent, audiophile systems are my alternative.
Since I'm losing my hearing music keeps me connected to life. Total silence would be my worst nightmare
Just build more speakers Ann!
Ann
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Post by pedrocols on Jan 30, 2019 12:51:11 GMT -5
Kind of cool a whole bunch of dudes discussing a women issue😂🤔
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,223 
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Post by novisnick on Jan 30, 2019 13:10:15 GMT -5
I married a Unicorn! Mrs wanted the Rega RP 6 TT and she straight out told me that a loaner McIntosh C220 preamp wasn’t leaving the house. We listen to music together and HT, she wanted more powerful subs because two 15” drivers just wasn’t enough! LOL
We also wrote a review on the performance of the Sennheiser HD 800 headphones, published on Head-Fi.
Yep, one in a million, surly I’m blessed!
She has her own Emotiva 7.2 HT system and knows how to operate most of the settings.
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Post by geeqner on Jan 30, 2019 13:23:29 GMT -5
I married a Unicorn! Mrs wanted the Rega RP 6 TT and she straight out told me that a loaner McIntosh C220 preamp wasn’t leaving the house. We listen to music together and HT, she wanted more powerful subs because two 15” drivers just wasn’t enough! LOL We also wrote a review on the performance of the Sennheiser HD 800 headphones, published on Head-Fi. Yep, one in a million, surly I’m blessed! She has her own Emotiva 7.2 HT system and knows how to operate most of the settings. Stuff like THAT is what makes us really appreciate the ones who "break the mold"... (One word = KEEPER!) Maybe a lot of it has to do with that: - WOMEN seem to (generally) be more comfortable with Sensing / Social things that are "less linear" (stuff that doesn't follow set rules) like social interaction / non-verbal communication / fashion / art stuff where there are no rules or the rules are more fluid / things that can be appreciated but not "fixed" (the sort of things that usually frustrate the heck out of most guys...)
- MEN seem to (generally) be more comfortable dealing with THINGS that have "linear" response - Things generally "follow the rules" and if you know the rules, you can "fix" them
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