Does my stereo make me look fat?

[corndog71]

I was just having a conversation with a friend and the topic drifted to her audiophile husband.  She offhandedly mentioned how he has "The Chair"  where whenever he gets a new component, he has to have her sit down and listen.  She admitted that she never hears a difference and just agrees that it sounds better in order to get on with whatever she was doing. 

And then she elaborated: "It's like when a woman asks if her outfit makes her look fat."

 

[Paully]

That's wonderful.  There are secrets to a happy marriage.

My wife gives me her honest opinion but she knows that's what I am looking for.  Know your partner!

[adamct]

I know my partner. She is guaranteed to have the opposite opinion of whatever I think!

[Wanderer]

Back in days of yore (early 1980s)  when I was an audio salesman in a high-endish shop......

More than once it happened.  A male shopper would stop in with reluctant but tolerant female in tow. The pair had been cruising the mid-fi shops listening to the usual off shore "Pio-wood" and "Ken-oneer" receiver based sound systems. 

The man wants to show his paramour how clever he is by not being impressed by the "overpriced" gear we sold. He wants to hear something, so I cue up a Mo-Fi LP on a Linn or Denon table. I can see the tension build in female companion's hands as she clutches the arms of the listening chair.

......THEN......the music flows out of the shop's Magnepan or Daliquist speakers driven by Audio Research or McIntosh....or perhaps  a more modest system based on a Tandberg receiver.

Woman visably relaxes and comments along the lines of "Wow, that actually sounds GOOD!!!"   

 The question is, has your female  friend heard YOUR system corndog71? Does it sound the same to her as Hubby's set up?   Betcha she hears better than her "audiophile" mate.

[Mike B]

Yup, I always trust a womans opinion on audio eq.

They generally hate the stuff, takes up too much room, clutters up the house, do the speakers have to be THAT big?

They like Bose.

If a woman says something sounds good, it does.

[Mmaxed]

Years ago I had Maggies that did not fit well in the room.  Wife said let's go look for something smaller.  Went to the shop where I spent a lot of time and bought what I could afford.  We listened to several sets of floor standers and were about to buy the set we liked best.  Before he would write us up the store owner made us listen to the same music on a set of Maggies.  My wife just looked at me and said she was stuck with the Maggies.  I didn't have to say a word, and Gary had lost a sale, as he knew he would.   

[adamct]

Wow, good man!

[pvannest]

I have a CHAIR..   I make my wife sit in it.    She thinks it's too loud.   I think it's to soft....

Wait were we talking about a chair or music?

[johnsonad]

I too have a Chair and my wife will sit in it from time to time. She is blessed with perfect pitch or near to it and is a pianist as a hobby. When I get worked up over a new mod she helps to set me straight and has saved me a lot of money on gear which was all the rage but failed to sound good in our system.  She grew up with an audiophile dad so knows the ropes. Lucky me

[audiophileboss]

Ok ladies, let me tell you a REAL problem. My dad owns a construction supply company. I am his only son (1 sister younger) and lets say I have it made in the shade(understatement). I have a quite developed hifi system. You may remember i posted a thread on a $1500 cable, well I went out and bought one already. $1500 aint to much. So anyway, amazing expensive system, no one in my family telling me to stop this hobby, they dont give a care. But right now, my BEDROOM is the only place I have to house my hometheater and stereo. Think of it, 100s of 1000s in a room 20' wide by 40' deep. Small! That is a problem. Money, not my problem, spouse or something nagging me, not my problem. SPACE...DING DING DING. I dont even have enough room for a chiar. I just sit on my bed. So when my dad and i chill and watch a movie on my projector, we have to sit on my bed. So feel blessed you even have a chair to sit on.

[Mike B]

So your bedroom is 800 square feet and you have a couple hundred grand worth of audio video equipment in it and you are pissed that you don't have a chair to sit on?

Damn.

[audiophileboss]

You got that straight. The aggony! But come on 20' wide??? My projector is only 110" corner to corner. I would like at least 150". Oh yeah, and maybe a coach and for my bed not to be in the same room as my tube gear that heats like a furnace. Having said all that, i dont want to sound like a self centered bitch. I dont want to be. Most people who know me dont know me for my money.

[earwaxxer]

Both my wife and my 17yr old son do NOT hear the stuff that I do. I'm wired for it or something. I'm convinced its in the brain. Has nothing to do with 'hearing'.... anyway..

How I know that they are 'appreciating' the progress in my sound is how much 'tolerance' they have for said sound. I wouldn't go as far as say 'appreciation'. I think, subconsciously, there is an appreciation. Thats good enough. To me there have been HUGE leaps since, say, one year ago. Tolerance is good....

[4krow]

"Honey, does this body make me look fat?"

[earwaxxer]

Greg, I thought you were making some progress on the multiple personality thing?.... Have you been making your appointments?