I put this in the loudspeaker forum as there seems to be the most problems with the "one that must be obeyed" with loudspeakers.
I've heard some stories about designs having to be scrapped and changed, people tip toeing into the house with a new amp hidden behind their back, domestic bliss being turned into turmoil.
How real is this? Should a spouse get involved with men's (or women's) secret business?
BTW, I haven't had a problem with this even after 30+ years, I do get the occasional "Well, that's nice dear"..... just to be polite and pretend she's showing some interest.
I've heard some stories about designs having to be scrapped and changed, people tip toeing into the house with a new amp hidden behind their back, domestic bliss being turned into turmoil.
How real is this? Should a spouse get involved with men's (or women's) secret business?
BTW, I haven't had a problem with this even after 30+ years, I do get the occasional "Well, that's nice dear"..... just to be polite and pretend she's showing some interest.
I consider myself extremely fortunate that I found a woman with a interest in science and technology. At first I got the "that's nice dear" type of response but after producing some builds and sharing what I was doing she became interested in the science behind it. I think the trip to Las Vegas for CES and T.H.E. Show really clinched it because she was exposed to some of the best the industry has to offer. She has a much more critical ear now which helps a great deal. I'm still not allowed to build ugly stuff but I'd rather not anyway. She's also been involved in the prep for our meet this week. I think both partners should be involved and supportive of each others hobbies. She has developed an interest in plants and has been doing considerable research. She's killed a few and chose the wrong plant for a purpose in the same way I've come up with some bad speaker designs and burned up amp chips but I support her as best I can.
I'm fortunate in that my girlfriend enjoys our trips to various stereo stores whenever we travel somewhere. She listens to speakers with me and provides very valuable input. She doesn't know the terminology assocated with what she hears, but she can easily hear the difference between very good speakers, and hears these differences the same way I do. We enjoy doing it together, and I find her input very useful.
I´m very happily maried since 20 years with a woman who accepted 2 small houses (Schmacks horns) in the living room for several Years. Our son and his friends also liked them when playing hide and seek, the cat thou, liked them but hid all kinds of strange stuff in them ( used socks and such).
A few Years ago my Wife started linedancing which has made her much more discerning and aware of sound. Listening to music intensely to follow a beat and and advanced dance schematic she realized it sounded a lot better rehearsing at home and easier to follow so Her audio interest has grown a lot. No i dont linedance, i´m the graybearded bloke in the bar.
Also bringing ordinary flowers a coupple of times a week is nourishment for the relationship.
A few Years ago my Wife started linedancing which has made her much more discerning and aware of sound. Listening to music intensely to follow a beat and and advanced dance schematic she realized it sounded a lot better rehearsing at home and easier to follow so Her audio interest has grown a lot. No i dont linedance, i´m the graybearded bloke in the bar.
Disabled Account
Joined 2003
I think if you have a partner who has an appreciation of music he/she will understand the hifi and diy fanaticism.
i have male friends who shrug "yeah that's good" when they hear my gear or me yapping about it.
but my partner wants me to build her some speakers, she even told her sister about them, now SHE wants a pair too. they're both classical pianists and love going to live music events, whether it be concerts, live jazz down at the local cafe or buskers on the street.
one day whilst i was driving she said "when we get married i'll have really good music system!"
that really burst my bubble- i thought i was just "toy boy"
LOL.
i have male friends who shrug "yeah that's good" when they hear my gear or me yapping about it.
but my partner wants me to build her some speakers, she even told her sister about them, now SHE wants a pair too. they're both classical pianists and love going to live music events, whether it be concerts, live jazz down at the local cafe or buskers on the street.
one day whilst i was driving she said "when we get married i'll have really good music system!"
that really burst my bubble- i thought i was just "toy boy"
LOL.
I, for one, am not allowed to bring home (or build) a speaker that is disporportionately large (compared to the size of the living room).
And I need to keep the foam on when I'm not actively listening, since the cat occasionally gets it into its head to try to climb up the front of the speaker.
And I need to keep the foam on when I'm not actively listening, since the cat occasionally gets it into its head to try to climb up the front of the speaker.
I have committed one of the biggest no-nos a husband can do to his wife by occupying one spot of her territories - the kitchen table and it's surroundings. The only complaints I have heard from her so far are in the cases, if she happened to stumble onto a big heatsinks in the middle of the kitchen floor, got wrapped by her legs on the wires or discovered a soldering iron in the toaster in the morning.
She is afraid to touch any electronics or single parts, even if they are obviously detectable as unplugged from the mains. On the other hand she likes my amps without cases and big speakers unpainted and not grilled in the living room.
Last year she got school assignment to design and build a design object of any kind at The University of Arts. Guess what - she decided to design a loudspeakers as a design object instead of lamps vases platters etc. I purposely didn’t give her any advise or hints concerning box design and shape in order to find out what kind of loudspeaker enclosure a woman would like to have. I only suggested to use a full-range driver to make things easier for first project of her. All the woodwork was made by herself with very little assistant from her woodwork teacher or me. The speakers came up very interesting and cute indeed and the comments from her schoolmates (mostly girls) were surprisingly positive. Many of them wanted to have a copy of the speakers, if they could find a time to build them and afford the relatively high price for drivers used. The reaction of males then? One of my friends found these speakers so attractive that he proposed to finance a production of small patch of these speakers.
I'll put up some photos soon if anybody is interested.
She is afraid to touch any electronics or single parts, even if they are obviously detectable as unplugged from the mains. On the other hand she likes my amps without cases and big speakers unpainted and not grilled in the living room.
Last year she got school assignment to design and build a design object of any kind at The University of Arts. Guess what - she decided to design a loudspeakers as a design object instead of lamps vases platters etc. I purposely didn’t give her any advise or hints concerning box design and shape in order to find out what kind of loudspeaker enclosure a woman would like to have. I only suggested to use a full-range driver to make things easier for first project of her. All the woodwork was made by herself with very little assistant from her woodwork teacher or me. The speakers came up very interesting and cute indeed and the comments from her schoolmates (mostly girls) were surprisingly positive. Many of them wanted to have a copy of the speakers, if they could find a time to build them and afford the relatively high price for drivers used. The reaction of males then? One of my friends found these speakers so attractive that he proposed to finance a production of small patch of these speakers.
I'll put up some photos soon if anybody is interested.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Rabbitz,
Nice new topic.
Yes the SAF is definitely real.
When I decided to replace the Bose AM5 system (which was discrete), without asking her.....
And replaced it with 2 floorstanders, 2 bookshelves, a centre, a sub, amp, CD and Equaliser. Well lets just say she was surprised.
And now I am building a sub but I cannot build it bigger than 60 litres because that is the size I can fit into the existing cabinet.
I suggested converting the entire IKEA cabinet into a sub (about 160 litres), instead of building one to fit in the lower half, but so far I have been unsuccessful.
Howard
Nice new topic.
Yes the SAF is definitely real.
When I decided to replace the Bose AM5 system (which was discrete), without asking her.....
And replaced it with 2 floorstanders, 2 bookshelves, a centre, a sub, amp, CD and Equaliser. Well lets just say she was surprised.
And now I am building a sub but I cannot build it bigger than 60 litres because that is the size I can fit into the existing cabinet.
I suggested converting the entire IKEA cabinet into a sub (about 160 litres), instead of building one to fit in the lower half, but so far I have been unsuccessful.
Howard
Ohh, I gotta be the lucky one then. My wife and I am building amps and speakers together.
Flowers occasionally dosnt harm though
Magura
Edit:
The SAF is very real though, Ive seen a few examples of that at other peoples houses....stories about projects never getting into the livingroom and the like.
Flowers occasionally dosnt harm though
Magura
Edit:
The SAF is very real though, Ive seen a few examples of that at other peoples houses....stories about projects never getting into the livingroom and the like.
My wife is brilliant when it comes to testing.... hears things that I don't notice and I don't buy any Hi Fi gear without taking her ears along.
I think there is a benefit of using someone who knows what music should sound like and has no technical knowledge of the subject so they are not biased, just honest opinions.
Do women have better hearing than men? Most of the ones I know do.
I think there is a benefit of using someone who knows what music should sound like and has no technical knowledge of the subject so they are not biased, just honest opinions.
Do women have better hearing than men? Most of the ones I know do.
rabbitz said:
That depends on how old they are. I read somewhere, years ago, (original Audio Cyclopedia maybe) where they had a graph of hearing loss vs age for men & women. Turns out men lose their hearing fairly linearly with age, women seem to have farily little hearing loss until they reach menopause, and then rapidly catch up with the men...
Peace
I've found that loudspeaker size is not an SAF issue, just whether or not it fits with the decor.
My wife and I live in a 95-year-old chalet with original oak paneling and fancy trim. Her favorite speaker so far was a mahogany EV Patrician IV (roughly the size of a full-size side-by-side fridge/freezer). When I sold it, she was sadder to see it go than I was! True story!
Bill
My wife and I live in a 95-year-old chalet with original oak paneling and fancy trim. Her favorite speaker so far was a mahogany EV Patrician IV (roughly the size of a full-size side-by-side fridge/freezer). When I sold it, she was sadder to see it go than I was! True story!
Bill
That´s the cats job, build horns and she´ll play around inside instead and You will know where all missing socks are.- so to what realy was on my mind, i thougt that the obvius place to go of topic would be in an of topic thread but then again i think this has bearing on this subject. What this boils down to is subjectivity, all the different way we percieve our impressions, (and i don´t think a good relaitonship crumbles around a pair of Tannoy Westminsters), the very reason we´re here in diy world in the first place.
There is an impressive amount of teoretical knowledge present here, which is good and tips, advice and guidance are freely given but in many posts there is some of that certainity of "this is the right way" that i´ve seen all the time during my more than 30 Years in the audio world. This is a very male or dominating attitude which seldom has any longevity. Of all the revolutionary principles, zero distortion wonders or magical conematerials of the 80´s are remembered today? This is a pitty , as what was regarded as "the best" amp or cartridge or whatever 1986 ofcourse still is good, this may be because we men tend to be too categorial, this is good this is bad, sort of while women are clearly able to have several views at the same time ( no i´m not pretending to understand them, i only love them ). Bottom end: more subjective views (and flowers) You´ll agree on those horns.
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