All though I take a small audio allowance each month that is mine to spend as I see fit,I ALWAYS tell my wife when I am expecting a new piece of gear,and I also tell her how much I spent. She tells me that if I die tomorrow,she's not going to pay off my PayPal,and ruin my credit!
I lied to my wife about the price of Stax 009S headphone
My wife is the youngest of my mom in law who is 88 years old.
Recently my wife is staying with her mom to take care expecting her mom can live just one more year or so.
Thus I am having happy life playing music loud even during midnight.
My house is seated on 2 acre lot so that my neighbors does not get bothered unless windows open wide.
My wife dropped at home yesterday ( She drop once a week to clean the messy kitchen while she is away. She is an angel Ha ha).
She happened to see my new headphone of Stax 009S headphone and asked its price.
I could tell her the real value ( new price 4,500$ and I got 4 months used one for 3,200$).
I did not mean to deceive her but answered it costs me 1,500$ by chance.
Then she had listened to K-Pop using both Stax 009S headphone driven by Carbon amplifier and Massdrop Empire Zeus IEM( I told her the real value as 1,000$ No lie here Hehe).
The source was Cocktail Audio X30 music server feeding Chord Dave and Mscaler ( I did not tell her how much Chord Dave and Mscaler cost, if she find out, I may have to buy her diamond necklace)
On first few songs, she prefer Empire Zeus IEM to Stax 009S headphone on lively sound of the former.
But after listening few more songs, she expressed that Stax 009S headphone sounds more natural than Empire Zeus IEM .
Whew if I had told her that I had spent 3200$ on headphone, I may have to go out to buy her something like expensive bag or clothing.
Reality is I had also spent additional 3300$ on KGSSHV Carbon headphone amplifier.
How many of your audiophile had lied to your wife or girlfriend about the cost of audio components?
I guess 98% from my 41 years of audio history.
Recently my wife is staying with her mom to take care expecting her mom can live just one more year or so.
Thus I am having happy life playing music loud even during midnight.
My house is seated on 2 acre lot so that my neighbors does not get bothered unless windows open wide.
My wife dropped at home yesterday ( She drop once a week to clean the messy kitchen while she is away. She is an angel Ha ha).
She happened to see my new headphone of Stax 009S headphone and asked its price.
I could tell her the real value ( new price 4,500$ and I got 4 months used one for 3,200$).
I did not mean to deceive her but answered it costs me 1,500$ by chance.
Then she had listened to K-Pop using both Stax 009S headphone driven by Carbon amplifier and Massdrop Empire Zeus IEM( I told her the real value as 1,000$ No lie here Hehe).
The source was Cocktail Audio X30 music server feeding Chord Dave and Mscaler ( I did not tell her how much Chord Dave and Mscaler cost, if she find out, I may have to buy her diamond necklace)
On first few songs, she prefer Empire Zeus IEM to Stax 009S headphone on lively sound of the former.
But after listening few more songs, she expressed that Stax 009S headphone sounds more natural than Empire Zeus IEM .
Whew if I had told her that I had spent 3200$ on headphone, I may have to go out to buy her something like expensive bag or clothing.
Reality is I had also spent additional 3300$ on KGSSHV Carbon headphone amplifier.
How many of your audiophile had lied to your wife or girlfriend about the cost of audio components?
I guess 98% from my 41 years of audio history.
129 responses Add your response
It appears there's quite a variety of buying gear approaches adopted by the various dissolute members of the audiophile tribal communities. @jnovak , now there's an understanding woman with her priorities the right way round! My wife also wouldn't stop me buying more Hi-Fi but she will remind me to ask myself whether I really do need another pair of loudspeakers and where did I intend to place them? I'm not in a position to disagree with her reasoning. Not with a main system based around large Tannoy DCs and a sweet sounding micro/midi system in almost every room! In any case when buy stuff I start by saying "I saved £** and I can always sell it on without too much of a loss," thereby avoiding lying and hopefully sidestepping awkward questions centering around priorities and necessities.. |
I should ad that most if not all of my audio gear is and was always paid for by selling, bartering, trading, side money.... i never charged one item and never pulled money out of family savings to fund hobby. Now I'm single, but I still try to be diciplined and will only buy with cash, never credit. |
please keep your personal sexist comments to yourself @allhifi, you may have misread my comment. It was intended to be the diametric opposite of sexist. Reading my post as a whole, and taking into account the comments by others to whom I gave a +1 in that post, should have made that clear. Regards, -- Al |
Bragging about telling a lie or having that personality trait shows lack of character. Learning how to share your interests with your wife in a way that helps them see the import of your hobby is an ability that should be aspired to. I had to go through this very situation this past year and though she became more empathetic to my cause, it wasn't a 100% win for me. But it certainly was a win in that I never have to worry about whether I am caught in my lie. I sleep at night. And I really enjoy my new rig. For those of you just having fun with this thread, enjoy. |
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I never lie to her for the price because all my audio system is used, vintage, or low cost... (600 bucks for the dac+amp+speakers +2 headphones) I pay more for all the stones and crystals I used to clean my audio grid than for the audio system...All my other tweaks cost me peanuts... But I can tell you that my system sound is TOTL and I am very proud of that because I make it so myself...By the way she hates my multiple stones and minerals purchase (more than 1000 bucks paid) but when she listen to the sound of my tweaked system she is amazed and she dont listen music normally... |
Uhhh think this is all a little tongue in cheek of course but if what your lying about doesn’t wear lipstick than it really doesn’t matter much.What you might or kick around with your priest,rabbi or pals is if your really intend to buy $300K speakers.I know first world world problem on’s first world forum for a first world hobby and most of us aren’t St.Francis of Assisi,that but think you might get better bang for your buck spending oh100K on speakers endowing a music school on the continent of your choice.Who knows what it could produce?Just sayin’ Cheers in any case Chazz |
+1 Wolf_Garcia, Lalitk, Axeis1, and others who have expressed similar sentiments. Although IMO many of the comments in this thread border on a fine line separating what I would consider to be acceptable light-hearted banter from crassness and being unacceptably sexist. And IMO, FWIW, the OP's posts in particular do not step over that line, while some others certainly do. Also, I would speculate that there is a high degree of correlation between having respectful and empathetic attitudes toward women, and being in a marriage that does not result in one feeling a need to lie. Regards, -- Al |
lalitk: Loosen up. It's clear the poster and wife are not struggling folk. In fact it appears their quite well-to-do. Don't disparage OP for sharing what thousands of audiophile (must? -lol) regularly share/discuss with spouse concerning luxury expenditures. And, I'll go on to say that the 'wife' not only knows exactly the price (of his hi-fi toy's) but is also harboring her own lavish expenditures; that's the really funny part ! pj |
jeffkait: You reply got me laughing -and quickly. Thank you ! I needed that. RE: geoffkait16,333 posts07-15-2019 9:33am" ..It depends on the situation. Usually it’s best to knock off at least one zero. Your results may vary." Too funny ... pj |
I have been lucky as I met my wife racing cars, we were both competitors in SCCA Solo II both here and in the USA. Had a nice stereo set up then Acoustat, PS Audio pre and amps, Oracle with Srynx and Koetsu, and still have music in my life now.When I was looking to buy JBL Hartsfields at an estate sale I was humming and hawing when she said " If you don't buy them I will ".Have never had to worry about sharing the cost of gear with her, if I can afford it then why not. I would never remember a lie that I told a year ago vs the truth. |
The old adage: "Lead a disciplined life. Why? Because in the end, discipline weighs ounces and regret weighs tons." Kudos to you, uberwaltz. Frank |
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What a pile of sexist nonsense from a bunch of clearly insecure pseudo macho creeps who hopefully will never come anywhere near my brilliant and beautiful wife or daughter, but if one does I can guaranty they’d get their collectively ignorant hats handed to them to possibly help cover their obvious shortcomings as men. A creep who can't drive who brags about his Porsche and a handgun should seek some therapy before making public their issues, or stick to snapping towels at the guys in the locker room....there's yer forum! |
Kong, Thanks for providing one of the most interesting reads on this site. There are a lot of weak sisters in the 80+ responses who as you say are best ignored. I do not lie but I am deceitful at times. Is that any better? No. As any attorney will tell you, a response to any question you do not want to answer can be phrased a number of ways with a "truthful" answer that avoids the real truth. I have owned 4 Porsches the first of which was rolled a couple days after its purchase but before my insurance was in place. As I crawled out the rear window and saw my 38 revolver lying on the road I realized my guardian angel was again working overtime. Cars, audio, guns & women fascinate most men I know. There is really not much else required to satisfy the hedonistic virtues of man. If that's too crude for anyone, stop reading now. Sinatra's song- "I took the blows and did it my way"will be my epitaph. When I see your icon photo of the lovely, open and airy home you own with all the windows, my 1st question is: "Why don't you build a music room to appreciate the gear you own"? As you are an intelligent man I am sure reasons exist. One guy raises the most provocative question: "When did music become such a self-prescribed solitary experience? I'm really curious to pinpoint that moment in our culture. Anyone" ? Nobody took a shot at replying so I will. "When a man finds something that suspends the madness circulating in his mind, he naturally gravitates toward it." No wife required for the audio activity. Women evolved by developing social skills which can not be successfully employed when music is being listened to. Not much different than duct taping their mouth's shut. As you would feel if you were handcuffed. They also see musical gear as giving you more pleasure and garnering more of your attention than they feel they can offer or feel they are receiving. A threat is always feared. I have some other darker and more negative reasons but will not go there on this forum. |
@ teo_audio I am using your nice interconnect as one component of triple combination (not just double like Doug Schroeder). On 2005, I could reach the speed of 135mile(220km/hr) at Autobahn near Frankfurt, Germany. Unless they raise the speed limit to 100 mile/h in US, I do not have any intention to buy any sports car here. I do not want to play top audio system under 80db all the time. It is same as nice sports car to drive under 75 mile/h. |
@ davidgwillett It is better to keep the price of audio gear from your wife rather than lying. My wife does not ask the price of gear often. But this time she was curious about the price of headphone after she got surprised at my purchase of 1k$ earphone. I reduced the price of headphone afraid that she may get heart attack upon hearing the real price of it. She has prejudice that any headphone or earphone over 500$ is a rip off. |
I think OP is looking for justification to lie to his wife and take advantage of her cleaning the kitchen. Sorry, but I think you can do better. Clean up after yourself, and tell your wife the truth. Exaggerate with your buddies if you feel you must, but your spouse should be inside the "cone of truthfulness". I speak from experience. My wife lied to me often, usually about trivial things, but a few times over truly important life issues. Funny thing about it (if you can say funny) is that she thought I didn't know. I'm not stupid. I did know, almost always. And when I told her I knew, instead of admitting it, she raised the bar. The more serious the lies became, the bigger the wall grew between us. We are divorced now, and our son suffers the consequences. Don't even start down this path. It wasn't worth it for any of us, and it won't be worth it for you. Obviously you are in here asking because you know it's wrong. There is only one thing in life that we truly own. Money, cars, home, job, and everything else can be taken from us. But, our integrity is one thing we can choose to either keep or toss away. Don't sacrifice your integrity with the person who's closest to you. |
jacksky, I always wanted to own a Harley but my wife wouldn’t allow for obvious safety reasons. So i end up getting the fastest BMW made back in 2007. Five years later I returned the favor by buying her the brand new M3. I am lucky that I don’t have to lie to my wife about any large or small purchases. |
One more thing regarding toys we just after..... A couple of years ago I had my head set on getting a motorcycle. My wife was dead set against it. She finally caved in and said I could get one under 2 conditions: I would have to get the fastest production model and.... I would have to ride WITHOUT a helmet. |
