Is Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) sexist?


Believe our addictive hobby is primarily male dominated. The technical aspects seem to appeal more to men. Or is that in and of itself sexist. There are now a few knowledgeable and astute women reviewers. I am always intrigued by the comments off the few women who identify themselves by name on the Forum. One in particular is quite long winded. I'm sure this has nothing to do with her sex. Although he/she has a name which could be male or female. I always love it when my wife comes to look at the record sleeve of the vinyl playing and rely on her opinion of the fidelity. Not to mention desire and count on her approval of new purchases. But is she also addicted? I don't think so. Does that have anything to do with being a woman. I don't think so. Does she care about the fine nuances? She says not. I would love to hear from women and anyone on this. WAF? I care a lot what things look like. HAF?







mglik
Is Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) sexist?     ..... Not if you are getting no sex! ;)
ISO - thank you, your the only one who gets it!

“Now Meathead, let me tell something about the Big One, WWII buddy, we didn’t have no Jap, Chink, or your Fag British turntables, it was good ole made in the USA!”

Having said that, if Archie were an audiophile, he’d definitely have some McIntosh gear or maybe some classic Fisher tube gear, definitely no Telefunkens in there though :)
Lou, That was the good-ol-days when we could all make fun of each other and laugh about it together. And no polack records that play backwards! 😄
Archie was the first sitcom audiophile. His chair was right in the sweet spot. Only  we never saw the system because of the camera angle.
It could have been in a Magnavox console. The Politically Correct movement is not designed to spare feelings ... it is meant to covertly divide us. I say celebrate our differences, in style of the Dean Martin Roasts. Don Rickles RIP
«Justice dont want to kill injustices, no more than love want to kill hate» -Groucho Marx

« If differences are the salt of the earth, the earth is love» - Anonymus
grow a set and enjoy the music   Who has time to think about things you can't understand.
A "wife" can be either male/female and/or of the third sex, et cetera...
 Only in your world  the 3%
world   
Only once was a piece of equipment not WAF ready 39 years ago.  The Acoustat X speakers with black grill, three angled panels, 4'+ high in a light pine exterior trim looked like "coffins."   The amps blew and after a year, I sold them.  They had virtually no vertical sound over 4' high and were ugly.  Replaced with Acoustat 2+2s.  
I can’t decide if WAF is sexist because it means its a woman’s job to have good taste, or because its sexist to assume the wife is a woman.


See it from a woman's perspective.
To make a home which is looking nice, she has to constantly manage things, which means prevent the home from cluttering.
To keep the home clean and manageable so it can be decorated and looks nice while everything is highly functional - else wise cleaning becomes difficult. Non functional clutter is weeded out.
And no, women (I know) do appreciate good sound - if it comes from gorgeous looking tube amps and the loudspeakers are not the size of fridges.
Many men might have a "hunter and gatherer" - aka hoarding complex.
When women "hoard", they tend to collect records, YMMV


There is always the Women's Perogative. She: "Come to think of it ..,, those old speakers weren't so bad after all, and the new ones "we" decided on don't sound nearly as good". 🙄 He: Actually, I never DID sell them, they're packed (hidden) away in the garage. I'll bring them right back in"!  😂
Iso -  agree with you 100 here.  If only George Carlin & Don Rickles were still alive.  

What if they were all audiophiles, Archie, George Jefferson, and Frank Lorenzo?  
Jefferson would have the B&O system and Frank Lorenzo would have a Linn / Naim system with LS3/5a’s I think.  JJ Evans a boombox.  Archie has the Fisher console.


(Notice how I keep trying to change this silly WAF sexist/not sexist/who gives two sh#+s conversation into something more fun)
I had the B&O 5000 many years ago while I was movin' on up. Sanford & Son would have my first system. (not being racist). I grew up in the home antique business. I hobbled together a free system from stuff of various old houses. HealthKit mono integrated and RCA (branded) similar amp. Electrovoice Corner can (wolverine) and a bass guitar combo cab (removed head) with spliced outdoor p.a.horn for hf. Garrard TT with radio shack Y adapter. My most proud of system!!! All FUN Lou!!
The first time i have dream to be a billionaire i was dreaming that, not only for the money to buy illimited amount of books and music, i wanted the best audio system in the world to play with....At this time i was sure that only a very big amount of money would make me able to enjoy that...

Today i know better, and i can afford for myself the books and music i badly need, and i own an especially good audio system, a very good one but at very low cost, thanks to my homemade creations and own method to embed righfully any audio system (mechanically, electrically and acoustically) and make it able to delivers the good... A method of experimental listenings is not a bunch of unrelated costly tweaks by the way, it is a method; no tweaks are a method, they are ready made costly very partial solutions...Anyway....

I wrote this post to say that for the second time of my life i want to becomes a billionnaire, if Sean Penn can marry a 27 years old woman , me i want this one:


(ADULT ONLY) Tanerélle Stephens aka Mama Saturn ( one of the most cool singer there is ever , feminine essence manifested, :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2XUrySbdUE

I promise this times i will takes account of the wife factor totally and completely....

And all of you stay clear of this woman....
:)


I must confess that i interupt my 30 hours listening of Bach Cantatas with Richter because of Tanerélle....I am perhaps more a mammal than i can myself admit to be even to myself....

):

Bottom line, WAF speaks of
1.  the one who is NOT (so much) into music,
2.  the one who is NOT buying equipment and placing it in the main living space (dedicated listening spaces only need the main listener's approval)
3.  the one who is NOT tweaking for the best possible sound and
4.  the one who is NOT placing room treatments.
Acceptance factor is no longer limited to wives. So I don't think we're dealing with a sexist term but more accurately an outdated one. The term is familiar so it lives on. I'm a (female) wife and the one who does all the things I've listed above. My (male) husband, 2 thumbs up. He say's I have a nice hobby.

Hope I'm not the long winded one alluded to by the OP  :)
Maybe he actually said .... "you have a nice hubby" 🥁(rimshot) It is alway's nice to have women members here! 
@mewsickbuff....*G* +1

I'm fortunate....my f/m spouse likes my hobby overall.  But when it comes time to 'integrate' it into a main living area we both agree that it shouldn't need to hide, nor clash.

"Can we get some outdoor speakers?"  (She gardens....)

"Can the Maggies' fabric be colored?"  (Sure....the 'socks' could even be digitally printed....and why not?)

"When the tv isn't 'on' a program, can it 'slide-show' art?"  (...don't see why not...beats 'basic black'....)

"Can the equipment be 'minimalized'?  (Already have a plan for that...)

A bit of flexibility goes a long way....;)
@glupson "The world may be a better place if someone shut down the Internet for a year."

Yes, as well as what passes for public education and higher education.  Humanity might recover some semblance of civility.  "woke" what a joke. 
I’ve never understood this WAF thing. She gets the living room and you get the den. It’s your room to do as you want. Where’s the argument in that? Stay in your room and there’s no argument. 
Over the years, I have used the term WAF only a few times. I feel entitled to use the term, as it specifically applies. She is and has been my wife for a very long time and her opinion and approval has merit. Fortunately, she is quite flexible with my, borderline, audio eccentrics.

@coltrane1 She gets the living room and you get the den.

That defiantly helps.

When we moved back into a larger home, it gave us the space for separate AV and Audio rooms. The AV (family room) set up most convenient for her and the Audio (living room) set up for me.
The only WAF issue then was "The Maggies really don’t look too bad, but do they really need to be that far from the wall?" With a little resistance she went along and even helped me pick out some heavy drapes for the windowless wall behind the speakers - Isn’t Love Grand. :-)

Jim



Then they would not be acceptable, which should have been known before signing the contract

About a decade ago I met a nice looking woman whose personality matched mine. Excited to get to know her better, I invited her over.


Now my living space is 20 x 40 x 12ft peak in vaulted ceiling. The main rig occupies the south side of the room near the front door. The TV system is on the long wall

The front door opens into this large space. I open the door and AS SOON AS SHE WALKS IN she says (in NOT a happy voice): "This house is decorated for a bachelor"

Needless to say, that date did not last long