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The partner or wife factor

Most of us don't live alone. We have to contend with the people, we share our living space with. This can be a huge asset to our hobby, sometimes a detriment. Sometimes, listening with a loved one can deepen our involvement with the music and shared hobbies are a source of joy through the years, sometimes the hobby can be a continual source of bickering and trigger resentment and,in a worst case setting, separation either from the system or from the partner. I personally, in my long life, have both met with intelligent support for, but also viscious resentment of my gear, as systems and partners changed.( Systems more than parners) The shortest episode, hilarious actually, was when a ladyfriend , led by me proudly to the listening area , shrieked "electrosmog....!!" You can rest assured, she didn't stay very long. What about your experiences? Joyful, painful, helpful, destructive, funny or amorous ones? Very curious....
detlof
sean
6,231 posts
 
I agree, this is a good thread and we all seem to have a lot in common with this one. While my girlfriend has "raised hell" many times about all of the gear (she calls it a "cluster") i have all over the place, she loves listening to music and is not afraid to voice her opinion about what sounds "good" or "bad". When we first got together, i had a large tri-amped system that she really didn't know how to work. I still have that, but am in the process of "upgrading" most of it. I ended up setting up a "simple" HT based system for her to use. That lasted about two weeks and then it was replaced with what is currently a "runaway monster" with four towers, dual subs, 6000+ watts, etc... After that, i set up a small bedroom system for her to use when she wants to lay down, relax, read, etc.. That system now has stand mounted monitors, twin downloaded subs, tuner, preamp, power amp, CD, cassette, satellite, vcr, 27" TV, etc... Are we seeing a trend here : ) My puter room system (which she likes the best) uses very "strange looking" omni-directional speakers and is powered by 800 wpc mono-blocks. The basement system currently uses a set of HIGHLY modified horns with .... Ah, you get the idea. To put up with all of this, she MUST be a "keeper".... Now if i can just break the news about the system that i want to put in the bathroom.... : ) Sean
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katharina
56 posts
 
Seems, females get hooked on other things than electronic stuff and their music reproduction, though most of us like music of course. So our influence is probably being made felt in the sense of balancing out those attacks of hypertrophia, a male hobby in full bloom can often come under.
haacke
25 posts
 
My wife is pleased with the "hobby" & loves the music. However, cannot fiqure out how the placement of the "switches" on the preamp keep changing.
macdonj's avatar
macdonj
118 posts
 
Does anyone know where Sean lives? Don't worry, his equipment is in no danger from me, it's his girlfriend I want for my listening room(s). :-)
abstract7
541 posts
 
Tolerant is the best word. My wife knew from the beginning that I was not likely to give this hobby up. I am fortunate enough to have a dedicated listening room which was modified from a game room. She does enjoy family movies in the theater. A close friend of mine, also an audiophile, has a very nice system in their main living room. He makes asthetic compromises to please his wife. She came to our house one day, looked at my system (bi-amps with very larg monoblocks and Martin Logan Monoliths) and said: "Excuse me, but THAT would never be in our house."
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