What would you do differently?


Wives take a lot of heat in the audio press and on forums such as this one for their effects on their husbands' audio enjoyment. WAF is a recognizable acronym and effect, and there's always a lot of anguish over the "grief" of upgrades, etc. What would you do differently if you had nobody to answer to on any audio issues? Is it as simple as, "I'd spend a lot more and play the system a lot louder"?

Personally, I'd do a couple of things differently. First, I'd probably own more than one pair of speakers at any time and experiment a bit more. Sending and receiving speakers seems incomprehensible to my wife so it's a bigger hurdle than it's worth to do this currently, even if I break even on the costs. The second major thing I'd do is remove everything from the semi-dedicated room the system is in that I didn't want in there.

All in all, I suppose the back pressure is good as it keeps a bit of anticipation in the hobby. -Kirk

kthomas

Showing 2 responses by sc53

Hi, I'm a woman and I'm single and so I have done and can do whatever I like w/my house and systems and experimenting etc. Though I do take a LOT of flack from significant others, family, and friends with a sharp enough eye or attention span that they can tell when something in one of my two listening rooms is "different" or new. I once made the mistake of telling one of my dearest friends, Joanne, the cost of these Transparent Ultra speaker cables I had just purchased for, I think it was, $2000 back then. She was absolutely flabbergasted and started talking about how much food that would buy for a poor family in China . . . And she's the one who kept asking and asking "how much?" I learned my lesson and now NEVER disclose prices, only that I traded for something, or bought it used, or as a demo from my dealer. Anyway, because I answer to no one I have two excellent systems (both are in the Virtual Systems on this site, one as "My first tube system" and the other as "Small (?) system for living room." I put these together after a LOT of trial and error, including boxing and shipping off mega-heavy Vienna Acoustics Beethovens that I traded for an ARC integrated amp and Proac Response 1SC's. A few years ago I also sold my B&W 801 Matrixes bolted onto Sound Anchor stands, but the buyer came to my house and picked them up so I didn't have to break my back moving them thank heavens. I have had more UPS and Fed Ex boxes coming and going out of my townhouse than a small business. My neighbors think I am running a small business--and maybe my hobby and my desire to try new gear and perfect what I've settled on DO constitute a small business! A constant financial drain of a business, but as time consuming as any job. Also, I have boxed and shipped and received at my door tons of different very heavy power amps, including the Goldmund Mimesis 29 that I bought new from my dealer then had to ship back to Switzerland twice for repairs and then finally to Colorado when I sold it. Lately, I've received and then sold again my Ayre V3, and received and kept Acurus 5x125 and Act 3 processor, and received and kept ARC VT 100 Mk III and ARC CA-50 integrated. If I were married, my husband would probably be thrilled w/all this activity, unlike your wife. My male cousin Paul thinks some guy would marry me SOLELY for the audio gear in my house. He is awed whenever he visits from New Mexico!
I spend a lot of time in these forums and on this site because I have so few to share my passion and insanity with. I am always so relieved and gratified when I hear from all the rest of you, young and old (though almost all male, for some reason), who mirror my views, habits, and quest for good sound.
Hope you can continue your experiments, even w/speakers,
Sarah
Hi Dave, thanks for the offer for my hand, but as Justlisten pointed out, I'd better stay single so there's never any occasion for dividing up the property! As far as listening to the 1SC's on all the different amps, I've only owned them since I've had my tube amps, so I never heard them on solid state. I love them on the ARC CA-50, but I had to give them a good two weeks of all-day radio playing before they came to life. They really sound spectacular now, and I am okay w/having sold the Beethovens and Ayres to downsize to the Proacs and CA-50 (plus my Rel sub, of course; there'd be no bass without it). I am still really curious about the SET low watt sound, esp. with these speakers, but I'm through messing around for now.