Where are the female Audiophiles?

I think your estimate of 2 percent women is too high. I've never met one in over 30 years in the hobby. It's not as if women don't enjoy music, and they certainly patronize live music events. I know many women musicians and singers. I postulate there must be some difference between male and female brains to account for the audiophile disparity, though I don't know what it is. A parallel in the animal kingdom can be seen in birds. Male birds sing; females don't -- though females judge male bird vitality in part by their songs, so they are in a sense audiophiles. Perhaps, however, it's the audiophile hardware -- women don't like it. Thus, men have recognized the WAF, wife acceptance factor, when it comes to spousal acceptance of playback gear. It may also be about the need for control. What is this hobby if an not an attempt to create a perfect virtual world over which we have absolute dominion? Men want one; women don't care. Men are into things; women into people and relationships. My wife has often remarked, when forced to listen to my system, that the experience "is better than being there. It truly transports me to another place." After listening to one cut of an album, she invariably leaves to return a phone call -- an experience which she obviously finds more engaging. I, on the other hand, cannot abide a phone call that lasts more than a minute. Male brains and female brains: different.

I propose a semi-scientific investigation which may lead to some insight. Perhaps there is a personality profile associated with being an audiophile, and perhaps the profile is prevalent in men and rare in women. I hereby propose the following informal survey. Each responder should answer for him- or herself and pose the same inquiries to his or her spouse or significant other -- and for that matter, anyone else you care to survey (the more the better):

1. Do you consider yourself an audiophile? (audiophile or non-audiophile)
2. Are you a man or woman? (man or woman)
3. Would you describe yourself as a thinker or a feeler? (thinker or feeler)
4. Would you describe yourself as an extrovert or an introvert? (extrovert or introvert)
5. Are you more interested in things or people? (things or people)
6. If offered the choice at no cost to you between a concert of your favorite musical ensemble exclusively performing for you and any others you choose to invite, or a world-class playback system, yours to keep forever, which would you choose, assuming the market value of each is identical? (concert or system)

Here is my response in the format I'd recommend for easy analysis:

1) Audiophile
2) Man
3) Thinker
4) Introvert
5) Things
6) System

Here is my wife's:

1) Non-audiophile
2) Woman
3) Feeler
4) Extrovert
5) People
6) Concert

There may be other questions that should be added. Feel free to expand, and please post your results. Perhaps we'll uncover something informative.