Why do almost all women today hate home audio?

I can only speak to the women I'm around, but social media killed their interest.

They are way too busy checking Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat and all the other ilk out there.

They couldn't/wouldn't sit still for a whole album if you paid them.

In the day that my girlfriend now wife listened to music, she liked music with lyrics. Songs she knew. Now that I listen mostly to jazz and classical I play her songs when we are listening together. 
To me music is about the sound and the feeling. When I alone listen, I play the music that speaks to me. When we listen together, I play the music that speaks to us both. How wonderful it is that we can each find music that speaks to us, and hopefully music we can share. 

It ain't just the females kids, it's just about EVERYBODY nowadays. Anti-Social media access shares some of the responsibility as mentioned, but that doesn't explain the resurgence of vinyl sales - a good sign. 
The walkman and the iPod combined to remove the tangible sense of ownership we received during the vinyl heyday. Buying music used to involve a scheduled and often desperate trip to "the record shop" to get the latest thing. Then you had to make the time to listen to it, to actually sit down when you got home to listen.  
It took aforethought, planning, desire. 
Now you can download a new release while you're on the train or the toilet bowl, and it disappears into that little portable piece of plastic without so much as a hello. 

I now have to write down the music I purchase via download because after I do I often forget what I downloaded. 

Even before social media existed I don't remember women seriously Interested in listening to albums. As far back as I can remember it was only men that sat and listened to a whole album. I remember driving around with my teenage sisters and they would be constantly changing the radio stations to find the hit of the day. 

I kind of disagree with this but acknowledge it at the same time.
My Mother had a very large record collection and played music
all day long when I was growing up. Also it was mostly the girls
whom drove the 45 singles market as I recall from my youth and
the first wave of "boy bands" on LP.
Now, yes , Anti social media and which nobody said what about who
is all that matters........

"Modern women" are far too interested in riding the wave of personal empowerment and health trends like coconut water, almond milk, chia and protein shakes etc. As far as I can tell, most women from their 20’s to 40’s are either studying or working at their professional careers, and fill their spare time with jogging, gym, yoga & pilates classes, boot camp, catching up with girl friends, shopping, checking social media as other members mentioned & spending money/time on beauty therapies. And if there is any time left after all that, they might go out with their b/f or girlfriends to a bar or pub.

The irony is, since the 90’s women have tried to imitate men to further their careers and empowerment. I even had a female friend admit that to me. My guess is high end audio and the routine of playing physical media like vinyl and cd’s takes too much time and doesn’t fit into their multi-tasking lifestyle, hence why they prefer music on portable Ipods/smart phones which they can play on the go whilst on the treadmill, jogging track or tram/train.

I wouldn’t be surprised however if women start to get into high end portable media players like A&K and high end in-ear phones at some point. I doubt women will ever get get into full size cans en masse for the above reasons.

Let’s just be thankful we have a hobby which women haven’t taken over (yet) like yoga, pilates and jogging. Thank God us blokes can have our audio rooms and man caves which are our oasis!

It is well known that women's hearing is far better than men's so it's simply a case of when they listen to the man's system she can hear just how bad it sounds.

I have in my store 50/50 man and woman shopping vinyl.
Don't know what you're really talking about.
If it's depletion of an interest in home audio and vinyl, it affects both equally.

My wife loves it  speak for yourself.

The OP speaks uninformed nonsense.

Geoff, great comment.

Czarivey, you have a sex shop for transvestites?  Cool!

good one, Geoff

Geoff,
I even have third bathroom door for'm

Be thankful, at least if you get some peace and quiet to listen once in a while.  I once had a gf who suggested that we play golf together.   She seemed to miss the point that we all do some things to get away.  You want to go shopping for shoes with a woman? 

Women love and want attention from their guy. They don't like it when we (myself and friends) are in our space listening. But they know they can't compete with this phenomena. This IMO make audio systems a type of kryptonite to them from early on. They accept it because they can keep tabs on us. just an observation.
     

geoffkait
It is well known that women's hearing is far better than men's so it's simply a case of when they listen to the man's system she can hear just how bad it sounds.

Who hears better ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZHWY1KBHwc

You obviously must hang out with much younger women geoffkait.   Damn I am envious. getting a lot of mileage out of that youtube :^)

For the poster/s that have wives/women that love music and listen with them. That's great and good for you but not sure I could handle it. My first panic room was built as stress relief from my work job and the job of helping my wife raise fraternal twins. Imagine dealing with crying in stereo. My wife comes down and will sit with me but she can't stop talking. Can be irritating when one of my audio GF's are trying to sing to me.

LOL, you guys are so funny.  Women who love music exist. I'm a testimony to that (and I'm sure I am not the only one of my kind).  I sit and listen to music for hours on my days off. My husband likes TV better, but he will blast music from his dacless mac-mini hooked up to the bedroom stereo maybe once a month. When he does, I get up and go shut the bedroom door.

While not being as enthusiastic on upgrades as ebm's ,my wife enjoys the fact that listening to my system makes me smile.
However since our cross country move, trying to find the ideal placement
for components and speaker placement has become challenging (to say the least) So it looks like longer Interconnects and or speaker cables and or power cords. When she sees the bill I don't think she will be smiling but if I can recapture the sound I will be 

How big is the bill going to be?

The new Audience SX series or Stealth cables could run big $$$

Don: Your asking a bunch of audiophile electronic geeks ( that includes me ) that gets their jollies from reading electronic spec sheets and performance parameters , to solve a much higher question not known to man!!! The female mind! If complete logical understanding of the most enigmatic mystery know , was ever mastered, the person that publishes the specs on that would be wealthier than Bill Gates! Women absolutely, undeniably, all covet ATTENTION! Romance, flowers, candle light secluded dinners, etc! Never met one that got wet underwear over cutting edge electronics! Ever have a girl say " lets go to your place and read your pre amp manual!!! It excites me so! " Good luck my friend! 

Don: Your asking a bunch of audiophile electronic geeks ( that includes me ) that gets their jollies from reading electronic spec sheets and performance parameters , to solve a much higher question not known to man!!! The female mind! If complete logical understanding of the most enigmatic mystery know , was ever mastered, the person that publishes the specs on that would be wealthier than Bill Gates! Women absolutely, undeniably, all covet ATTENTION! Romance, flowers, candle light secluded dinners, etc! Never met one that got wet underwear over cutting edge electronics! Ever have a girl say " lets go to your place and read your pre amp manual!!! It excites me so! " Good luck my friend! 

A woman answers and no one acknowledges her response.  Maybe that's why you don't know any female music enthusiasts, because you don't listen to them...  99%, really?!?

The majority of women I know love home audio (as in having music in the home), as do the men. However few of them, either sex, just sit down just to listen to music or put anywhere near the thought most of us do into a system for that purpose. I can say that the men tend to place greater interest into the equipment side of the equation. 

Mewsickbuff, in all fairness it has been only 25 hours between your 1st and 2nd post. When into a listening session what do you enjoy listening to and on what system?  

Sometimes woman don't like their dudes to spend too  much money and devote themselves too much to their components.
Audio has nothing to do with that.
I still prefer finding woman I like weather she likes audio or music or don't.

Sorry I asked the question!

I use to know many single women, from years gone bye, that did enjoy listening.

mesch, thanks for the acknowledgement. On my days off I usually listen to music mid-morning until about 6 or 7 pm, then I watch TV.  What I listen to varies greatly in any given session (not always sitting in the sweet spot).  Sometimes a whole cd, sometimes a song or 2 from multiple cd's.  My system begins with the Signalyst HQ Player.  From there, a Marantz receiver, Calyx DAC, Monitor Audios with an SVS sub.  If headphones, it's Violectric HP amp and Hifiman.  This combination is musical bliss to me. And that is not to say I wouldn't greatly enjoy other people's systems, too. Evidently there's a multitude of combinations to make music sound wonderful.

Honestly, and I'm going to get a lot of hate, so I dare only say this while a political convention is going on in the hopes that anyone reading this will have their bile already spent! :)

I think it's what men are listening to. Women LOVE listening to my system.  Card-carrying audiophiles not so much.

Of course, I love women, and I love my music system, so it works out for me, but the more time I've spent looking around and comparing my notes to what "audiophiles" like it rarely matches up. It could very well be that I tend to be isolated so don't pick up on the gestalt I would otherwise.  My system is pretty natural to me.  Not that it's necessarily better than anyone else's, but rather, it serves no one's notion of what a good system should sound like but my own. I also like Brussels Sprouts.

Perhaps if I knew how to make friends, I would have been exposed more to their tastes and my own preferences would be different.

My point, as always, buy what you like.  I know I"m insensitive and tend to type too bluntly, but really I hope to add constructively to the conversation.

This is part of why I started a thread on what speakers do women like, in the hopes that I'd hear from women and find out if it was different or not. Assuming either way without asking seemed like a bad idea.

Best,


Erik

..if only the stereo stores would provide a jewelry counter amidst all those black boxes.

Complexity: Setting up a system was much simpler in the days of receivers, lampcord, and turntables with integrated tonearms. Now we have separates, 'girthy' cables, and computer audio. The complexity can be intimidating.

Marketing: The ads and the appearance of the gear are designed to appeal to men.

mewsickbuff, you are welcome. Enjoyed your post on eric_squires thread! 

theophile

... It all ads-up to more perceived return for the dollar spent on automobiles as opposed to Hi-Fi. Hence cars get the dollars and Hi-Fi doesn't.  

This assessment ignores a lot of very basic facts. For many Americans, they need a car to get to work, and they need a car to do even the most basic shopping. For them, a car is a practical necessity. Of course, the auto industry has been masterful in convincing many people to buy much more car than they need, but that's another matter.

A hi-fi, however, is not a necessity for most people. It's a luxury. And because it tends to be enjoyed in private, it's just not likely to be considered a status item, as a car is.

Yeah, and Cartier branded amps would be in high demand by them, no doubt.
Audiogon keeps removing posts and entire threads for unknown to us reasons. I guess, we don't pay enough for the freedom of speech.

If a woman tells you that you need to 'get with the times' and haul away your stereo then perhaps she is testing if you have a backbone?

If it is simply a matter of disinterest then I would point the finger at the lack of a real social factor in the hobby, something which women on average value more than men. I don't see the same imbalance in TV or YouTube watching which are the equivalent pastimes of today. Perhaps if people invited over company and made music an after dinner activity as used to be done your wives would be more inclined to take interest in if your system is up to snuff? I wouldn't believe any claims that women have lost interest in music as based on the advertising I see they must be buying far more music than the average man.

This assessment ignores a lot of very basic facts. For many Americans, they need a car to get to work, and they need a car to do even the most basic shopping. For them, a car is a practical necessity.

You should test your theory out on your wife. Ask her what she thinks is the least desirable car that she could own. Then suggest that it might be good idea to buy one. See whether the practical aspects of a car are more important to her than the aesthetic aspects

OP I knew many, many women that listened, and had there own stereos, in the late 60’s and 70’s.

In 50s~70s, many audio companies were after the natural sound and they were very close to make the natural sound. The audio sound so close to the original live music that men and women dance always with even cheap (or expensive) audio systems in 60s and 70s. Then the pursuit of the natural sound was stop in late 70s without completing the natural sound. Making the natural sound was too hard and audio companies gave up making it. Also, many sound specialists were passed away without teaching other people because they didn’t have the perfect solution. Since 80s, all new audio systems sound un-natural and veiled (getting worse). And audio companies only talk about technology and the sound (bass, detail, depth) and they never talk about the music.

To non-audiophiles (men & women) can’t hear the sound of hi-fi audio systems. Also, the hi-fi sound hurts their ears. There are natural sounds and un-natural sounds. We hear natural sounds everywhere such as people talking, dog barking, car engine sound, etc. We comprehend natural sounds easily and without any effort.

Every reproduction audio systems in the world sound un-natural and veiled. People can’t hear un-natural sounds while they ears are in natural sound mode. Human ears must adjust to un-natural sound mode to hear un-natural sounds. People can’t hear natural sounds when they are in un-natural sound mode. Audiophiles can switch between natural and un-natural sounds quickly because they are trained/used to un-natural sounds. Non-audiophiles (men & women) can’t switch between natural and un-natural audio sounds quickly and listening un-natural sounds is painful to their ears.

So, it is hard to develop interests in home audio for non-audiophile women & men.

Alex/Wavetouch

geoffkait    12-01-2015 at 04:03am 

It is well known that women's hearing is far better than men's so it's simply a case of when they listen to the man's system she can hear just how bad it sounds.

I agree on "she can hear just how bad it sounds."

Alex/Wavetouch

This statement will sound a little silly and not serious but it is a serious answer.

Women like to talk. They love to talk. It actually releases endorphin for them. And to sit down and quietly listen, it really isn't what they're designed to do. Music events like concerts on the other hand, lots of girls.

Yeah, Whatever.

Look Darling are you OK with this $5k power cable?

Yes, sure sweetheart are you sure it's going to do the job?

I also knew lots of women in the 60s and 70s. NONE of them had any interest in a system, or wasting time sitting still, doing "nothing", just listening to music.

And here in 2023, just like the OPs post in 2015, just like the 60s and 70s, I still don't know a single woman who has the slightest interest in "doing nothing but just listening to music!!!".

My daughter listens to music very intently, usually on headphones or on the little bluetooth speaker I got her (Audio Pro C3, which is quite good sounding).

She prefers to listen to entire albums, as albums, and dislikes jumping from song to song.

She is 16. Just an anecdote, but no one told here to listen this way.

preposterous, gross generalization.  
“Why are 99% of audiophiles sexist and sexually unappealing to women?”

There. I can do it too.

My experience with women is similar to kids, they like music but are ok with listening on Alexa or even a phone speaker.  I can't understand it.

So if you don't appreciate the quality of the sound, any sound will do, then the system gets judged for aesthetic value and rejected in favor of things you'll see in Architectural Digest.

Jerry

It’s not just today, they have always hated it. They hated it in 1960 and they hate it in 2060. If it does it make their life easier then they don’t know what to do with it.

Women probably wonder why men don't like diamond they way they do.

I don't know anybody who 'hates' home audio; most folks of any demographic, including many musicians, really don't care very much about home audio. This is a very tiny niche market.