Your Worst WAF Incident


OK Gents, fess up –

What has been your worst transgression of the mysterious WAF code? I'll begin, throwing myself on the mercy of the court:

Three days ago was the Thanksgiving Holiday. My wife prepared a beautiful, traditional meal including fresh roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, etc. It took hours and we could have fed an army. After the meal, the fridge was packed with delicious leftovers which we enjoy for days afterwards. It's our favorite holiday and we really stretch it out nicely.

On holidays, I like to listen to my music and of course, this entails temporarily converting the living room into a Man-cave and doing whatever I can for the best sound – you know, moving the speakers away from the wall, moving the comfy chair into the sweetspot, using pillows to diffuse and dampen reflections, etc.

So, about 24 hours after the feast, I went to the fridge to get the ingredients for my famous turkey sandwich... but something didn't smell good in there. That's right, can you say "Man-cave dismantling checklist?"

Someone forgot to turn the noisy fridge back on. My wife worked for hours preparing the meal and organizing the leftovers, and Mr. Audiophile here ruins days worth of great food and effort with the flip of a switch... or should I say, lack thereof.

I watched uncomfortably as she emptied the contents of a warm fridge into the trash. Ouch.

OK, is your violation of the WAF code as bad? Please share your worst transgression – don't leave me alone out here!
Ag insider logo xs@2xalonski

Showing 13 responses by alonski

Buscis2, I wonder how your wife's noises get into your signal path... maybe she needs to be grounded?
Buscis2, as long as she still has some bloom and not too much attack, I think her focus on the sweet spot is a good thing... unless you're not being invited to spend time there yourself and have to stay off-axis.
Let's see, that's two responses from members who think I'm an idiot for turning off a loud refrigerator when I'm doing my critical listening, and one guy who was disturbed by my story.

Maybe an update is in order: The fridge is still loud and I will continue to turn it off because, wait for it... it's loud. Can anyone relate?

As for my wife, she's great. Took it in stride and still loves me very much despite my oversight.

This thread was intended to amuse us all with the foibles and antics of the modern audiophile... maybe you can help.
Ha! Viridian, that's what I'm talking about! Truly, hard to top. But let's give others a chance to chime in.
Peter, thanks, I'm glad not to be the only one willing to share anecdotes like ours. The embarrassment fades quickly and what remains is a funny story from the front lines of our obsession. I'm looking forward to hearing more such stories as this thread makes its rounds.

With Viridian doing his maid, losing his gear and then stealing Danlib's wife... anything can happen here!
Daverhab, The stakes have indeed been raised. If my wife had to take an ice-cold shower due to my audio habit, I bet I would be the one taking cold showers, probably for a month, if you get my meaning...

BTW, I have an electrician coming over in an hour to attempt to fix a noise issue that crosses over all my dedicated lines. Your explanation nails my situation exactly and will help me convey the problem to him in a way that will seem like I actually know something. Really good timing. Thanks!
Elizabeth, As one of the few women I've ever seen on these threads, you seem about as crazy as the rest of us! Do you have a HAF akin to our WAF? Any funny stories from your life as an audiophile?

BTW--Thanks for the tweak advice... where do you get Ferrite crystals and what are you doing, taping them to the power cord? Will this require any chanting or incense?
Buscis2, as long as she still has some bloom and not too much attack, I think her focus on the sweet spot is a good thing... unless you're not being invited to spend time there yourself and have to stay off-axis.
Buscis2, I wonder how your wife's noises get into your signal path... maybe she needs to be grounded?
OMG, Jarobertson... you just stirred an embarrassing memory: I did exactly the same thing a few years ago! I must have blocked it out. My wife loves her sleep, especially during a certain, ahem, time of the... well, you know. When someone is already crabby from rogue hormone surges, it seems that being launched out of bed by a 95dB blast of rock and roll does not help the situation at all, despite the fact that my system produced that 95dB SPL without distortion or loss of musicality and PRAT. Go figure.
Ouch! Rockadanny, that made me grimace... because, and I'm not making this up... Before I bought my audio rack, when our household's WAFUCT (Wife Acceptance Factor Unified Code Treatise) dictated that gear should be behind closed doors, I drilled ventilation and cable holes in the back of our 400 lb. armoire. Eight one-inch diameter holes into thick Indonesian hardwood did the trick. This large piece of furniture was my wife's before we even met. I dare not ask what it cost. She's never mentioned it, or never noticed.

May we all be forgiven.
Michael, couldn't quite tell if you were kidding.

If not, did the Shumann Resonators make your system sound better?

We all know that EMF radiation can affect audio signals. I found a very visual study of this on an unbelievably cool video made by NASA scientists. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKsbX4WWLMw

Cheers,
Nietzschelover,

Thanks for sharing your client's unfortunate story. It does prove, however, that the well-built SME tonearms have a lot of air and attack!

Sorry, couldn't help myself.