This is a little offbeat, but I actually started dating my wife as a result of an audio connection. We had met in Brooklyn Heights decades ago, when both of us lived there. After a couple of different nights out, she visited my apartment, walked in and said "oh Quads.' (I had a pair of the original ESLs running at the time). I said "how could you know that?" Turns out she worked part-time as a grad student as an assistant to a pretty famous NYC photographer who was a well-known audiophile. A guy who I only knew by name and reputation-Chuck Lamonica.
I asked her whether she could introduce me. She did and we got on famously. Chuck was one of those guys everybody loved- full of soul, forgot more than most ever knew about hi-fi. He and I would spend hours listening while Liz hung out with his wife, Elsa (who only recently passed away; Elsa was Morris Levy's receptionist at one point as a young woman). Anyway, a great couple who we both loved. Chuck died young of a heart-attack-in 1991. Elsa passed only last year, but Liz stayed in constant touch with the family.
So, in a sense, hi-fi was a bond that helped cement our relationship. Liz is pretty ambivalent about gear- she'll allow me the opportunity to explain stuff-- not just about the stereo systems, but the broader history of reproduced sound, the business and popular culture, something that I spend a fair amount of time on as a retired copyright lawyer who teaches and is interested in archival matters. She's happy to join in listening sessions, but really isn't a gear head. That's ok. One of us is enough. She's got plenty of interests beyond that--and occasionally has one of her friends over--to listen to the big system.
I hate generalizations, but it may be that women are more interested in the end result- the music-- than how we get there. She wants a small, press and play system for the kitchen/dining room. I asked her how she felt about 300b tubes and she looked at me like, "man you are such a dork."
We are. Dorks. :)
