Girlfriends and wifes, how do YOU cope?

I've posted more than a few times on this thread. My wife LOVES listening to music. Ever since I've known her. Some nights when i come home from the office late, i can hear the Cassandra Wilson (or whoever) when im pulling up the driveway. She might be catching up on personal email, cooking or cleaning. Maybe laundry. The important thing is she's doing what she enjoys. When I drive her car, i might start it and hear Anthony Carlos Jobim, Annie Lennox, 9 Inch Nails, Pearl Jam or The Be Good Tanyas. Maybe even Daniel Lanois (anybody?)

We have 3 boys, the youngest just turned 20. They all love music. I've passed along my old gear to them and they've taken on the interest. They play music on a daily basis and one of them even assembles his own tube headphone amps with the soldering iron we gave to him as a gift.

I guess what I'm trying to convey is that I was in this hobby since I was a 12 year old. I had a turntable, cassette deck, receiver and speakers. I'm in no way an audiophile. Most of you would consider my gear mid fi.

One of the things that attracted me to my wife was her appreciation of music. If you're young and single, remember this. There's no such thing as WAF in my household. Never has been, never will be. This is our hobby. We both work hard for our money. We audition together and make purchasing decisions together. I don't place an order without my wife nor do I consider new gear without her. Once it's in place, we sit down and discuss the order of operation and from that point forward, it's hers to use, and use it she does. We don't talk about it in terms of hifi. It's only ever "what are you in the mood for?" which is your choice of genre.

Hear the music people. Just don't listen too it.

Hey Donjr. That is some great stuff. Your wife feels the connection you both have and it's not just your hobby. I have NO doubt most wives and girlfriends find the interest in the assembling the top flight system that we 'audiofools' have is quite offensive to them. Before I married my wife, we both loved listening to music and discovering new things we liked. Now, she suggested for me to build my own room in the basement so those big speakers aren't in the family room. I did, and assembled a remarkably wonderful system, but she has only been down to listen to it with me once in 5 years. I think wives (girlfriends) would like to listen more if we, the fools had our priorities right. The buying decisions as a pair puts ownership and partnership high on the scale as a couple with the 'stuff' as entirely secondary. I've got to do MUCH BETTER. You're not only a lucky man, your wife's got to feel much love instead of competing with your interests. Man, I'm starting to sound like Dr. Phil. Serious congratulations on doing your marriage and your interests the right way. Thank you for the wake up call--I'm sure I can turn things around with some effort on my part. Being with your love and music go so nice together--they both make you feel so good.

I guess I'm lucky. My wife has as good a pair of ears as I do. and she wants her Miles Davis records to sound as good as they possibly can.
The other day, she said to be, "Honey, I think you need some tube traps."
And I fell in love all over again.
To be fair to LGBT community--as well as wives and girlfriends , the question should be,"Partners, how do YOU cope?"

Yes Dorkwad, it's pretty sweet. Occasionally she might not be in the mood for music so I have a Schiit Lyr headphone amp that serves me well although it rarely gets used.

It really helps that we enjoy the same music. It wasn't always that way though. I was always the rock n roll guy. She's actually the one who introduced me to good jazz and classical. I owe her big time because the experience has been great and has stood the test of time.

Now that the weather is turning we'll spend a lot of time listening to music and cooking. This also seems to be the time of year when we order a lot of new music. Good times for sure.

I hope you can find a way to spark the interest and get your wife down stairs for some good music. Maybe let her pick out the music. Make it a date night. Plan it out in advance and make it special. Women love that.

Thanks Donjr. I need all the help I can get. Hope it eventually works. You'd think she'd get tired of watching TV.