The Wife Acceptance Factor W.A.F.

[MrAcoustat]

Man are you a man or what ????? I belong to many audio forums and i often see audiophiles writing the WAF here the WAF there my wife would kill me if i tryed to do this or do that well i cannot understand this if i choose something that my wife doesn't like that's her tough luck it wont make me change my mind and it's the same thing the other way aroud most guy's that i invite for a music session tell me this sounds good but my wife would not let me have speakers that size man she wouldl hit the pavement so fast it would not be funny.

 

[Ronm1]

Most of us have gone through that, I suspect. A number of friends/relatives/colleagues SO have even mentioned it to me themselves. In all honesty they do appreciate and enjoy the sonics, but the form factor just doesn't work or is completely unacceptable. Basically the attitude is speakers are to be heard not seen

 

[Bruce B]

My wife helps me in the studio, goes to shows with me and interacts with our vendors/clients. Just last weekend a friend of mine mentioned that he envied me and wished his wife would take more interest in his hobby. I know what I have and I'm a lucky man!! She was even looking at speakers at the show to put in our living room!!

 

[rockitman]

I have the live in GAF (Girlfriend Acceptance Factor). They don't wield as much power as the WAF...

 

[Odyno]

I would say most of us share love with music with the better half!
However I agree that most women don’t share our interest for the hardware.
Talking for myself she always recognise the benefit from changes I make and have no interest on going back once we both noticed the improvement done.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

If you have a listening room -- your choice. If your equipment goes in a shared space in the house, especially if that is a general living space, compromise is not about being a man, it's about being a decent human being. Note I said "compromise." For an audiophile, compromise isn't Bose cubes and a sub behind the sofa. That's resignation.

Tim

 

[Saturntube]

Dedicated room

Well if you have a dedicated room as I do, the WAF stays in the living room with the nice cups. On your dedicated room you can put horrible room tuning, BIG Horn speakers and even ride in with your Harley up to the sweet spot!

Now if you cannot "own" a room in the house you payed for....well maybe you can own a wall:
Lets call it the "Dedicated Wall". Anything in this wall up to 6-8 feet from it is my Audio gear that matches with my chair there!

I dont think it is too much to ask for.

Now this is a nice hobbie, where the hubby stays at home under supervision: Lets compare it to say Billiard playing, for this you have to go to the local Bar, and have a few beers in the process and talk to the skinny girls that get on your way to access the black ball.
I also have married friends whos hobbie is going out and getting one night stands.

hhhmmm Maybe I should drop audio altoghether!

 

[MrAcoustat]

Yes but be careful that hobbie could cost you much more than audio.

 

[Robin Hood]

Bold words from a male audiophile that owns great sounding and looking speakers.

The Acoustat 1+1 are tall, slender, thin and very appealing to wives if they have the white or off-white fabric and wood base. Thin tall speakers that could pass for decorative screen panels are attractive. If the Acoustat 1+1 have black fabric they will not be as attractive in the typical living room or den, but they will look good in the basement (assuming your ceiling is tall enough).

Are you a man or a mouse?

Wives are to be seen and not heard.

Though some wives are to be heard and not seen.

The lucky husbands have wives that can be both seen and heard.

The wives have to draw the line someplace. I once knew a car hobbyist who would clean engine parts in the bathtub with gasoline or solvent. Gimme a break.

Some wives prefer their husbands to disappear to the golf course, go fishing or hunting just to get them out of the house.

Some men can’t wait to go back to work on Monday, or go to a bar or happy hour after work and not go home until it’s time to go to bed.

Men, can’t you handle your wives?

Wives, don’t you want your husband to want to be and be home?

Dogs (men) drool and cats (women) rule.

Perhaps the divorce rate says it all.

But seriously, some couples have problems, some couples compromise, some couple accept and some couples support.

I know one of your passions from just your presence here. But what are your wife’s passions and how supportive are you of hers?

 

[Ethan Winer]

My wife helps me in the studio, goes to shows with me and interacts with our vendors/clients. Just last weekend a friend of mine mentioned that he envied me and wished his wife would take more interest in his hobby. I know what I have and I'm a lucky man!! She was even looking at speakers at the show to put in our living room!!

Same here, except Elli doesn't attend shows with me because I'm always working at shows and someone has to mind the kitty. If you've seen my living room photos, you know I'm a lucky man too.

I met Elli in the early 1980s when she was a student at my recording studio's recording classes, so she appreciates good sound and doesn't mind all the "trappings" in our living room. She bought the very first commercial CD player when it came out, a Sony, and we used her then-expensive McIntosh speakers here for years here until I upgraded to a surround system.

--Ethan

 

[NorthStar]

Man are you a man or what ????? I belong to many audio forums and i often see audiophiles writing the WAF here the WAF there my wife would kill me if i tryed to do this or do that well i cannot understand this if i choose something that my wife doesn't like that's her tough luck it wont make me change my mind and it's the same thing the other way aroud most guy's that i invite for a music session tell me this sounds good but my wife would not let me have speakers that size man she wouldl hit the pavement so fast it would not be funny.

-----Them people aren't audiophiles Andre, they are 'controlled' by their own environment. :b

 

[NorthStar]

Bold words from a male audiophile that owns great sounding and looking speakers.

The Acoustat 1+1 are tall, slender, thin and very appealing to wives if they have the white or off-white fabric and wood base. Thin tall speakers that could pass for decorative screen panels are attractive. If the Acoustat 1+1 have black fabric they will not be as attractive in the typical living room or den, but they will look good in the basement (assuming your ceiling is tall enough).

Are you a man or a mouse?

Wives are to be seen and not heard.

Though some wives are to be heard and not seen.

The lucky husbands have wives that can be both seen and heard.

The wives have to draw the line someplace. I once knew a car hobbyist who would clean engine parts in the bathtub with gasoline or solvent. Gimme a break.

Some wives prefer their husbands to disappear to the golf course, go fishing or hunting just to get them out of the house.

Some men can’t wait to go back to work on Monday, or go to a bar or happy hour after work and not go home until it’s time to go to bed.

Men, can’t you handle your wives?

Wives, don’t you want your husband to want to be and be home?

Dogs (men) drool and cats (women) rule.

Perhaps the divorce rate says it all.

But seriously, some couples have problems, some couples compromise, some couple accept and some couples support.

I know one of your passions from just your presence here. But what are your wife’s passions and how supportive are you of hers?

-----That is a very true post. ...And very sad indeed. But true reality nonetheless.

 

[NorthStar]

-----Another reality:

Rare couples who enjoy the same type of music, & who enjoy taking a shower or bath ------.------together.

-------

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Happy Wife, Happy Life. words to live by.

of course, that means many different things to many different people. me; i've been married for 38 years to a great Lady who tolerates/supports my passion for fine audio. other than my first 6 months of being a serious audiophile (18 years ago), i've always had a dedicated room.....so most of the W.A.F. issues have been minimal.

 

[NorthStar]

-----You are the exception to the rule Mike, a very lucky man indeed. :b

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

I think the term WAF gets bandied about only because that's a term guys can use to tell their friends when things aren't going their way. I don't pay much attention to the term.

 

[Bill Hart]

Once we started dating, she visited my apartment in Brooklyn Heights, walked in, and said, "oh Quads." I had an old pair of ESLs set up in the living room. Those things look like space heaters from a 50's sci-fi movie. That was 26+years ago. We have been together since then and married a few years later. And, I still have the Quads.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

-----You are the exception to the rule Mike, a very lucky man indeed. :b

no complaints, and i do feel fortunate. but i wish she was like Bruce's wife and was more a partner and participant in my hobby with me, as i said to Bruce and his wife last week.

 

[ack]

I think every household that's accepting of spending all that kind of money on a high end system has a high WAF or HAF, even higher if they let us put it in the living room - and we are all THANKFUL to them!

 

[MylesBAstor]

My girlfriend knew that me and the audio system were a package deal.