Experiences with your "Better Halves"


MY girlfriend and I recently went to an audio store just to burn some time before dinner with friends. We played some of our salsa and R&B CDs in a musical fidelity (Nuvista amp+ some other MF components) with B&W CDM9 speakers. When the store manager asked for our opinion she stated "the highs are a little rough, separation was superb, imaging was good, the bass was very clear although a bit forward probably because of the room" - and this was all in one breath. Needless to say I was impressed!! She had only listened to my rambles after listening sessions at friends and audio stores. It is apparent that she has very gifted hearing ability even though power ratings, capacitance or impedance matching are the equivalent of words found in a Russian Restaurant menu to her. I am interested in learning about your experiences as couples, this has certainly been quite an awakening to me.
salsero
My wife actually instruced our cleaning lady to not move the speakers. I found out because the cleaning lady came and complained to me. So I asked my wife why she did this, because I had never openly complained about having to move the speakers back in the right place weekly. My wife informed me that the system 'just didn't sound right at all' when the speakers were off. I was greatly surprised, as she makes fun of the hobby, but she claims to hear the difference.
Today we moved our speakers to the sweet spot while playing around. It turned out to be a great improvement in bass accompanied by a decrease in the harshness of the highs. She thinks we shouldn't touch anything now although our living room looks really weird. But hey it beats upgrading anything.
My wife has never cared for my hobby. She did before we got married, but then, alas, I found out it was all an act. We've been married for 18 years. She floored me the other day though, when she finally broke down and admitted that my $25,000 system sound better than her little speakers at work. She wouldn't go into details, but for years, she always said it all sounds the same to her. So if my $25K system can now beat her $25 system, there may be hope for her yet.

John
My wife of 18 years has progressed from kindly indifference to my music listening, to that of an enthusiastic participant. When we married I was lugging DQ-10s on custom stands from home to home - which took huge understanding on her part. She really got game when I had her sit down some years ago and she instantly heard the effects of Magic Bricks on the amps. She's a great cook and encourages our dinner guests to catch the sweet spot after a culinary feast. We often end up spinning vinyl 'til well after midnight with friends. We attended a couple of concerts recently; one with Jann Arden taping for a live concert album and the other, Pat Metheny. She commented on the poor sound of Jann and loved Pat and Group - but said she'd kill me if I played him that loud in our listening room. And now she understands my absolute need to replace the Akito on my LP12 with an Ekos/Arkiv. God bless.