Have you ever deceived your wife-audio purchase

Yes...the policy is to ALWAYS deceive them...since they find out in the end anyway!

It's that period between the installation (at night of course, through the side door) and the 'discovery' that is FREE...by which time I have another deal on the go.

Soooooo...the trick is to keep them in a LAG mode, 'cause if they ever reach LEAD mode the next mode is the 'DIVORCE' mode.

Keep up the good work!

(See also my thread: "Has audio ever caused the 'D' word?")

I have no problem buying non-local items. But local pick-up is a pain on my neck because she would love to pick it up with me. Here is the way I handle local transactions.

Ex: buying a $2000 CD Player, I paypal or send half of the money to the seller ($1000). Then bring her together to pick it up and pay the rest of the money (another $1000). Told her that it was the best deal of the decade. For higher priced items I usually do 70/30 just for my own safety.

Later when I sell the same player (ex. $1500), I show her the money order or eBay page that I can sell it at the higher price. I'd been doing this for about 5 times. Now I'm free to buy or sell anything at will. Never have to lie again!

How was it?


Bob.

I've been there myself. Sometimes the truth hurts but if you can imagine for a moment the pain of witnessing your wife doing you a favor by polishing the acrylic faceplate of the Electrocompaniet CD player (that a long lost Norwegian friend sent you) with a cheap, dry paper towel, pick up the Audio Note speakers you got at a garage sale and set them front-faced-down on the coffee table so she can dust/shop-vac underneath them, then set them back on the stands and shop-vac the dust off of the drivers and tweeters, spray the platter on that old SME20 you purchased at GoodWill with Armor-All getting it all nice and shiny again, putting tie wraps around all your cables to organize things a bit better, pulling those filthy, dusty, metal base GEC KT77 tubes from an estate sale on your amp and sticking them in the dish washer, etc.

Now... this "favor" would make most audiophiles freak out, but try explaining your freaked out behavior (why you aren't thrilled about what she's done for you) without attaching a dollar figure it. Impossible.

It seems best to be honest.

Hey Bob, thanks for reviving an old thread. Actually, the answer is......respect.

My wife and a bunch of friends formed a 'girl's group' some time ago. I strongly encouraged her to meet with them at least once a month for dinner. A while ago she brought home an interesting story. Of the six women, two of them had taken their husband's last name at marriage. Each of the other five retained her 'maiden'name. My wife took my name.

The point is that the other five were complaining that with the mutual check book, the husband was always being difficult when it came to each of the wife's use of money. Understand that all of these women are rather highly paid professionals. anyway, the two women who had taken their husband's names each have their own checkbooks. In my marriage each of us has a half-obligation to pay the household costs and whatever money is left is each of our own business. What i have left-over is mine and what she has is hers. The point is that the women who retained their own names, etc., have no control and the two women who took the husband's name have all of the independance: the five chose independance in name but lost it in fact. I don't look at my wife's bank statements and hers are not my business.

If I have the money I buy what I want. The same goes for her.

It is called respect, which comes from responsibility and independance.

My wife says to me "I thought you already have a good stereo".
Or there's the "well, it's your money". Fortunately, I handle the finances in our house but I still need to tell her something when she asks how much a piece costs (usually around half). As long as I don't spend the vacation fund, I'm OK. She just looks at me puzzled when I get a new piece. It is not the $. She just does not understand. Now if someone would just make an invisible amp...