Girlfriends and wifes, how do YOU cope?

lol!!!!! Good call Albert. Whatever we end up with will be referred to as the Oscar Award. The Marantz didn't do it for me although I loved the fit and finish. My favorite by a huge margin is the Hegel H200 which I find to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen. I might have to refer to it as the Ugly Oscar Award.

Our deal is simple, I do not use the family money for this hobby. I will buy,sell, barter, or whatever to fund this hobby. Last year I bought out a complete house of Audio Design Associates gear. It took me a while to sell but I bought a Conrad Johnson Classic 2SE preamp brand new (with the help of my pre as a trade) a pair of Revel M106 monitors and a YBA headphone/dac with the profit. Plus I gave my wife $500 of that cash to spend on herself...

Then I sold the gear I was no longer using and with that money I bought a NAD M51 DAC plus had $300 left over.

So with my initial investment of $1k , minus the $500 I really was only $200 out of pocket after an awesome upgrade.

The other way I cope is I got smart and put the 52" TV in our front family room......good way to get your listening room back. No one wanted to watch TV in our den on a 32" 720p TV.....I must say it was brilliant !!!! After the family was conditioned and had acclimated to their new hangout I picked up a 47" LED, which by the was does not count as an audio expenditure .....

Only one way to, never take up with any women who gives you serious grief on ANY subject, in the end she'll give it to you on EVERY subject.

This requires you never lie to yourself, the worst about lying is that you will belive your own BS in short order.

Just purchased an lp for $31. Had to borrow a 20 from my wife. She then asked the price I paid. As we were leaving she pointed out a store she wanted to stop at just up the road. We left after she bought $72 worth of patterns and yarn. See how that works???!!!

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.