I have a strange question!

shep · « **on:** 2 Jan 2007, 10:16 pm »

Does anyone know how many women might be members of this forum? It just occured to me that out 8,000+ (I think that is right) we can't be ALL men! Funny thought. If it's true, what does that say and
am I the only one who has ever wondered?

miklorsmith · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 10:19 pm »

Au contraire. We can be all men. The ladies hang out here:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=32538.0

shep · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 10:25 pm »

I think I'll sit this one out!

Carlman · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 10:34 pm »

I've seen women audiophiles... once in person and once in a photo.... So, I know they exist. However, out of 8,000 I'm not sure... the odds are probably closer to 10,000 to 1 that an audiophile is female. If you add in the factor of participating in an online forum analyzing audio experiences, I don't know where that'd put the odds....

shep · « **Reply #4 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 10:40 pm »

If this is so, does anyone have an idea why? I mean female musicians and performers are legion. Why is this a guy-ony-thing? I can't figure it...

Marbles · « **Reply #5 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 10:43 pm »

Sue Kraft is a member here, but not a very active one...

jules · « **Reply #6 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 11:04 pm »

I reckon this is a really great question and I've had a go at asking it here before but the response is always a kind of deathly silence as though the subject is taboo.

I read an article a couple of days back on the topic of sporting venues in the middle of the last century as compared to now. These days there's colourful crowds, comfortable seating, carpeted areas in some venues and all manner of food, restrooms and other facilities. Before the 1950's, most of the spectators at sporting events were men. They stood in grey and serious rows, shoulder to shoulder. There was often very little in the way of toilets and the blokey thing to do was to stay in your chosen spot for the whole game and piss where you stood. You think I joke? No, the practice was so widespread that erosion of concrete by urine was a recognized problem.

To me, Audio today has something in common with sport in the 1950's ... lots of macho competitive stuff and too much pissing. I feel somehow that half the picture is missing and if there's any direction that has potential here, particularly for manufacturers, it has to be a realization that reproducing sound isn't just a technical exercise aimed at that peculiarly anti-social item, the listening chair.

jules

shep · « **Reply #7 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 11:17 pm »

Now that's more like it! I was kind of expecting the deathly silence, some unease like... who the hell is this guy? Doesn't he know better? It seems to me that when we take pleasure in the music (as apposed to the equipment) we are exercising the sensual feminine part of our perceptions-the emotional. Maybe the gals got so turned off by our obsessive behavior that they lost interest somewhere along the line and there was some kind of unspoken collective "fuck-off"? I remember the faces of the wives in that Utube video "I actually married this freak?!" To be honest, it is with the greatest reluctance that I will give up the sweet spot seat to a lady!

R_burke · « **Reply #8 on:** 2 Jan 2007, 11:33 pm »

I'll hazard a guess that we have at least two women as members:

Lady Gator
LadyDog

But then again, names can be deceiving and the second one might be another type of reference

jules · « **Reply #9 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 12:37 am »

oops Shep ... looks like the deathly silence has struck again and there's probably a mental note being made that the people who've asked this question are clearly members of some looney snag fringe

Hell, this is a mans area only isn't it and that's the way it should stay

!

jules

Marbles · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 12:53 am »

Quote from: R_burke on 2 Jan 2007, 11:33 pm

I'll hazard a guess that we have at least two women as members:

Lady Gator
LadyDog

But then again, names can be deceiving and the second one might be another type of reference

Ladydog is most assuredly a guy..a nice one too...his nom de plume is after his departed pet dog Lady.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 01:22 am »

I wonder if women at needlepoint sites ask why there aren't any men there?

IME men are far more interested in gear than women, although supposedly that's changing. The bulk of hardcore gamers are men, and RPGs are played mostly by males, too. It also seems to me that loving gear for it's own sake is an almost completely male phenomenon. Be it cars, computers, audio gear, video equipment, it seems to be percieved as Boy's Toys.

My sister is one of the rare female (aspiring) audio/videophiles. She has an entry level projection system and a pretty decent HT system. Some is hand-me-downs from her big brother (me!) but she picked out & bought her speakers all on her own (Rosemahogany Monitor Audio Silver 5i's, the one's that got all the rave reviews, with a 12i center, Bronze FX speakers and a pair of 3i's for a total of seven!). She doesn't have a subwoofer yet, probably will eventually. She may never really get much past the point where she's at; she likes good picture and sound but still doesn't really understand how to use her Denon 3802 for anything besides the very basics. She's just not motivated to roll up her sleeves and sit down with the (very crappy) manual and figure it out.

Some cliches have a lot of truth in them. I've rarely met a woman that cares much for audio equipment. They seem to be able to appreciate good sound but have no problem going right back to a car stereo or boom box. Actually most people are that way, but women more than men. It seems a bit easier to get women into HT stuff, but even then "unobtrusive" and easy to use seem to be the top priorities.

jules · « **Reply #12 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 01:36 am »

interesting fab,

I spent a fair slab of time working at the high end of food creation in the restaurant industry. A friend of mine and leading light in the Aus. restaurant scene was of the opinion that her food should be eaten in an atmosphere that did not in any way interfere with tasting the food as the total experience. She did not have music in her restaurant on the grounds that it was a distraction from the holy grail of her food. [The same person also wanted to make black pudding sausages out of her own blood as a gift to her patrons so she might just have been slightly extreme

]. The logic of this sort of thinking is that the best way to appreciate a great meal would be on your own in an unadorned room with no other people and no other distractions. The reality is, of course that eating is a fantastic social experience which is enhanced when all the senses are involved (including our ears). A great meal stimulates our minds, conversation and ideas. It's multi-skilling and it's appreciation is not limited to women.

So why is music different? Why the sterile throne of the listening chair? Why the belief that outside stimuli have to be eradicated to allow full appreciation of the sound? Could it be that the much scorned Bose recognize something that others do not?

jules

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #13 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 01:48 am »

Hmmm...I have no desire to make blood sausage out of my own blood!

I'm not that eccentric I guess. Well, eating a meal in a hotel room would be just fine- if it wasn't lukewarm Applebees out of styrofoam or cold McDonalds fries. Since I'm an Atkins type of guy I find it hard to get a suitable meal that I don't prepare myself. If I eat a bunch of carbs it just snowballs into other areas- my mood suffers, I feel rundown and lacking in energy, and it's hard to make myself work out. Eating the right foods is the key for all the other stuff for me.

I do enjoy listening to music without distractions. But it's also fun to share music with a friend, too.

TomS · « **Reply #14 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 01:49 am »

It also may also have something to do with men and frequent OCD - audio, cars, boats, guns, fishing, stuff in general. At least I know I certainly resemble that remark for a few of them.

Some really knowledgeable women do come to mind - Eva Manley, Kathy Gornak(?) - used to be at Thiel, Colleen Cardas, Karen Sumner - Transparent Audio, Jim Weil's spouse (forgot her name) of Sound Application, all of whom are part of the biz.

One thing I've found, even though they may be seemingly disinterested, they are very sensitive to differences in sound that we might ignore or agonize over whether we heard a difference. They can pick it right out, typically from another room, not glued to the listening position at all.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #15 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 01:52 am »

Yes, the hear very well. That's why it baffles me that so few seem to care about sound. Oddly, I've found by and large that musicians also don't care about audio gear. Now I realize lots of guys here are also musicians, so I have to qualify that- most of my musician friends and aquaintences don't care about it. My theory is that their minds are better able to fill in the information, so they're hearing the music in their minds differently than someone like me. Maybe?

R_burke · « **Reply #16 on:** 3 Jan 2007, 03:12 am »

Quote from: Rob Babcock on 3 Jan 2007, 01:52 am

Yes, the hear very well. That's why it baffles me that so few seem to care about sound. Oddly, I've found by and large that musicians also don't care about audio gear. Now I realize lots of guys here are also musicians, so I have to qualify that- most of my musician friends and aquaintences don't care about it. My theory is that their minds are better able to fill in the information, so they're hearing the music in their minds differently than someone like me. Maybe?

I have several friends who are musicians and although they don't have nice audio set ups they all appreciate well recorded music played on a nice stereo. Lou Hinkley of Daedalus Audio is a fine musician and a really good speaker designer whose whole design philosophy is trying to mirror/immitate the "live" sound. I think the issue with musicians is that they enjoy the live sound so much that nothing from a stereo compares to it.

Jess Quintana · « **Reply #17 on:** 30 Jan 2007, 05:55 pm »

Well, speaking as a manufacturer, a lot of thought goes into our products and the appeal they will have to everyone in the household, not just the guys.

A beautiful finish speaks volumes to those who don't want a laboratory envirnment in their living rooms!

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #18 on:** 30 Jan 2007, 07:27 pm »

According to the Forum stats......Male to Female Ratio: 151.5:1

We have 8331 members now registered....sooooo (I'm so glad my fourth grade teacher taught me division

) we should have some 55 female audiophiles among us.

Darned if I know of any, tho.

John Casler · « **Reply #19 on:** 30 Jan 2007, 07:42 pm »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 30 Jan 2007, 07:27 pm

According to the Forum stats......Male to Female Ratio: 151.5:1

We have 8331 members now registered....sooooo (I'm so glad my fourth grade teacher taught me division ) we should have some 55 female audiophiles among us.

Darned if I know of any, tho.

I will be recruiting a very nice and well heeled (both high and regular) audiophiless in a short time. Hopefully she will also be a great contributor.

Both she and her husband attend most of the LA and OC Audio Society Meetings and she is now a VP in the organization.