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The gender-split in audio

Are there any theories as to why audio seems to be such a male interest? I KNOW that there are some female audiophiles out there (and, of course, that most men are not audiophiles), but there seems to be a very large imbalance within the audio world. I think audio should be important to any music-lover. There are lots of women for whom music is an important part of their life, so why the gender-split in audio? As I said, I am wondering about theories, not anecdotes. For example, maybe it's all about marketing, not the accurate reproduction of music per se. But I look at my gear and some ads in audio magazines and for the most part there doesn't seem to be anything intrinsically "male" about them or how they're pitched, and I doubt it would be sufficient to account for the apparent imbalance if there were. However, maybe I, as a male(!), underestimate these factors.
wellen
garfish
1,840 posts
 
........I need to add that my daughter, who lives in a big city, attends many more live music events (including season opera tickets) than I do. Craig
stokjoc
43 posts
 
Women hear better then men but the high end tweeter reproduction gets on their nerves. This is of course a subjective personal opinion but who can prove I'm wrong ? Another theory is that "the look" is at least as important to women as sound. Bottom line, they would rather have cute invisable sound then good sound. Speakers away from walls, ugly wires and exposed components aggravate them more then inferior sound. It's called priorities !
jayboard
301 posts
 
Hi, Wellen, I think Garfish's daughter has it right. Guys tend to be more single-minded about these things, and much more hung up on manipulating and trying to assert our mastery over our environment, whether it's hifi, cars, politics...
phild
603 posts
 
I think some of the women on this site have summed it up as a preference for music over gear. It seems that most audiophiles are into the engineering and sonic technicalities as much or more than the music itself. The details are very important to men...the technology, the appearance, the image, etc. Many women are just happy listening to the music. Why aren't there as many women car buffs as there are men? Same reasons.

Why did chicken cross the road? To get to the other side, right? Notice that there is never any mention of a rooster crossing the road. He was probably hit by a truck while he admired the asphalt work and the cool yellow stripe. :-)
katharina
56 posts
 
Phild, to me at least its music over gear, for the man I share the music with its both. I am fascinated with what gear can or cannot do to music, but the emphasis remains on music. For me it does not have to be "perfect". I enjoy it as is, for him its rather something, which Detlof on another tread called a "quest".
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