High end Audio for ladies? Check this out

Back in the day there were only a few women surfing, now there out there shredding with power and grace. Even though my lovely wife was a capable disk jockey and went on to media promotions she's a bit uncomfortable with turntable maintenance. She has recently researched, selected, and was a major force in installing our new HT only system.

While not all the women who she manages to get in the sweet spot find audio fidelity all that important, but many are so taken by the experience they've jumped in the water. I can't tell just how proud I am. Twenty-six pairs of black shoes and speakers out in the middle of the living room. Sweet.

I am very glad to have ''stumbled'' on this site that speaks Audio to women, and especially happy that it is generating a healthy discussion. Being a marketing strategy consultant for the past 15 years, I am often faced with designing strategies for companies with male and female clients as their target market. I have had client companies (in both B2B and B2C) manufacturing or distributing everything from tools, to furniture, to doors & windows, to high-end musical instruments...to high end audio (a few unknown companies as clients as well as one of the most prestigious manufacturer in all of high-end audio). One thing is for sure.
Women use, enjoy, and most importantly, have different motivating buying factors than men – as surely as Venus is different from Mars. More importantly, I am astounded daily (through my clients again) of the decisional power of women in seemingly purely traditional ‘’male’’ items like garage doors, high-end tools, heating and ventilation equipment, and anything of significant value that crosses the front door into the home. High end audio does not escape this fact. We may underplay or minimize some exotic audio purchases to the kinder gender, but who are we fooling really? Audio gear companies that ignore this growing and positive female market force, especially the smaller companies (and there are many out there) will feel the squeeze eventually. So far, most audio companies have never felt that need to ‘’speak’’ or sell to the ladies, but this might be prone to change in this niche market with a shrinking customer base in relation to the correspondingly large market offer from manufacturers - mass and boutique type- of high end audio. I would say that it is never too late to start – heck – it is smart business. And this will mean a lot more than the borderline insulting ‘’WAF’’ term - wife acceptance factor - that many audiophiles use, reducing the seductive elements of audio components to ‘’looks’’ only. Women actually like brains also, not just looks, in audio. In my humble opinion, accessibility to quality reproduced music – and not just while relaxing in a Lazyboy, is a bigger priority to many women than the 1’’ thick faceplate of a preamp and the activity of ‘’analyzing the air’’ around instruments in the same 10 recordings that are in rotation in many an audiophile sanctuary (because it is a sancturary right?). Sorry about the length of this text – the topic just seemed overdue. B-T-W, my significant other likes music as much as I do, but just not served and enjoyed in the same fashion !

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All of this will of course introduce a new acronym into the hi-end lexicon.

HAF....husband acceptance factor.

You were a single female audiophile who is now getting married to a very manly man. What stays? His big Krell monoblocs and Wilson Grand Slamms or her color coordinated speakers and not so beefy amps?

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So, Stereolady, what is the matching item on the left of the picture? A Dali Miniline, perhaps? Or perhaps they have a line of ultra-thin bass traps? Or maybe a divider in case I want to slip into something more comfortable while listening?

In any case, the Megaline is in the wrong place and facing the wrong way - where is the other one?

I think this is a good idea and certainly worth pursuing as a business opportunity. There are other businesses, such as fitness clubs, that cater only to women for gender based reasons. It is unquestionable that women have different views and approaches to things than men. It doesn't mean always mean that they are not interested in similar things, but their approach may differ. My wife is certainly very discerning when it comes to quality and appreciates the audio and video system that I put together. What she doesn't appreciate is the way that I do it, i.e. the research, the high-end audio stores, fussing over moving speakers an inch one way or the other, the ugliness of some of the equipment. Most of all, she doesn't appreciate the cost. From looking at Stereolady's website, it would seem to me that the target market is the very well heeled, professional since the majority of systems are very expensive. If I am wrong in this, I can only say that it is the image she is projecting. If I were starting such a business, I would very closely investigate the lower end of the high-end market, i.e. the women who wants quality but think that more than a few thousand is neither realistic nor justified given other household expenses. Or perhaps she has done this market research and decided that the more affluent person is her target. If so, then fair enough.

And since Stereolady is monitoring this thread to see what all of us chauvinists have to say, I would recommend that she look at the following thread from a couple of weeks ago.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1222388824

The person who started this thread appears to be exactly the type of person you might be looking for as a client.