Girlfriends and wifes, how do YOU cope?

Give the wife more back rubs while listening to the equips never fails. She will encourage you to buy more.

1.Insist that your wife has golden ears and can hear far better than you, even if she hasn't and cannot hear the difference between the sound of a radio-clock and say the $70kilo Pipedreams.
2.Let her criticise your system und take her remarks seriously. Even if they are far off the mark, make an effort to pretend to. Don't argue, be grateful!
3. At your next upgrade, tell her that it was thanks to her advice that you took the necessary steps. If she has golden ears, she'll be happy. If she has tin-ears, she wouldn't know the difference. The result however is identical as well as beneficial:
4.She will be sure, that apart from listening to your system, you are also listening to her. (~;

Typical shrink, Detlof! What will you do, if your lady becomes a true audiophile in her own right? That's what I did. The motto here is more simple and more effective than yours:
If you can't beat them, join them.....and then beat them anyway, because mostly we hear better, especially into those details which make for PRAT.

I'm always amused by these threads. I don't see how dealing with audio expenditures are different than the various other negotiations, communications, and compromises that are part and parcel of relationships.

To some people, I would say that the difficulties they have in this area are the tip of a larger iceberg which they should work on.

Some folks seem to be more emotionally wedded to their audio gear than to their significant others. In these pathetic cases, I would advise getting out of their relationships if they can... Your priorities are elsewhere.

Most people who participate in these threads are just taking the opportunity to harmlessly vent. Also he says - she says is a popular formula at comedy clubs. Frivolity is good entertainment as are the largely frivolous luxuries (in the grand scheme of things) that are a focus of audiophiles.

Sek, you make an interesting point and most can hardly disagree. Certainly, hobbies should generally play second fiddle to a long term relationship. At the same time, good long term relationships are "give and take" so successful ones are usually those that allow everyone involved to express themselves and be themselves.

I would like to add though, that the gear and the music are wed (no pun intended). Food and shelter are certainly the highest priorities for everyone, but art is not frivolous (going back to pre-historic times, it has always had a place in even the most desperate conditions). The gear is much like the canvas -- necessary to convey what is really important. Do we tend to spend toooo much time on the gear? Sure. But that's our hobby, and the means to the passion: Music.

To your point, let's not let it interfere too much with all our other passions in life. Thanks again for the thoughts. With that said, let's keep having some fun with this ;-) Cheers.