Why are there no female Audiophiles?

[Punter]

The recent thread where the (supposedly) female member asks for information about THD in amplifiers made me think. After three pages on that thread and reply from the OP, it's pretty obvious that the member is not the psychologist Erin English. So for any lonely audio nuts out there, sadly we have not got an attractive blond female in the hobby, you're just going to have to continue solo. Thanks to the reviewer community, we do know that female partners are interested in some aspects of HiFi, as they are known to appear in the reviewers listening room, having rushed from the kitchen, to meet the musicians currently performing in their house. However, the interest appears to end there.

In my own experience I have not met a single solitary female who has any interest in sound reproduction equipment at all. My dear wife for example, was perfectly happy to listen to her Spotify playlists on the awful built-in speakers in our TV but since I set up the O-NOORUS amp and the Q Audio speakers, she has certainly appreciated the improvement and has told me so on several occasions. Is she interested in the specs of the gear though? Nope, she just wants to listen to her music and it doesn't really bother her what it's being reproduced by.

The higher-end we go, the absence of women is more than obvious. I skimmed through a few websites with photos of HiFi shows from around the world and the demographic is uniform across all the events. With a few exceptions, grey haired men. Nonetheless, the crowd is 99%+ male regardless of age.

There's a couple of women in the third image but it's likely they are long-suffering spouses who are there to be consulted on whatever the Audiophile wishes to purchase, for approval purposes.

So as a segment of the population, there is an almost perfect lack of interest from females in HiFi sound reproduction equipment and I'm not sure you could say that about many hobbies.

Fascinating isn't it!

 

[krabapple]

one Enid Lumey was enough?

 

[Punter]

Enid Lumey? She's a stranger to Google. Care to illuminate us?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Enid Lumey? She's a stranger to Google. Care to illuminate us?

Funny, when I searched there are several links to comments about her at the top of the search list. She was a sometimes writer for The Absolute Sound in the early days.

Who was Enid Lumley?

RIP. 1938-2008. Posters in the hi-fi forums have fond memories of Enid Lumley’s entertaining writing in The Absolute Sound and International Audio Review. Some consider her an eccentric, and …

hifiauditions.wordpress.com

Enid Lumley's cable tunnels - geoffkait - Tweakers' Asylum

Enid Lumley's cable tunnels - geoffkait - Tweakers' Asylum

www.audioasylum.com

Basically she had some extreme irrational ideas about audio tweaking. Surpassed only by Peter Belt.

I just noticed you mispelled the last name from Krabapple's post. Lumley which is why you didn't find anything.

 

[Purité Audio]

Women have more sense.
Keith

 

[Blumlein 88]

Women have more sense.
Keith

Don't think so. These are the creatures who will pay a few thousand for a designer handbag which is basically a fabric or leather bag to carry stuff.

 

[LTig]

There are female members here.

 

[LTig]

Don't think so. These are the creatures who will pay a few thousand for a designer handbag which is basically a fabric or leather bag to carry stuff.

Well, the priorities are certainly different ...

 

[krabapple]

Enid Lumey? She's a stranger to Google.

I'm sure she's not. You need to up your google game.

My bad, I typo'd her name. Typing on a plane can do that.

It was Enid LUMLEY. You can't make that up.

 

[krabapple]

Women have more sense.
Keith

Enid Lumley didn't.

Neither does Cookie Marenco .

When it comes to audiophilia, that is.

Just as women leaders of nations aren't notably less warlike or 'political' than men, women audiophiles are just as prone to magical thinking and nonsensical audio beliefs as any male audiophile.

They're just rarer, is all.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm sure she's not. You need to up your google game.

Yep, I did not notice the last name was wrongly spelled. Lumley is who he needed to google.

 

[majingotan]

You’ll find more women in the IEM market than any of big speaker market multiplied by ten. They prefer discreet and small/cute IEMs

 

[PatentLawyer]

My wife helped me choose the speakers in my main rig and had strong opinions. We listen together when schedules allow. But never in a million years would she post on a board about audio equipment; she has said to me before: what is the point about talking about listening? Awfully pragmatic comment for her.

 

[Blumlein 88]

You’ll find more women in the IEM market than any of big speaker market multiplied by ten. They prefer discreet and small/cute IEMs

Yes, this is so. I have a small thin Garmin watch. It is maybe semi-smart and fitness oriented. Anyway, being very thin, I've gotten asked what it was and complemented on it by dozens of women. They don't like a big huge square on their wrists.

 

[krabapple]

Yep, I did not notice the last name was wrongly spelled. Lumley is who he needed to google.

though even 'Enid Lumey audio' googles her up immediately.

 

[Astoneroad]

I asked ChatGBT this question and received an oddly ASR forum type of response. "If you are interested in obtaining more specific data on the gender breakdown of audiophiles, you might consider conducting or supporting research on the topic, as this information could help provide a clearer picture of the current demographics within the audiophile community."

 

[krabapple]

Sorry, I cant help posting about Enid when the topic of her comes up. Even though I brought her up.

This howler about her 'influence' from audiogon.com in 2001 comes up as a nearly top hit for a misspelled 'Enid Lumey audio' query

Remember Enid Lumley? She used to write for TAS in the seventies and later for Peter Moncrieff. She was often thought crazy at that time for propagating technical ideas and tweaks which today are common knowlege.

(Only if it's 'common knowlege' today that all cables should be lifted from the floor and anything made of metal must be removed from the listening room.)

I'd forgotten she also wrote for the equally daft Peter Moncrieff.

Commenter plato next recalls more of her amazing recommendations. They were so far out that many thought she must be a con.

Yes, always point the kitchen water spout away from your audio system and remember, if you shine a light on your speakers they will sound brighter. Enid was right about a lot of things but in some areas she took it too far, in my view. She did, however, sell off all her audio gear and I believe she abandoned audiophile pursuits altogether -- proving that there is life after audio and hope for all obsessive-compulsives everywhere. Rumor has it that she and Cat Stevens smoked together -- vinyl-bits rolled up in some of Stevens' old album sleeves. At the time there was a great deal of controversy and speculation over whether or not the vinyl-bits were treated with Last or other mind-altering esoteric agents...

I don't recall her being 'right about a lot of things' like the audiogon goofs do.

But to her credit, it seems she eventually left all that nonsense behind and sold off her gear decades before she passed on to the great tube amp in the sky. And I so hope that Cat Stevens story is true.

 

[krabapple]

I asked ChatGBT this question and received an oddly ASR forum type of response. "If you are interested in obtaining more specific data on the gender breakdown of audiophiles, you might consider conducting or supporting research on the topic, as this information could help provide a clearer picture of the current demographics within the audiophile community."

nice punt, ChatGPT!

 

[fatoldgit]

Nurture AND Nature of the female species.

They love music but females generally (as in the vast majority) dont get hot and bothered about music reproduction quality (and hence hardware). But this is true of the population as a whole: ear buds and tiny mono speakers rule amongst the great unwashed, female or otherwise.

Using two females I know well as examples... my wife is a great dancer, loves it and my sister sings in amateur choirs, stage shows etc and they love music. But the quality of the reproduction is not related to their enjoyment.

But lets look at blokes in general.

Show me some nice CNC'ed/silver anodized aluminum (in any field, not just audio) and I wet my pants. Yet I know blokes whose needle wouldnt move when shown such an objet d art.

So its not just a female thing, this love or not of hardware.

Thus the Nurture and Nature of the female species means audiophiles will always be mainly male.

Yet females go ga ga over $4000 handbags (look at the stitching, feel the quality of the leather, OMG) and other expensive accoutrements... does nothing for me... so each to their own.

Peter

 

[fpitas]

blokes whose needle wouldnt move when shown such an objet d art

*raises hand*