Sunday, March 6, 2011

Difference Between Men and Women, Installment 11672

Men are concerned with the way high-fidelity speakers sound.

Women are concerned with the way high-fidelity speakers look.

This appears to be an immutable truth. Guys want big, awesome sounding speakers the size of your living room wall. They want amplifiers that weigh seventy pounds and put out 300 watts per channel. When Jim Morrison sings about Texas radio, or Anton Bruckner is spinning out one of his glorious symphonic ideas, guys want it to rock the house.

Women, on the other hand, prefer stereo speakers the size of a pair or earrings, powered by an amplifier you can hide under a Longaberger basket. To a woman, stereo equipment should arguably be heard, but never seen. This is one reason why Bose is so popular. To most guys, it sounds good enough, and it will blend in nicely with a woman's living room decor.

But for some of us men, Bose is not enough. This built-in conflict of interest makes for some, shall I say, interesting discussions in the course of a marriage.

To a woman, the following conversation makes perfect sense.

Husband: "Sweetheart, Sam has an old pair of AR 19s for sale, he's only asking $400. Is it okay with you if I buy them?"

Wife: "How big are they? Do you really need another pair of speakers? I think the old ones look fine."

However, reverse the parameters and the following conversation is best to be avoided:

Wife: "Sweetheart, I found a new wall hanging and bought it for our living room. It was only $400."

Husband: "I think the old wall hanging sounds fine."