Pet peeves: significant others and the hi-fi

You have been married for 25 years and never had a single row..?  I love my wife and we have been together for over 30 years.  My wife would say that love is having to say your sorry to your other half all the time, and that is reality. We have had plenty of rows, and some utterly virulent and vicious, but we love each other (and fancy each other) and thats what holds us together.  How on earth did you manage not to have a single row in 25 years, do you have any children?  

Beware the Roomba...they run into speaker...back up...smash it again. Over and over until its little robot brain decides the speaker has been moved enough.

You may have saved me some aggro. A Roomba was on her shopping list which I have now vetoed.

I think the long term solution is to big bigger heaver more expensive speakers. Then when she brings the hoover out I can say "have at it. They ain't budging."

You can use a Roomba, just block the speakers.  I kept coming in after she used it and my speakers would be randomly moved...I couldn't figure it out until I heard the *hammering* omg.

They have things to block the Roomba like an invisible fence for dogs...its like a really stupid dog.  My wife uses them to keep the Roomba from falling down the stairs...but I sometimes thing of moving them...

Ah, so the Roomba is like a purebred Lab then?

Yeah, wouldn't want one in my listening room.

We don't have kids. By choice as it happens.

I guess it is just the way things work for us. We sort things out, or just take a breath and move on. Neither of us is one to scream and shout. Cannot bear to bicker either!

I have no doubt a good row works for many. For us a long walk together usually irons out any wrinkles.

Bruce

I think most of us are pretty lucky.

Nearly all the guys I know, their other half (not always a lady in a couple cases) strictly bans any hifi that cannot fit on a tiny book case (the kind that cost 100 quid and the speakers clip onto the main unit) and mandates that the TV and any entertainment gear be crammed into the corner.

I have never had to put up with that. Honestly this speaker thing was the first time my wife and the hi-fi had ever crossed swords.

Was kind of hoping people would have more amusing stories for this thread. Either everyone is offended or nothing interesting springs to mind.

Thanks mate - I'll make sure I stay out of your threads for the future!

Me & my dearly beloved never row either. It's a different story with my wife of course...

Anyway, my wife's a very understanding lady and puts up with my cranky hi-fi stuff with barely a murmour. She baulked a little bit at the DBLs but I talked her round. Not easy though. I confess to being a bit devious at times; when I wanted to exchange my two REL subwoofers for a pair of rather larger Velodynes her concern was whether they would stick further out into the room. Over the course of a couple of weeks, I gradually moved the RELs away from the wall until they matched the intusion into the room of the Velodynes. Then showed her the measurements; she was content. The silly thing is, she was aware I was doing it but kept quiet.

It's currently obligatory to stay out of the Vitus Audio thread.

Au contraire, mon ami !!

That'll be exactly it.

My wife and I bicker like nobody's business and have had some knock-down drag-out fights when we first got together.  She's a fiery broad, and she'll deck ya soon as look at ya.

Kids up the game quite a lot, however...

Start a business with your wife and you'll really have some fun!  Let me know who the 'boss' ends up being.

To enjoy this hobby without too many "what the hell is this for? You paid how much for it!" moments I had to allow her to pick out my/our speakers. She chose B&W CM6 s2. Wasn't my first choice but I'm very happy with her aesthetically pleasing selection. 

Now its her turn to buy some sort of purse that she thinks is "cute"

We have a very clear agreement - for everything I spend on HiFi I need to transfer an equivalent sum into her bank account. With this in place, plus a dedicated room, none of my wilder HiFi extravagances have been questioned.

With regard to funny things, my move to streaming was almost entirely motivated by my dear wife putting CDs back into the wrong case.... Oh, I fancy listening to xxx tonight.... Ahhhggggghhh, where's the CD, then back tracking through several to find it.

Shamefully I've resorted to fibbing about the reason/cost of upgrades etc and my guilt has led to me recently buying my wife a diamond necklace and a Gucci watch

Which likely makes it more obvoius that I'm hiding something but I'd bet she knows what's going on anyway

My mates spend fortunes on cars (including my next door neighbour who recently spent £85k on a Bently conv. GTC)

I just spend my money on HiFi!

At least I'm at home where she knows where I am and what I'm doing

And I'm sure she does like the sound, she just doesn't know how much it all cost

You know, I thought I would have a terrible time buying the new hi-fi because I wanted to upgrade everything in one go, source to speakers so I let her at least choose between Naim and Linn and approve the speakers. 

Then the final big number was put on paper including an extra grand to ship it around the globe. By many standards on this forum it may not be that extravagant (but still 6 classic series boxes centred around a 282 SC) but I got everything in one go so quite painful on the wallet. I was expecting major drama but she actually said "you've not splurged on hi-fi in 15 years and the amount I spent on handbags and shoes in that time could buy 3 of these. So go ahead."

She actually said that!

Of course she opened pandora's box with that statement. A month later we were selling mint condition (never been used) handbags and shoes on ebay. 

Now wait a minute, Joe! At the risk of hijacking the thread I must protest such uninformed slander and point out that labs rank among the most intelligent of all the purebred breeds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...Intelligence_of_Dogs

Arf!

They are very intelligent, and generally loveable and friendly, but with a bit of a tendency to be all @sses and elbows in their zeal for life...not as bad as some breeds, but not necessarily great to have around hi fi or the china - lol.

I read that ranking time ago. I had three dogs:  Akita, Lab and Bernese Mountain.

The one in the lowest position in the ranking, the Akita, was stubborn in many aspects but was very well behaved inside the house, never entered into the house without permission, very clean to eat, never destroyed anything, etc. The lab has a big "emotional intelligence" but is very messy and restless, I need a lot of repetitions to obtain certain behavior.. The Bernese is also very restless but I find that is easier to train, is like he understand what you need from him.

All very different, so, to me is very difficult to say that they behave according to the ranking.

Unfortunately the Akita is gone, she was really lovely.

Regards.

Erich

Hah, I figured my lab remark might rankle a few here, based on avatars. I was very familiar with Labs as I grew up. Great dogs, loveable, loyal, gentle and good looking. Just not the type I'd want near delicate items. Plus they shed quite a bit.

As far as specific dog breeds, they each have their characteristics towards certain behaviors. Purebred owners can tend to get defensive about the intelligence issue. In the end they are all dogs and perceived intelligence likely has more to do with the dedicated training dogs get when they are young than any sort of doggie IQ.  

I have a mutt, the best of all breeds

She knows...and you buy her silence with Gucci.

My Golden Retriever is just awesome and never ceases to amaze me. He is quite a character and can be really stubborn at times. He is highly intelligent though and knows exactly what he's doing, often trying to play me and my good lady like a fiddle!  Just recently I have been teaching him to read and so far he can do the sit, down and stand commands all from nothing more than a printed cue. He picked it up amazingly fast as well, in just over a week or so. Mental stimulation is often more exhausting than physical and is really, really good for them 

You guys need a good divorce lawyer.

Mulberry in my case. 

Hah. Seems like a number of pussy-whipped husbands responding here.

I don't have to rationalize my hifi purchases to my wife, nor does she consult me on her personal buys. No compensatory mechanism involved, rather a bit of fiduciary trust developed after nearly 30 years together. So glad as I can simply evaluate any upgrade for its actual cost