TECH2

Thank you! I've always cringed whenever I've seen that term thrown around, so I'm glad to see someone at a major A/V publication pointing out how sexist it is. You're also right that it's not a very useful term, and is usually used to brush off legitimate complaints and issues that deserve to be addressed directly.

+1000, but good luck getting some simpleminded forums to join the movement.

My wife enjoys an immersive theater experience and well reproduced music. I have a dedicated theater room with no windows where the gear is visible only briefly when it's first powered on and a movie is inserted. No problem there. I have a second surround sound system in our family room- 65" plasma wall mounted and all in wall speakers. No visible cables. No problem there either. My baby, however, is an old two channel system. Martin Logan Prodigies powered by Krell Class A mono blocks. This is in our living room, which is vast and has very high ceilings. The ML's, being dipoles, have to be pulled out into the room somewhat and there are sewer pipe cables running everywhere. She will sit and listen to it and be appreciative of it but she will also grumble about it's intrusion into our living space and the fact that she, rightly, can never clean around it the way she does the rest of the house. Obviously, I ignored anything resembling WAF but it does, in my case, have some merit.

This is a nice PC article, but were the mag to run a poll on which sex purchases A/V equipment, I would think you find that it would be men vastly more common than women. The same for sports cars and pick up trucks. Sure most women like them and want to ride in them, but who actually buys serious sports cars (not a Miata)? A google search revealed The top ten models that had greater than 50 percent retail sales to males and at least 1,000 annual retail sales in 2010 were: Porsche 911, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series, BMW M3, Ford Ranger, Toyota Tundra, Dodge Ram and Audi S5, TrueCar said.

So I'm tellin' ya', buying A/V equipment is still now and historically a male purchase, if not initially (it was/is), certainly for upgrades. Silly article.

I'm sorry, Geoff, but this is trendy, liberal, PC nonsense. Men and women are different and always will be. The reality is that 95% of the women we all know are nest builders, and they don't like ugly black boxes in the living room.

"This is, unquestionably, sexist. I mean, duh, of course it is." Geoff, if you think WAF is sexist, you should listen to what women say about men.

I've never met a woman who wants to build a basketball court - or any other sports arena, for that matter - in her backyard, but if you stumble upon her, I can tell you she will be a rarity. And you'd better check she's not a dude.

There are many generalities you can observe of the differences between the sexes, and we ignore them at our peril. That's not sexist, it's just common sense. Not only is the WAF expression funny, it's also correct. And the hilarious paradox is that I think you'll find most women would agree too.

Just change it to "Woman Acceptance Factor" since it does not apply only to wives.

Is it sexist though? More often than not that way of speaking (or writing) is someone writing or speaking about their own wife. Rather than trying to perpetuate some kind of male dominance in this hobby I suspect most of the men are jokingly referring to their own home life/marriage. Men and women are different. Obviously we shouldn't stereotype, not all men like soccer (I'm British) etc. But, at the same time while I try to impress people who visit my flat with my AV equipment it tends to be guys who are impressed. Girls tend to be more concerned about how I'm using the living space, ways that I can make the flat more welcoming etc. And that's good isn't it? If i were to get married and live with someone wouldn't it be good for us to complement each other in this way?

Yes, that term should be deleted from our vocabulary!!!!

I believe all of this has to do where one places their vanities. I know men that want big sounding systems with "invisible speakers" - they want a house that when people enter they gawk at it's beauty. I believe in having a presentable home, but what does that do for me? My wife has areas that are all her own and she enjoys them. What do they actively do...nothing! They are full of llardo, Hummel, and Capodemaonte'. They look pretty but after that....meh! Many even have AV gear just to say look at what I have or what I can afford....that's the same type of vanity! My wife's rooms provide her a type of pleasure....and that's ok, even if it provides me none (I remember her saying - just sit and enjoy the pretty...Lol)! I'm just happy to be a home owner, not trying to have a better home than someone else (I can only live in one room at a time). A pretty bathroom with cheap TP is a turn off for me, but a clean bathroom with that ultra soft TP that begins with a "C" I can enjoy that when the time comes. It's functional. I don't think its a gender thing - I think its a value thing - and many of us - because we are people that value seeing - are more form than function - while I'm more function than form....and there are many men that value form over function (my son-in-law is like that).

What about the HAF (Husband Acceptance Factor)? I happen to think my wife spending piles of money on pointless purses and shoes that she buys at a whim, and will only wear once or twice before being dumped into storage in the basement is a perfect counterargument. Is me thinking that's ridiculous sexist too?

The underlying meaning of WAF is perfectly valid, just including a gender in the term is a bad idea. AV equipment is just one instance where one half of a partnership may not have an entirely utilitarian viewpoint and judge it solely on capabilities, how it looks be damned! I might refer to it as Form vs Function (FvF) or maybe Interior Design Friendliness (IDF). Both are terms which could apply to ANYONE and not be considered offensive in any way.

Spot on Geoff, of course WAF is sexist.

Mildly so compared to some of the stuff that goes on in society, so let's not get too worked up about it. But it is sexist, and as others have said it will put females off our hobby (which as others have pointed out is very male dominated at this point in time). Gosh you have to type a lot to ensure you don't offend anyone.

Anyway, the ladies don't have a monopoly on aesthetics, and you are also right Geoff in that all hi-fi looks bad (well virtually all, some stuff is tasteful). But much is also decidedly bling, of the look-how-much-I-spent this-would-even-look-out-of-place-in-Star-Wars type (you know what they say, the bigger the car the smaller......!). And it is all about the music anyway isn't it? Gosh you have to type a lot to offend people!!

Stands back and waits for the bricks to rain down on me :-)

nb dry British humour, not trolling.

I no longer use the WAF Factor when purchasing and or presenting new gear, I now use the Compromise Factor.
I wanted my 7.1 system front and center in our family, she wanted a Bose Lifestyle System instead because it was small, out of the way not too intrusive and cute and also granite counter tops in the kitchen.
I agreed and got my system and the wife got her counter tops

Spouse Acceptance Factor
SAF

It's just a term used to describe a compromise we have to make. I don't like WAF, call it SAF (spouse acceptance factor) SOAF (significant other acceptance factor) RAF (roommate acceptance factor) or whatever other acronym you want that caters to both sides. Webster is putting garbage like selfie in the dictionary, that's retarded...oops...did that word offend someone? It shouldn't because I'm not referring to a person in that context, it's just a word that drives a point home. I can't say; oh man, that's handicapped! That sounds dumb, LOL! Religious people get worked up when someone says the GD word. It's not like when we say that word we're litterally swearing God, it's just a saying. People are so sensitive, you got an issue...I got a tissue. Imagine the words we'll be using 10-20 years from now.

Oh no Geoffrey, there you go again: finding a problem where there really isn't one. Picking a fight and then calling people names simply because they don't agree with is not a good way to conduct your life.

I've rolled my eyes so many times at your ridiculous articles, I think I've developed vertigo.

get over yourself. lame ass leftists. go knit an afghan.