A woman's guide to buying speakers

Men and women see things differently. Take audio: A guy might be impressed with a big honkin' speaker, but a woman probably sees a hideous box. Being a guy, I might not be the most sensitive to what females want from a hi-fi, so I'm more than willing to hear about it from the other side. I stumbled upon a well-written piece on a speaker manufacturer's (Klipsch) site that does just that. It's jam-packed with great advice--and don't worry--it never even mentions Klipsch speakers. Sarah Knight's "Get Turned On: A Woman's Guide to Purchasing Audio Gear" is a fun read. Here's an excerpt: "It's important to determine everything you want this system to do. Will it be used to listen to music, watch movies and TV, play video games or all of the above? For instance, if all you want to do is listen to music, a 2.1 system (two speakers and a subwoofer) should suffice. But by adding movies and TV into the mix, you might consider a home theater system that includes 5.1-channel surround sound, which means three speakers positioned in front, two for surround speakers at the sides and a subwoofer placed in the front corner to capture those deep-driving sound effects you feel and hear."

Of course, the tips are equally valuable to male shoppers. When I sold high-end audio female customers were pretty rare, but fact is, women's ability to appreciate quality sound is probably better than men's. They don't get caught up on the technical bits so much, they focus on the sonic/musical results. Which is, after all, what it's all about.