The Entry Level #32 Contacts

Sidebar: Contacts

AudioQuest, 2621 White Road, Irvine, CA 92614. Tel: (949) 585-0111. Web: www.audioquest.com.

PSB Speakers International, 633 Granite Court, Pickering, Ontario L1W 3K1, Canada. Tel: (905) 831-6555 Web: www.psbspeakers.com.

Skullcandy, 1441 W. Ute Boulevard, Suite 250, Park City, UT 84098. Tel: (435) 940-1545. Fax: (435) 214-2566. Web: www.skullcandy.com.

ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
sfrancey's picture

I really like your column, and that you write about things that average people can actually afford.  That said, I have two thoughts about this: 

1.  This quote:

 " It's important because it provides people—audiophiles, but also real people, normal people, even women and teens—an easy way to make their music sound better. It gives us what we want."

 Really? I can understand singling out teens, but women? WTF, Stephen. As if women don't have the capability of understanding the fancy, complicated hi-fi equipment.  Oh, no, leave that for the men-folk.  Women's brains are just not sophisticated enough </sarcasm>.  Way to turn any female readers you do have completely off.  

2. I don't know your girlfriend, and I'm hoping that she has many stellar personal qualities, but the way you write about her, makes her seem like nothing more than a dunce with a pair of ass and tits. She probably does not appreciate being made to seem like a moron on the Internet. 

JohnnyR's picture

He always likes to wander off topic and bring up the "women in his life" (Or his fantasy life that is) and the content of his postings is 70% "Who Cares About Mejias Personl Life" Vs 30% of the actual on topic subject matter.

Stephen Mejias's picture

1. Unlike some people, I don't need editorial brackets or other signposts to alert me to sarcasm. In this case, I wasn't being patronizing or sarcastic. I was making a valid point. The point is not that women can't understand technology—they can—but that more often they don't want to. In fact, I would say (and I did say) that most people, in general, don't want to. And too often a product's technological complexity keeps most people from appreciating the product at all. Fortunately, that's not the case with the AudioQuest DragonFly.

2. That's right. You don't know my girlfriend.

<sarcasm> Thanks for reading Stereophile. </sarcasm>

sfrancey's picture

I don't think the best way to respond to that was make more sexist generalizations about women. I am saying this as a woman who, up until this point, legitimately really liked your column. In fact, it was my favorite one in that you wrote about equipment and music relevant to me, since I am in my 20's. 

I apologize for the comment about your girlfriend. It was uncalled for. I just know that I would hate to be written about that way. 

If stereophile wants to gain readership that is young, possibly female, and new to hifi, I think there are ways to do that without singling them out and insulting their intelligence. I used to think that if stereophile were going to expand its audience, you would be the one to do it. Given the way you've reacted to criticism about the way you write about women, I now doubt that. 

Stephen Mejias's picture

I don't consider one sex ultimately superior to the other. I do think we have some general differences. There are always exceptions, of course.

I apologize for the comment about your girlfriend. It was uncalled for. I just know that I would hate to be written about that way.

I accept your apology. Thank you. And I'm sorry I've insulted you, but it was never my intention to insult anyone based on their gender.

I'll continue to be sensitive to these issues, but I'll never want to be so sensitive that I sacrifice being myself or avoid making a valid point.

JohnnyR's picture

Mejias is just being himself so THAT should tell you what he thinks of women. You are correct in being offended but he just doesn't get it does he?  Not getting it sems to be a common problem with Stereophile writers and reviewers.

Toptip's picture

 "...real people, normal people, even women and teens" can only mean one of two things: Miss Little is either a man or a child.

swillyums's picture

Although including women in a list of people who you wouldn't expect to be interested in or knowledgeable about hifi may be slightly prejudiced, it's not altogether inaccurate. It's rare for teens and women to have much of an interest in quality audio, or use anything other than the stock apple earbuds, in the same way it's unlikely for older people or the average man to be near as knowledgeable about fashion and trends. However, the former category will certainly find joy in hearing high quality audio in the same way the latter will take pleasure in looking good.

 

Sometimes the key is having someone from the 'in' crowd introducing an outsider to the culture in order to spark their interest. Also, it's less of a gender thing, and more of a culture thing... but let's not get into it; time and place and all that.

dalethorn's picture

Stephen knows demographics. That's the science of actually knowing the numbers, as opposed to knowing one's feelings, prejudices etc. Or even "What should be", but never is. Anyway, my youtube review channel has been cooking along with headphone and headphone DAC/amp accessories for nearly 2 years, and up until 2 or 3 months ago when I added camera reviews, the male readers/viewers represented a rock-steady 94 percent of the total. After cameras were added, it dropped to about 90 percent or slightly less. And the audio numbers, i.e. 94 to 6, aren't an anomaly - I participate in  dozen or more headphone sites on a regular basis, and that's the way it is.

Unfortunately for prejudices and what feeds them, the shyness in numbers seems to be roughly proportional to the erstwhile audiophiles' shyness in digging into the technical details of audio, or any of the DIY projects that audiophiles often get involved in.

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