Wife acceptance factor, wife approval factor, or wife appeal factor [1] (WAF) is an assessment of design elements that either increase or diminish the likelihood a wife will approve the purchase of expensive consumer electronics products such as high fidelity loudspeakers and home theater systems. WAF is a tongue-in-cheek play on electronics jargon such as "form factor" and "power factor" and derives from the stereotype that men are predisposed to appreciate gadgetry and performance criteria whereas women must be wooed by visual and aesthetic factors. [2]
WAF is a sexist term. [3] [4] People have also used the non-gender-specific term Significant Other Acceptance Parameters. [5]
Larry Greenhill first used the term "Wife Acceptance Factor" in September 1983, writing for Stereophile magazine, and credited fellow reviewer and music professor Lewis Lipnick with the coining of the term. [6] The majority of Stereophile subscribers in the late 1980s were men. [7]
Women in the high fidelity hobbyist community have complained about the sexism in the community that is reflected by use of the phrase WAF. [8]
At the start of the golden age of radio in the early 1920s, most radio broadcasters and listeners were men with technical skills. Covers of Radio News depicted humorous situations of women deploring their men's obsession with the new science. Women disliked homemade radio receivers' clutter; electrical parts were left exposed after assembly, the necessary multiple wet-cell batteries leaked corrosive battery acid, and a cable spaghetti of wires connected everything. Replacement acid was sold as "battery oil" to avoid women's reluctance to have the substance in homes. [9]
A way of fitting radio into a home's existing decor was disguising receivers as furniture, a topic discussed in the press as early as 1923. As self-contained, preassembled radios using AC power became available, manufacturers recognized the importance of what a 1924 Radio Broadcast article's headline described as "Making Radio Attractive to Women". Radio News in 1926 held a contest to design the ideal radio receiver exterior; the winning women's entry suggested that it be useful as furniture. [9]
As women increasingly influenced radio purchases, and the devices moved from the man's den to the living room, a 1927 article in Radio Broadcast stated that a "receiver, to be fully appreciated by the female half of the domestic republic, must be encased in housings which are esthetically as well as technically satisfactory". Elaborate radio cabinets often composed most of the price difference between models that used similar electronic components. The components could be replaced while retaining the cabinet as permanent furniture; they had doors that completely hid the radio when not in use. After 1930, elaborate cabinets became less common as newer, smaller table radios became popular, and because the technology was widely accepted by men and women. [9]
High fidelity is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat frequency response within the human hearing range.
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce recorded music to achieve high sound quality, typically using closed headphones, in-ear monitors, open headphones in a quiet listening space, or stereo speakers in a room with good acoustics.
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an audio source privately, in contrast to a loudspeaker, which emits sound into the open air for anyone nearby to hear. Headphones are also known as earphones or, colloquially, cans. Circumaural and supra-aural headphones use a band over the top of the head to hold the speakers in place. Another type, known as earbuds or earpieces consist of individual units that plug into the user's ear canal. A third type are bone conduction headphones, which typically wrap around the back of the head and rest in front of the ear canal, leaving the ear canal open. In the context of telecommunication, a headset is a combination of headphone and microphone.
Bose Corporation is an American manufacturing company that predominantly sells audio equipment. The company was established by Amar Bose in 1964 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts. It is best known for its home audio systems and speakers, noise cancelling headphones, professional audio products and automobile sound systems. Bose has a reputation for being particularly protective of its patents, trademarks, and brands.
In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless, or simply a radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. The antenna intercepts radio waves and converts them to tiny alternating currents which are applied to the receiver, and the receiver extracts the desired information. The receiver uses electronic filters to separate the desired radio frequency signal from all the other signals picked up by the antenna, an electronic amplifier to increase the power of the signal for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through demodulation.
In an audio system, the damping factor gives the ratio of the rated impedance of the loudspeaker to the source impedance of the power amplifier. Only the magnitude of the loudspeaker impedance is used, and the power amplifier output impedance is assumed to be totally resistive.
Marantz is a company that develops and sells high-end audio products. The company was founded in New York, but is now based in California.
Henry Kloss was a prominent American audio engineer and entrepreneur who helped advance high fidelity loudspeaker and radio receiver technology beginning in the 1950s. Kloss was an undergraduate student in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but never received a degree. He was responsible for a number of innovations, including, in part, the acoustic suspension loudspeaker and the high fidelity cassette deck. In 2000, Kloss was one of the first inductees into the Consumer Electronics Association's Hall of Fame. He earned an Emmy Award for his development of a projection television system, the Advent VideoBeam 1000.
High-end audio is a class of consumer home audio equipment marketed to audiophiles on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies. The term can refer simply to the price, to the build quality of the components, or to the subjective or objective quality of sound reproduction.
Celestion is a British designer and exporter of professional loudspeakers.
Acoustic Research was a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company that manufactured high-end audio equipment. The brand is now owned by VOXX. Acoustic Research was known for the AR-3 series of speaker systems, which used the 12 in (300 mm) acoustic suspension woofer of the AR-1 with newly designed dome mid-range speaker and high-frequency drivers. AR's line of acoustic suspension speakers were the first loudspeakers with relatively flat response, extended bass, wide dispersion, small size, and reasonable cost. The AR Turntable remains a highly sought vinyl record player.
Fisher Electronics was an American company specialising in the field of hi-fi electronics. The company and the name was bought by Japanese electronics conglomerate Sanyo in 1975.
Edgar Marion Villchur was an American inventor, educator, and writer widely known for his 1954 invention of the acoustic suspension loudspeaker which revolutionized the field of high-fidelity equipment. A speaker Villchur developed, the AR-3, is exhibited at The Smithsonian Institution's Information Age Exhibit in Washington, DC.
Home audio systems refer to audio consumer electronics designed for home entertainment, such as integrated systems like shelf stereos and music centers, as well as individual components like loudspeakers and surround sound receivers. The evolution of home audio began with Edison's phonograph, transitioning from monaural to stereophonic sound in the 1950s and 60s. The term "hi-fi" emerged, highlighting sound accuracy and minimal distortion. Audio equipment evolved from large wooden cabinets to compact units. The 1970s introduced enhancements like quadraphonic sound and technologies like Dolby Pro Logic. The 1970s and 1980s also saw the rise of component-based stereo systems. Cassette decks became a staple in the 1970s. Integrated systems, termed "music centers" gained popularity in the 1980s. Table systems and compact radio receivers emerged as entertainment devices, with some offering features like cassette players and CD functionalities. Audiophile systems prioritize high-quality music formats and specialized equipment like premium turntables, digital-to-analog converters, and other high-end devices, with some enthusiasts preferring the unique sound characteristics of vinyl records and vacuum tubes. Modern systems often emphasize home cinema applications to enhance the audio experience beyond standard TV speakers.
The NAD 3020 is a stereo integrated amplifier by NAD Electronics, considered to be one of the most important components in the history of high fidelity audio. Launched in 1978, this highly affordable product delivered a good quality sound, which acquired a reputation as an audiophile amplifier of exceptional value. By 1998, the NAD 3020 had become the most well known and best-selling audio amplifier in history.
The LS3/5A is a small studio monitor loudspeaker originated by the BBC for use by outside broadcast vans to ensure quality of their broadcasts. The speaker concept set out transparent and natural sound as the goal, and the achievement of the end result is widely acknowledged.
The Quad Electrostatic Loudspeaker (ESL) is the world's first production full-range electrostatic loudspeaker, launched in 1957 by Quad Electroacoustics, then known as the Acoustical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. The speaker is shaped somewhat like a home electric radiator curved slightly on the vertical axis. They are widely admired for their clarity and precision, but known to be difficult speakers to run and maintain.
Spencer Hughes (1924–1983) was an English audio engineer who worked at the BBC research department in the 1960s. He founded Spendor to manufacture loudspeakers incorporating results of his research.
Spendor is a British loudspeaker manufacturing company founded in 1969 by audio engineer Spencer Hughes (1924–1983) and his wife Dorothy. It is located in East Sussex. The name was derived from the first names of both.
Wife Appeal Factor
Thanks again to Glenn Hart, who did not coin this term—it was Lewis Lipnick—but from whom I heard it for the first time!