Convincing your wife or hiding it from her?
The idea that you want to spend your hard earned cash on a big black box may seem crazy to your wife.
It seems perfectly logical to you. We know that. We feel your pain. The one thing we know you want to aviod is this :
We want to avoid that too. After she is done with you she always calls us right away.
This paradoxical situation has prompted many a conversations at Elemental Designs with clients. Most of us see our clients go to great extents to quietly purchase loads of big black boxes.
This blog is a story of that very situation.
For the wives reading. Pleas keep in mind this is by no means intended to be a user guide for hiding a big purchase from you. Rather a recount of a few of our favorite stories to tell around the office. We can assure you. A creative husband with a positive cashflow will always find a way to buy his toys.
No names will be used to protect the guilty albiet hilarious and awesome individuals involved in such situations.
Here are some short tales of how men have for better or worse acquired amazingly massive black boxes of madness…. with or without the knowledge of their wife. We don’t make the most wife friendly products in the world. We know that. Apparently that isn’t stopping
Here are a few stories that remain legend around here.
The payoff.
I find it useful to start with the most straight forward story of how a great client came into ownership of one of the biggest A7 cabinets we manufacture. He simply bought his wife a new corvette. He got his subwoofer.
The siphon.
This one gets a little more interesting. We’ve been asking to do a great deal of things to help with the above problem. In this case a subwoofer that was quite small was initially ordered. The wife approved of the smaller subwoofer and it was put on the credit card. Over a period of 3 weeks we received money orders from this customer in excess of 2000 dollars to be applied to his “other” order. We quietly applied the received amounts and when shipping day came. This particular individual received hundreds and hundreds of pounds great product.
While the charge on the CC was quite small we still have to wonder where the other few thousand dollars came from… Not our business but it still makes us curious.. We just ship the product. Anyone care to guess what that conversation was like? 
The siphon through Money order is probably the most popular type of “She can’t find out” transaction we see. I’d say 3-4 times a year a few thousand dollars worth of gear leaves eD paid for through a well thought out and quietly delivered set of payments.
The house warming gift.
We’ve shipped various house warming gifts over the past year. Most of them quite large and without markings on the shipping box.
Payments for the house warming gift tpyically occur from various funding sources.
The Iowa Shopping Spree.
Albiet slightly less dramatic than a few of the above. This great husband brought his wife to Iowa for a full day shopping free. In exchange. He picked up his speakers. Keep in mind he drove from another country 
The out of towner.
Ship it on this date. She’ll be out of town. I still have to wonder how long the 100+lb black box in the corner of the room making all that bass (and begging to be noticed) goes without being noticed.
For the creative husbands out there. This buds for you. Without your creativity and need for big bass. We’d be in big trouble.
February 20th, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Ha ha. This blog is funny. Maybe you guys should throw a product or two out there with a little better wife appeal factor (WAF). Maybe along the lines of that cerwin vega triangle box with 3 subs or the martin logan hex shaped 3 sub box… but honestly, I think eD will just make bigger and bigger subwoofers as time goes on until such a point as fedex refuses to ship your outrageously huge products
February 20th, 2009 at 4:44 PM
Haha, I’m guilty of the “Siphon”.
I agree with Beau. I wonder how a product would do for you guys if it was more modest or “room fitting”. Something the wife would like. I’d make a SLIGHT sacrifice in performance as a trade off for a griping.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:42 PM
Yeah, but you can get that anywhere. Almost NOBODY else focuses purely on sound and performance.
I’m sure there will be situations where more WAF can be built in, but I don’t see them designing for it very often.
February 21st, 2009 at 12:06 AM
Great blog guys! Yes, while it’s true that many people need products that more “WAF-friendly” than others, but in terms of bang-for-your-buck, it’s much more expensive to build a great performance subwoofer in a tiny box. One can’t defeat the laws of physics here. Let’s face it, smaller subs require seal enclosure, and seal enclosure can’t really outperform their siblings in bigger closure without requiring much more wattage of power.
Ps. However, just because eD don’t sell on their website doesn’t mean one can’t request a “customized” sub ;-). Right eD guys?
February 24th, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Sooo funny I’m about to do this very same thing and buy the 9.4.. Thx goodness for money orders!!
February 24th, 2009 at 2:49 PM
I think it was more of a weekend shopping spree and included a stop in Chicago on the way home
She’s still happy with the purchase and tells the story often when people comment on the HT gear!
Great trip and I’d do it again!
February 24th, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Guilty! Isn’t is a shame that we have to go though this to spend the money WE make?
February 25th, 2009 at 6:43 PM
I used a variation on the out of towner for my a3-300. Since I was part of the “end of 2007 price scramble” there was no way to predict a ship date (mine took 3 months!) - I had it sent to my work address, slid it into the back of the Suburban, and waited to unload it until she was off running errands. It went into the same corner behind the TV as my old M&K - still a black box, just 2 1/2 times bigger. Because the TV sits at an angle you can’t really see the box until you get right next to it and there’s a bench on one side and an equipment cabinet on the other. It actually took almost 8 months for her to notice & comment - the TV was pulled out because I was doing some molding work - to quote: “Was that box always that big??” Actually, the 300 is small in comparison to the DIY job I still have from my bachelor days (now relegated to the basement) - 2′x3′x4′ folded tube style box with a 15″ driver, based on a 1952 Jensen technical paper.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:16 AM
I’m sure if we could get some ladies to chime in here, they’d be able to give us more pointers on how to make this all work out. They’re pretty good at being creative with money - actually, a bit better than most guys that I know.
Just last night, my wife was balancing the checkbook and she indicated that we overspent by nearly $1,000 during February. She was careful to point out the $150 or so that I was responsible for, but didn’t go near the other $850 of it. Go figure … The $150 I spent wasn’t frivolous at all. A few items for house repairs (truth), a few grocery store trips and a few car accessories (wiper blades, etc.).
It’s a good thing I resort to underground funding and evasive tactics when buying most, if not all of my audio gear.
March 16th, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Well, I already got the wife convinced that I am selling my old crappy JBL sub to a friend from work (which is true). The wive’s tail (pun intended) is that I am taking the money I make from the JBL sub and it is paying for the new eD sub. The part she doesn’t know if I have had $500 secretly stashed for this purchase for over 3 months. Now I just have to avoid letting her see the shipment when it comes. I sure hope eD can ensure an early delivery for me!
March 17th, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Made it on digg
http://digg.com/gadgets/Big_gadget_buys_Convincing_your_wife_or_hiding_it_from_her/who
March 18th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
The fact this whole thing is even necessary is ridiculous. Its YOUR money. What the hell is a lot of women’s problem with A/V equipment? Are they blind and/or deaf to the point where they can’t appreciate HD or fine audio equipment? Oh ok, lets just go ahead and continue to watch TV on an old tube set with no external speakers. It’ll sound and look great *rolls eyes*. Can’t they appreciate watching a big screen picture in HD and sound to match? Even if they can’t, why is it so much their business to tell YOU what you should or shouldn’t be into and buy with your OWN hard earned cash. Anytime I hear someone refer to the “WAF” or “finance committee” I want to slap them upside the head and tell em to grow a pair. Yes, I have a steady gf, and you know what? She is understanding of my interests and hobbies, doesn’t meddle, and I respect her interests as well. She makes and sells crafts. Because of the harmony she creates by not being ridiculously controlling, I actually happen to find it fun to help her out at the shows she goes to. She’s not into EVERYTHING I’m into and I’m not into EVERYTHING she’s into. But we respect each other as individuals. Guys shouldn’t have to secretly stash or siphon ANYTHING. Neither should women for that matter. Sorry for the rant, lol. I just get really mad when I hear of guys getting p-whipped and controlled like this, and then playfully refer to the situation as dealing with the “WAF” or “finance committee” like its cute.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:37 PM
I think some folks are just trying to keep the peace
March 19th, 2009 at 3:21 PM
David says:
“Yes, I have a steady gf, and you know what? She is understanding of my interests and hobbies, doesn’t meddle, and I respect her interests as well.”
You know, of course, that usually changes once you are married?
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:46 AM
[...] men go to great lengths to get their new subwoofer home. We’ve seen this time and time [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:56 PM
I’ve never been married, but I’d not put up with needing to sanction my purchases. As long as the bills are getting paid and we are still putting money in savings, what is wrong with spending some money on something you enjoy?
My girlfriends and ex-fiancee were sat down and I explained that I’m into cars and audio and a few other hobbies and that they would continue to be part of my life… If that was something they would not be able to accept, we should discuss it right away and clear the air, rather than me sneaking around behind their back.
Infidelity, whether sexual or “just” lying about audio gear is only going to cause problems down the road. Why let a situation develop? IMO, hiding things from your wife is not keeping the peace, but infact, I’d consider it preparing for war.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:21 PM
[...] men go to great lengths to get their new subwoofer home. We’ve seen this time and time [...]