Pzuckerman, the notion that only male birds sing is incorrect, The comparison to humans is very thin, as humans do not speak almost exclusively for mating purposes. (Not trying to be argumentative, just factual)However, your analysis of women is quite astute.
Regarding the topic at hand:
Women tend to be social and look for social activities. Listening silently to gear is not terribly social. Women tend to enjoy relationships, not objects. Many women do not care to converse on or develop expertise on technical machinery. Many women hold down two jobs, if they work outside the home and most are still the primary caregivers, so audio is not a high priorety. etc.
Steve Chamber's wife is perfectly representative, in that she calls our stuff "Lego" and indicates that the setting is more important than the gear. Women tend to cherish events in life (note social context), not sterile performance of components.
To that end, an audiophile would likely do better at involving the wife in the hobby if he takes her to a concert occasionally and puts on the artist's music afterward. Then, MAYBE she'll take SLIGHT notice of the equipment/presentation.
BTW, some men probably feel lied to or betrayed by women who at first, prior to marriage, sit and listen along with them, then after marriage do not. It's not that the women were being deceitful; they just wanted to spend time with their man. But, men don't realize that, and they think the woman is really into the audio, etc. Wrong. She just wanted to be with him.
Men do the same thing by "romancing" a woman as a means to win her, then stopping after he's won her. Men look at it like a job to do, and once done, no more need to work at it, right? wrong.
Go, buy her some flowers, buy some tickets to a concert, etc. There's your free mariage counseling advice. After all, your marriage IS more important than your rig, right?
Why do more women use iPods than stereos? Because they're cute. Seriously, Apple knows what it's doing; many women like "cute" electronics - small, not as intimidating, etc.
Many of them will pick phones like a pair of sunglasses, how they look.
Interesting observation that Crystal Cable has a woman heading up the company and she knows what she's doing in regards to advertising. (This is not a slam at all, as I haven't worked with Crystal Cables - just an observation) Look at the ads; completely aesthetically driven. Mostly pictures and "feel", not technical blurbs. It's working on the aesthetic, not the intellectual. It's tapping into the fact that many people today, men and women, operate not on congition but with emotion.
For most women, sitting in an isolated environment with complex machinery is not terribly compelling as an activity.
