StereoNET: What is your current role at Audio Boutique?

Carmelina: Being a female I wear many hats and multitasking is my speciality. My primary role really is to support and look after the operations of our business and this includes many functions like logistics, stock management, accounts, and assisting with the overall marketing. I do enjoy talking with customers and often find myself on the showroom floor attending to customers.

StereoNET: Were you an enthusiast prior to your professional involvement?

Carmelina: Not really, but Mick (husband and partner) has always been into his music, he was a typical must have the latest and greatest technology kind of guy, we have always had a stereo system and in the early days the speakers were just big square boxes that took up half my living room. The music system was also for our TV so going back 25 years the VCR was linked up to the stereo system so when we watched movies it still sounded good.

I have been fortunate to have been brought up in a musical family. My brother is a guitarist and as a child I was always surrounded by music, band rehearsals were big in our household, we always had a Hi FI system in our home and playing vinyl records was something that we did regularly. My cousins and uncles were also very big into their Hi Fi and so our family visits always included who had the latest piece of equipment and Hi Fi was always a hot topic in our family gatherings.

Our background is IT so we have always been tech savvy, when we first got involved in Hi Fi it was as a diversion to our IT business to spread the risk of business and find different markets, but Hi-Fi was soon to take over our lives.

StereoNET: What is it about music and Hi-Fi that excites you?

Carmelina: Music is a sanctuary, a place to go and forget or sometimes to remember. There is solitude in music but also the socialising element, when I am on my own in the house, it keeps me company, I can listen dance and sing like no one's watching. I can sit and remember of good times past and I can shed a tear when Andre Bocelli sings “The Prayer” as it always makes me think of Dad who passed away way too young. It has the ability to spark emotions and thankfully most of them are cheerful, with friends and family belting out Queens Bohemian Rhapsody or trying to sing along to Elvis.

I think because every moment in our lives is marked with music of that generation it is like looking at a photo, music from the 70’s, 80’s and beyond all the memories just come flooding in. I have had music systems of all levels, from budget to high quality, and there is no better sensation that sitting on the lounge, a glass of wine and listening to the amazing audio reproduction possible, it is better than being there – forget about front row, just sit at home and always have the best seat in the house.

StereoNET: When do you typically listen to music?

Carmelina: Well, when I am on my own it is all over the house so I much prefer to listen to music than have the TV on. I don’t really sit and listen unless Mick forces me, but then I just love the time we spend just enjoying the latest record or CD he has brought home. Because I have it all around me I sometimes take it for granted, but when friends come over, it is the first thing that goes on, and I just could not think of a life without it.

StereoNET: It's been said that women typically love and appreciate music as much as men. Do you see many women visit your shop interested in Hi-Fi, and why do you think this hobby and industry is predominantly male dominated?

Carmelina: At Audio Boutique, we see an equal amount of men and women coming in, but their requirements and questions are different. I think that women are naturally busier than men, not to say that men are lazy around the house, but I can tell you from personal experience I am the last one to sit down and relax. Women absolutely love music they just need to find the time to enjoy the pleasure that music can create, or perhaps just the right product and application for them to listen to and appreciate music in "their" time.

I don’t think many women know how good music can sound as we are dictated to by mass market stores and the products they sell. Women who come into specialist stores are generally not looking for traditional stereo products, but lifestyle or gifts and they overlook the quality products.

We very rarely get women on their own looking for stereo, usually they are with their partner. I always notice when Mick is doing an audition normally the ladies would leave and go for a walk and they are quite disinterested in the process. However when the music starts to play, it is the women who are the better listeners, and they seem to be more honest with what they hear. Women are not biased by what is written about products, they have not been told what they should be listening for, so they hear the truth, they listen to the music and not the equipment and they have great understanding of what is playing and they know what they like. I guess you can say that women are not judging they are just enjoying.

I call it awakening your senses and women are more in tune with their senses so when something sounds good they know it, they just need more time to enjoy this feeling.

StereoNET: So as a hobby, why do you think women typically don't become enthusiasts or audiophiles?

Carmelina: That’s a good question, and one we often ask ourselves. There are a few things that come to mind.

Firstly I don’t think women need the classification. Being an audiophile or even an enthusiast has little meaning and this is prevalent in almost any field. There are women who love to drive, and really enjoy the pleasure of driving a great car, but they just don’t take it as far as men; the need to collect magazines, go to shows, spend hours researching. Women just get on with the job at hand. Audio is the same, I think we as women just don’t need the status, we just get on with it, and when the moment to enjoy audio is available we just enjoy it, then move on.

Having a great audio system for music or movies should be a lifestyle choice, just for the pleasure of ownership and for the experiencing of wanting the best possible reproduction to music or movie soundtrack. I think women can be quite house proud, and a great audio system can be part of the house, so we can be proud without the status.

In the general market there is a stigma associated with audiophile clubs, many people we speak to would consider the clubs much like the Masons – secrete men’s business. I have been to a few meetings and mixed with many “audiophiles” and well how I can put this, for the most part they are quite normal! So it is clearly a misconception. Getting together to enjoy music is a great thing, I think the lack of free time would definitely be the main factor.

Another consideration is that I think there is too much emphasises on the technical jargon. In my opinion women want simplicity and elegance, and as an industry we have targeted men and not empowered women with new technologies. We have scared them off and made it all look too hard, therefore women don’t feel comfortable visiting Hi Fi stores.

StereoNET: So do you think that the audio products women want are not found in typical specialist stores?

Carmelina: Well in our case we certainly do sell lifestyle products, hidden speakers and micro systems – but usually when given the opportunity to demonstrate the differences customers, both men and women are happy to look at more visually imposing products. We do however cater for the design element, elegant designs, multitude of finishes and simplistic operation.

Most of the time when men come in looking for hi-fi systems to go into a living space, they bring up the need for small and simple, but when their partner comes in for final say the criteria tends to change with the positive outcome being great audio and size not so much the issue.

We have as many men coming in that are concerned about design and functionality, and of course cost is a factor in everything, so if you value something you are prepared to pay for it. Price only becomes an issue when there is no true value in the product or what the product can do.

StereoNET: So in your opinion what needs to change for Hi-Fi to appeal to more women?

Carmelina: I think as an industry we have to stop trying to hide things, we should be proud of the products we sell, look at those products as an important element of house design. We need to empower women with the choice, and not just assume they want everything to be invisible. If we treat the hi-fi system as an element of entertainment, show how much pleasure it can give, and start to associate our products with other design elements of a home we will get much more acceptance.

StereoNET: Thanks for your insight Carmelina. Our readership is most certainly predominantly male as you would expect, but then as you suggest, it's likely that women also don't find the time (or just don't need) to get online and research products or show off their existing systems. Any final thoughts?

Carmelina: Thanks for the opportunity to offer my opinion Marc. I think we should look at how the high end car market sells to both genders and learn from that industry. Harley Davidson are great at marketing to women, and as an industry I think the Hi Fi market is not communicating to women very well. They are made to feel that is too technical and because they are time poor, they overlook the value of having a Hi Fi System. We need to empower women and make them realise that having a decent Hi Fi is bloody awesome and something that they should be proud of.

Visit the Audio Boutique website.