Why pay so much for super high end?

Placebo is just so incredibly powerful people donot understand it. Why do people think drug trials are done with a placebo for control? It’s so incredibly powerful in people’s psyche that if you give someone a sugar pill and tell them it’s a sedative that makes you hungry and tired people will gain 50 lbs in a few months and sleep 16 hours a day. People have been given fake alcohol and literally most of them would act drunk. there have been so many placebo trials done that it’s well documented in the scientific community.


If you compare a $2000 amplifier to a $30,000 amplifier and are told the price difference and one looks fancier and are told in a review it’s much better then you will generally believe you are hearing something better due to the review and the price they charge. same with a lot of things I home audio...

Placebo is powerful that fake pills when told are real can work because your mind is so incredibly powerful that the belief can cure things...they are actually trying to harness the power of placebo for medical advancements in the brain...that should give you insight in to home audio

The placebo effect is real but can be eliminated by careful listening tests. Just like any other psychological bugaboo that skeptics might want to put forth. 

Adults with some money like toys too.   Life's too short to not enjoy what you enjoy.  No need to rationalize to others.   

Placebo is just so incredibly powerful people do not understand it.

This applies to DIYers as well. That is why many of them are so strong in their belief that their "creations" sound identical to gear 100X’s their cost.

Now, funtrollfun, you DO realize that you are on a forum on a used audio website, don’t you? How large of a target audience do you think you are speaking to here? You know, the type who would actually pay $30K for a $30K amp? My guess would be 0% of your target audience dallies in a simple forum on a web page designed for used audio gear.

The fellas that really find your gears, don’t waste their time here. They are busy buying $500K+ cars, $5M+ boats, $5k+ watches, etc. To them, $100K is like $10 to you or I.

Most of us here might spend more money in this hobby than you, but lose very little money making shrewd investments. Over the last 30 years, yes, even pre-dating Audiogon, I have lost money in this hobby, because I change gear frequently so that I may experience much of this hobby personally. However, the amount of money I have lost would probably shock you, maybe 5-10% tops, mostly lost on ads, shipping, and PayPal. I even make money on some re-sales occasionally.

So while you are busy building stuff that you are working on convincing yourself is just as good as the "real thing", I am busy auditioning many different versions of the "real thing".

When the dust settles, at the end of the day, I have a finished product that I can sell if I choose to, you do not. Yes, there are the very rare DIYers that do sell their creations, just as there are buyers of used gear that consistently make money on their gear flips. These breeds are in the very, very small minority though.

In the end, most folks are frugal with their money, it’s just a difference of whether they would choose to spend their time looking for wise investments or building something themselves. It takes all types to make the world go round, not everyone is cut out to be a mechanic, just as not everyone is cut out to be a knowledgeable investor.

In the end, life is short, find what brings you the most happiness, and pursue it. If building your own toys tickles your fancy, have at it. However, stop trying to be so mule-headed as to think that your path to happiness is the way for everyone. There is no one single path to audio nirvana, most here are mature enough to understand that. Perhaps you can DIY some common sense and understanding into your world.

I am working in this world for over 18 years of time now. In the last 2 years I have spoken to many people who spend a lof of money on audio for a long time.

I wanted to know how it is possible they buy expensive stuff and some time later they don’t like it anymore.

Why you bought it?

I met a few people who had sets of about 80.000 euro and were not happy with their set and still trying to find the sound they were looking for.

They all had one thing in common. They bought parts which costed a lot of money. But at the end they didn’t like it.

They all gave the same answer why they bought it. They were busy for a long time and were tired of trying things out.

The second reason was that they believed the people who sold it to them. It takes some time and then it will sound good they told them.

Mannnnn how naive you can be? Things need time to burn in, but when it does not convince don’t buy it.

I met people who were so tired that they wanted to sell their whole system. When I saw what they bought it was very easily for me why it sounded like shit.

When you are not able to think in properties audio is one big F. gamling. Nothing more, nothing less. You need to understand why the stage and sound is what you hear.

If you cannot answer this question, audio is all about trial and error. There is no discussion possible.

Each system what only playes a 2 dimensional stage has nothing to do with highend audio. Because when you listen to music in real it has it’s place in space.

Most 2 dimensional systems play all instruments and voices on one line. The problem is based on the human emotion. Each single 2 dimensional system is not able to create enough intensity and emotion to be liked over a longer period.

All the people who didn’t buy music anymore, or didn’t like their system anymore had the same thing in common. They all owned 2 dimensional systems.