2. misc-audio
  3. 139318-20253

Personal vs. Market Values

Take truffle oil. Or truffles. The mushrooms, not the confection.
Honestly I can’t taste it. I’ve ordered all sorts of dishes with "truffle oil" which commanded a premium and if there is any difference at all in the taste I could not tell you even after being told about it.

The point of this is that truffle oil holds no personal value to me. I’m not trading in it or running a restaurant or buying it in bulk. If I did that I’d feel and be willing to spend quite differently than I do now.

The point to this and how this matters in audio is that you should be true to your own ears. Use friends, reviews (cough) and other sources as guides. You may also evaluate a brand based on re-sale value. That’s reasonable as the resale could have a material impact on you in the future.

But if you can’t hear a difference or prefer a speaker/cable/amp no one else does then serve only yourself and your loved ones. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the market value of a particular product has value for you or that it is a display of relative merit. It may not. Our hobby is filled with charlatans selling invisible clothes.

Those who say they can't taste the truffle oil or see invisible clothes spend less and are far happier I think.

Happy listening,

E
erik_squires
n80
2,116 posts
 
Agree. But I'm not going to lose sleep over finding the singular most perfect nuance of nutmeg in tortelli di zucca and let it make me miserable. That would be a treadmill. Enjoying good food where I can find it (and make it myself) is a joy.

And I don't know what a poser foodie might be. I do not have an ID card or certificate and I do not know the secret handshake.  ;-)

I'm fully aware of my audiophile poser/wannabe status.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
In the case of soapy tasting cilantro it could be your olfactory receptor genes so blame your parents. 
glupson
7,842 posts
 
What I got from this thread so far is intriguing and asking for more research. It seems that people may have a "truffle receptor" of some sort. Maybe genetic variation like it exists for some smells which may make sense when lots of "taste" is actually "smell". Those who can taste truffles are baffled. Those who cannot are lucky. The taste is very strong for those who can taste them.

I am not sure how it can all be connected to audio, but so be it.

On the other hand, fries with truffles? Tastes do differ, but some things border on blasphemy.
glow_worm
84 posts
 
Truffle oil...not to be confused with snake oil. 
erik_squires OP
16,004 posts
 
Truffle oil...not to be confused with snake oil.

Well, sometimes they can be exactly the same thing ...
https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/truffle-oil-fake-no-truffles-priceonomics


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