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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
unreceivedogma's avatar
unreceivedogma
978 posts
 
No one has asked if you could hear the truffle oil. An important consideration imho. 

Certsinly i I wouldn’t use the stuff as record cleaning fluid. 
john1
113 posts
 
As far as it goes this has the potential to be a fascinating & terribly valid question. So let's take it where it's dying to go.  "Personal vs. Market Values"  necessarily also means Market vs Personal values.  This is where it gets (too often savagely) peculiar.  The psychological terrain of reacting to the unconscious forces made conscious & acted on by attempting to sell at prices rationalized as fair market value dominates it more assertively but is really equally present in both instances.  More neurosis acted on in the first instance with too many not understanding when it is time for something to go out of your life it is incumbent on you to do so as elegantly & quickly as you can.  The time, effort & energy money represents being squandered due to self-propelling neurosis of pretending to get it back by being stubborn in getting a too specific, arbitrary number -  is too often (by no means always) a constant wonder. 

It bears mentioning the charlatans the question refers to selling snake oil are often selling to those making fear-based decisions.  Concerning how the audio makes them look to others.  Status seeking is always a fear-based approach. As is most purchasing in the lifestyle category.  These buyers are often not looking for quality audio in the first place.  At least not primarily.  They fund the industry in large measure however & we should be grateful for their contribution. 
erik_squires OP
16,039 posts
 
@john123
There are a lot of pronouns in your first paragraph. Could you be a little more specific, and what exactly does this mean:

The psychological terrain of reacting to the unconscious forces made conscious & acted on by attempting to sell at prices rationalized as fair market value dominates it more assertively but is really equally present in both instances.

and this:
The time, effort & energy money represents being squandered due to self-propelling neurosis of pretending to get it back by being stubborn in getting a too specific, arbitrary number - is too often (by no means always) a constant wonder.


I'm afraid right now this reads like a song to me, where anyone can interpret them in a variety of ways the author may not have intended.

Best,
E
Post removed 
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Wow ill have to think about this ill get back to you asap.
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