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
@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
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I think I’m some ways this is really simple. Trust your ears. Trust yourself. Act accordingly. 
So, I'll try a little truffle oil on my interconnects and speaker cables. Perhaps they will sound or taste better :)