So how much do you think the placebo effect impacts our listening preferences?

I actually own the Focal Utopia headphones. 

I have to tell you - you are paying for beryllium (a very toxic metal) to be properly implemented inside a headphone. Why? Performance characteristics. Focal and TAD both use beryllium; getting it right isn't an easy task. 

You are also paying for carbon fiber yokes, higher than average build quality, lambskin earpads, and a cool factor/design. Are they worth the money? YES. Focal replaced my busted drivers free of charge. How do they sound? The transducers make all the difference.

You simply can't compare flagship/studio grade driver units in headphones to substandard "consumer grade" celebrity headphones. However, I think what you're saying is that the general population (most people don't care about audio as a hobby) wouldn't be able to tell a difference 🤔

That's because they do not care.

@asctim,
"From what I’ve heard about pain killing placebos is that they don’t actually work when measuring pain objectively - which is usually done with a range of motion test. A person on a placebo will say they feel better and the pain is less bothersome, but when they are asked to lift their arm up, as in the case of shoulder pain, they can’t actually lift it any higher. With a real pain killer they can - although maybe they shouldn’t!"


Good point.

The placebo effect seems to have no objective foundation on reality and appears be almost entirely generated within the mind of the subject.

That’s why there are regulations that all stage hypnotists are required to adhere to.
The world of the subconscious mind still remains largely unexplored and mysterious over a 100 years after Freud drew our attention to it.

However you can bet your bottom dollar that all kinds of folk, all the way from government research and law enforcement agencies to vast international marketing and advertising departments are all deeply interested in its workings.

Oh what big eyes you have grandma!
The better to help you spend your money my dear!

Placebo effect play full range when people stay " passive" consumers...

Placebo effect is under the spell and control of "active" players BECAUSE They experiment with their listening and gear...They TEST the placebos....No need to use James Randi Blind test.... Any simple blind test will do....

Money means way less than people think in audio and placebo is neutralized easily in mechanical, electrical and acoustic experiments and embeddings controls....

Biases are not only negative influences to be eliminated they can be also a positive teacher to be used all along the RIGHT path for the ears and mind.... Call that a self education...

For headphones, i scrap all my 7 headphones ( magneplanar, electrostatic, dynamic and hybrid) for my 500 bucks rightfully embedded system at low cost because they cannot hold a candle to it....Then placebo with headphones? No more....It is more easy to control the room/speakers relation than the ready made shell box and the limitations of any headphones...

People dont learn to trust themselves, they trust money and reviews.... 

I am man enough to admit when I was wrong. The placebo effect is in fact very real. In fact, the placebo effect is so powerful that last night it transported me from Bo Derek’s place to Bo Jackson’s. Could almost swear I caught a glimpse of Bo Peep just before the effect wore off.

Jackson I must say is holding up better.

@mahgister  

"It is more easy to control the room/speakers relation than the ready made shell box and the limitations of any headphones."


WWWWWWWWWHAT???

The room/speaker factor is the single most difficult thing in a loudspeaker system to get correct. Room dimensions, reflection points, nulls, etc. This is the single greatest headache of getting a loudspeaker system correct, in my opinion.
With headphones, you don't have to worry about any of that.

Please clarify because I'm having a hard time trying to make heads or tails of what you said.