2. headphones
  3. 168196-159850

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

My hypothesis is that for ~%97 of us, the more a headphone costs the more we will enjoy the headphone.

My secondary hypothesis is that the more I told consumers a headset cost, the more they would enjoy the phones. i.e. a $30 headphone < $300 headphone < $3,000 headphones <<< $30,000 headphones.

I’m willing to bet that if I put the kph 30i drivers in the focal utopia’s chassis and told participants in this fake study that the phones cost $4k.... Everyone except for the 3%ers would never guess something was up. The remaining 97% would have no clue and report that it was the best set they ever heard.

Then if I gave them the kph30i and explained it was $30. 97% of people would crap on them after hearing the same driver in a different chassis.

My ultimate hypothesis is that build quality and price are the two most important factors in determining if people will enjoy a set of headphones. This how I rationalize the HD8XX getting crap on when only 3 people have heard it and publicly provided their opinion lol. "It’s a cheaper 800s, of course it’s going to sound worse!"

mikedangelo

Showing 1 response by hilde45

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,778 posts
 
Here's an ethical reason that I worry about the placebo effect. I'm not saying others should look at it this way. This is just my way.

Let's say that I have $2k to spend on headphones. Let's say I feel like I could also give some of that to the local food bank or to a local museum or another group that needs a donation. Let's also assume that I love my luxury sound so much that I would spend the $2k on headphones if I could hear a difference.

Ok, so now I test out two pairs of headphones. Let's say they are $1000 different in price -- $2000 and $1000. If I honestly cannot hear a difference, I get great headphones and create a huge benefit for people who really need some help. If I don't try to hear a difference, I'm not being honest with myself when I think, I really want to help people who need it.

*That's* the reason debunking the placebo effect might matter for me.
More to discover