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

russ69

If there is a placebo effect and I have doubts about that, it is only temporary and will disappear after enough critical evaluation. You can only fool yourself for so long, then reality sets in.

Exactly. The placebo effect won't cure cancer, either.

The problem isn’t that the placebo effect wears off (just like hypnotic suggestion eventually does if not constantly repeated and reinforced) it’s that the consumer/customer in their desperation might move onto the next placebo once it does.

My mother for example has been looking for the magic pill that will cure all of her ailments for over 50 years. She still seems to think her doctors are somehow conspiring to hide it from her.

Nowadays we get bombarded by adverts for all kinds of wonderful health restoration products, and some might feel, at least for a while, that they work.

It’s not unreasonable to question whether some audiophiles might be doing the same thing, is it?

Now I have to confess that since cutting down on my sugar/carb intake I feel a lot better physically (at least that’s what my lungs/legs tell me after a run) but I don’t believe this is a placebo effect because this feeling is growing stronger and not weaker in time.

Of course initially it was no joke going without sugar in my tea or cutting back on cake etc but it’s definitely something I’d suggest everyone to try regardless of their current blood sugar levels.

Besides that way you may enjoy the occasional dip into sugar all the more. Or even better, you may even find yourself going off sugar for good.

And that can only be a good thing, can’t it?

That is true for the majority of today's equipment and headphones, but when you get to hear the good stuff you can immediately tell the difference and you will hear things like i have never heard that before and i have listened to that over 100 times.

cd318 wrote:
"When it comes to headphones (cables, amps, cd players etc) the sonic differences between them can indeed be shockingly small"


They can also be "shockingly large". Just saying...

I've been making mouthpieces for saxophones going on forty years and if I had the time and energy I could tell you some unbelievable stories of the mind tricks I've played on sax players and top level ones to boot.  It's funny though, I used to do blindfold tests in an effort to enlighten someone to certain things and when proven wrong they'd go into denial mode and insist they were right even after I had just disproved them wrong.  Some people just feel safer paying more.