What is your Placebo?

[redshifter]

most of us agree there is a psychological aspect to audio, often called "the placebo effect". this is where your perceptions of something influence that thing's effectiveness. for example, an uninformed consumer may like the sound of bose headphones the best, not because of actual performance, but the placebo effect--the consumer has been convinced by marketting that bose headphones are the best, and when he sees the bose name, he hears "the best". again that same consumer may look at a pair of grados and think "cheap looking, and never heard of them." to say this would make any grado sound bad is a stretch, but it might to a certain person.

i have my own set of placebo effects in my system:
- setting foobar to resample to 96k sounds better (although i know my digital music probably doesn't reach those really high frequencies)
- pro or pro-looking equipment--my pro walkman and my irivier h140, rsa sr-71, etymotics and grados all have that utilitarian, professional feel to them. whether this improves sound has not been tested, but to my ears they sound better than their plasticy pretty consumer counterparts.
- putting those damn coins on my speakers--i really know this is hooey, but for about an hour my speakers really did sound better. after a while the effect seemed to wear off.
- when someone i admire here puts down a product i like, it seems hidden flaws in the product surface all of a sudden. like i did not hear them before.
- for some reason i prefer the sound of my portable rig. i KNOW my home sources sound better, but i just groove more with my amp and source at my side.

i don't want to come off as weak minded, i do not think i am. in fact i embrace the idea of placebo. it can save me a lot of money. in the case of some recently discovered us$30000 cables, it seems it can also be very expensive.

be honest, is the placebo effect part of your system enjoyment? if so, do you know what they are?

 

[Spareribs]

I remove my speaker grids and think it may perhaps sound like a lifted veil.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spareribs /img/forum/go_quote.gif I remove my speaker grids and think it may perhaps sound like a lifted veil.

me too! but i was not sure if that was placebo or not. but you do get to see the woofers vibrate and jump. i think a great deal of the placebo effect comes through the eyes.

 

[feh1325]

not stock cables

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feh1325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif not stock cables

can of worms, meet can opener.

but i agree. i only have a handful of "expensive" cables, but the radio shack gold and fusion cables clearly sounded better then the little stock cables. the improvement was so obvious there has to be some truth

lacebo mix there.

-edit-
that was supposed to read "truth : placebo"

 

[feh1325]

yeah, i was ready to put my flame suit on

 

[plainsong]

If it's new, and has some kind of new technology and a prominent headfier has given a big thumb's up, and everyone wants one, that means I want one too. It must be better.

Ok, so that's FOTM, and it's not a bad thing, because you get to check out some new stuff and give it a chance, but the placebo effect for me is that new must mean better.

Luckily the ole ears are still trustworthy, but I really want to believe new means better when it comes to headphones.

 

[virometal]

When the listening room is clean, my system always sounds better. In fact, I thank audio for making me a better housekeeper.

The same can be said for bills. My speakers/headphones sound more extended when the daily to do list is all taken care of.

 

[Duggeh]

My music sounds better when I'm in my comfier chair.

 

[stewtheking]

My music sounds better in the dark.

 

[tk3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewtheking /img/forum/go_quote.gif My music sounds better in the dark.

x2

 

[hempcamp]

I'm not sure I'd call these things placebos...

But mine is definitely that music I rip from CD myself "sounds better" than high-quality tracks I buy online (eMusic, Magnatune, etc). Even though if I really concentrate on it, the (sometimes lossy) tracks sound no different than the CD.

--Chris

 

[Kees]

My placebo is reality.

 

[Roam]

The more something is hyped, the more likely I am to dislike it. I find it hard at times to keep an open mind about a highly hyped product and find myself a little too eager to find flaws. Most of the time it's justified based on past experiences, though I'll be the first to admit it isn't the most healthy attitude to carry.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hempcamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure I'd call these things placebos... But mine is definitely that music I rip from CD myself "sounds better" than high-quality tracks I buy online (eMusic, Magnatune, etc). Even though if I really concentrate on it, the (sometimes lossy) tracks sound no different than the CD. --Chris

oh i would call them placebos. the dark has little to nothing to do with either system performance or your physiology. same with a comfy chair, or clean listening space. now some may not prefer a comfy chair. for example, me. i prefer to move around more and just sitting in a chair; no matter how comfy, after a while makes me ansey.