Yeah, idk, it might be my other nerd hobby is a money sink (flight simming), but I am fine saying sometimes (maybe even often) I buy expensive hobby shit just for the sake of it, I don't really feel like I need to defend it as an objective choice though.

There is def some weird thing with Golden Ears / Super Tasters, like bro, no one cares, I don't care if you claim to magically hear / taste better than average.

Blind tests to keep people honest is pretty great in terms of headphones, speakers, and audio format.

More people really should go the extra mile to validate their theories of listening to stuff with some proper testing.

It always reminds me of the "feel" audio peeps who can never manage to make a good argument against the measurement audio peeps who can usually drop actual data.

Welcome to headphones, speakers, and general audiophile stuff.

More often than not, people are describing placebo effects induced by spending mad cash.