Some people on this forum like to talk about the effect of expectation bias and the result it has on your perception of sound. The common *wisdom* is that if you think a new purchase is going to sound good (based on looks, cost, perceptions, reviews, etc.), it will sound good and meet your expectation bias. The only way to rule out expectation bias is to sit you in a chair, blindfold and gag you, and then switch your components back and forth and see if you can pick out your new component that stole your expectation bias heart.
I think if you’re the least bit intellectually honest with yourself and you aren’t deaf as a post, expectation bias doesn’t have an effect on the final outcome of how you perceive something to sound. I think expectation bias can certainly lead you to believe that a new gadget is going to sound great, but in the end it can’t fool you into thinking that something that is inferior is superior.
This point was driven home to me last night when I anxiously opened up my 4 LP box set of Armstrong & Ellington on 45 RPM 200 gram vinyl. My expectation bias whispered to me as I opened the package, “Man, this is going to sound great!” I said, “Do you think so little expectation bias buddy?” He said (it’s a “he” by the way), “Are you crazy? Just look at that 200 gram clear vinyl cut at 45 RPM on one side only. This is going to be something special.”
So my expectation bias was jacked through the roof until reality came crashing down when the needle hit the groove and I thought I was standing at the ocean during high tide. My expectation bias took an ass-whooping last night.
I guess my point is that expectation bias can’t fool me into thinking something that is clearly not true. And it works both ways. If I plug a *new* component into my system to replace something that is broken or has been sold in order to hold me over until the next great thing arrives at my door and my expectation bias tells me that the replacement is really going to sound bad, it doesn’t mean it will. Just ask my Defy 7 MKII and my Counterpoint SA-5.1 which both found new homes.
The moral to the story is never listen to your expectation bias because the little bastard lies all the time.
I think if you’re the least bit intellectually honest with yourself and you aren’t deaf as a post, expectation bias doesn’t have an effect on the final outcome of how you perceive something to sound. I think expectation bias can certainly lead you to believe that a new gadget is going to sound great, but in the end it can’t fool you into thinking that something that is inferior is superior.
This point was driven home to me last night when I anxiously opened up my 4 LP box set of Armstrong & Ellington on 45 RPM 200 gram vinyl. My expectation bias whispered to me as I opened the package, “Man, this is going to sound great!” I said, “Do you think so little expectation bias buddy?” He said (it’s a “he” by the way), “Are you crazy? Just look at that 200 gram clear vinyl cut at 45 RPM on one side only. This is going to be something special.”
So my expectation bias was jacked through the roof until reality came crashing down when the needle hit the groove and I thought I was standing at the ocean during high tide. My expectation bias took an ass-whooping last night.
I guess my point is that expectation bias can’t fool me into thinking something that is clearly not true. And it works both ways. If I plug a *new* component into my system to replace something that is broken or has been sold in order to hold me over until the next great thing arrives at my door and my expectation bias tells me that the replacement is really going to sound bad, it doesn’t mean it will. Just ask my Defy 7 MKII and my Counterpoint SA-5.1 which both found new homes.
The moral to the story is never listen to your expectation bias because the little bastard lies all the time.