"Confirmation bias" is not a "strawman argument," Elizabeth, it is a psychological reality. When you spend a lot of money on an audio upgrade, you disconnect the old crap and hook up the new stuff. You typically have neither the time, interest, equipment or capability to leave the old crap hooked up so that you can do instantaneous A/B comparisons with the new stuff. Additionally, because audio memory is so extremely perishable, without an instantaneous comparison, a high end upgrade could sound like anything....marginally better or worse but you couldn't tell....couldn't remember.
But know this. If you spend enough money, the new stuff will sound better. Guaranteed...pretty much. Not a bad thing if, in the end, it makes you feel good.
Also know that confirmation
bias
can lead to the experimenter interpreting results incorrectly because of the
tendency to look for information that conforms to their hypothesis, and
overlook information that argues against it. It is a significant threat to a
study's internal validity, and is therefore typically controlled using a
double-blind experimental design.
No REAL audiophile does, nor will he believe the results of, contradictory double-blind experimentation.This is why Joe Nobody hooks up a $2000 power cord to his Oppo disc player and reports that the new playback is now "Jaw Dropping!"
