Blind studies have shown that wine experts aren&#x27;t nearly as good at identifying wine as they think they are. Same thing with high-end audio. People are incredibly susceptible to the placebo effect, and I think it&#x27;s good to be skeptical when it comes to sensory matters — especially ones where the entrenched position is &quot;this is <i>sooo</i> much better than everything else&quot; and the price (whether in dollars or years of life given) is incredibly high. The brain is incentivized to value the product in these kinds of situation far out of proportion to its actual value.