Is positive reinforcement why things are sounding better?

I have a hold of a few preferences, but one of my experiences with hearing new systems is getting a new idea of how something can hang together beautifully

+1.

confirmation bias does not last very long. over the longer run is where you tell if an upgrade really is an upgrade.

Well said. I tried to lie to myself about Be tweeters until I just...couldn’t...take it.

Confirmation biases has nothing to do with "lying to ourself" in particular or specifically ...

«Confirmation bias (also confirmatory bias, myside bias,^[a] or congeniality bias^[2]) is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or values.^[3] People display this bias when they select information that supports their views, ignoring contrary information, or when they interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing attitudes. The effect is strongest for desired outcomes, for emotionally charged issues, and for deeply entrenched beliefs. Confirmation bias is insuperable for most people, but they can manage it, for example, by education and training in critical thinking skills. »

For 40 years by acoustic ignorance i was comforted in the choice of speakers i made, by all i read, all i experienced , till the end when i sold them not because i was lying to myself but because i was ignorant of acoustics and the way to make them really shine at their optimal. ( which would had been like comparing day and night for ANY speakers anyway)

My confirmation set of biases was born from all the reviews i read for 40 years confirming the Tannoy dual gold as top speakers AS IT IS plug and play... I did know nothing about acoustics optimization extraordinary tools .

I was deluded by their reputation , price tags at the time (high end), and my limited knowledge and all others speakers i experienced put in a living room with no acoustics particular caution confirmed me in my biases...I felt good as i was comforted in my set of biases by time passing and by comparison ...

Those of us who practice this hobby have a pre determined idea of how we want our system to sound

This is certainly mostly true because we know what are the parameters at play which must be put under controls for a specific speakers design to make it shine in a SPECIFIC ROOM ...

A bookshelf is not a big magnepan for example...

Once the right electrical, mechanical and acoustical working conditions are adressed we will had natural timbre and listener envelopment. In the window of possibility resulting from the gear pieces design choices and trade-off ...

Only passive consumers will have no idea about what could be the optimal experience and how to make it possible for the chosen pieces of gear...

For sure if i travel as a tourist from one showroom to another i will never had any idea about how the next system will be and i will learn almost nothing because it is not me that played with the speakers/room parameters to improve them ... my tourism audiophile will only confirm my own  biases i will call my tastes... 😊

I bought a pair of NOS Mullard’s for my tube DAC that cost half what I paid for the DAC. I swap them out from time to time with some much cheaper NOS Telefunken Diamond mark’s.

The Mullard’s sound significantly better to me.

And the Tele’s sound way better than the stock new Sovtek’s the DAC came with.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

I have Tube Rolled on a few occasions, where there has been a Selection of Valve Pairs to be evaluated. 

Tube Rolling is a Two Edge Sword, as change to an end sound, can be noticeably discernable.

The change can stimulate a reaction, but does not necessarily create a betterment in sound for the end user, but a difference only. 

There are Tubes when demo'd as a type from a selection of types. that are capable of making a very good impression.

Most demo's I have been party to, have been carried out as a group in attendance. Within the group, there is not always a unanimous agreement, on what is the better tube. 

With the differences of assessments known, it strongly suggests that recommendation may not be ideal for a end user. 

"Soundproof Listening Room." Is that a Demetri Martin line? It seems to me that a soundproof listening room would be absolutely the worst kind.  Also, don't people notice if a new thing just sucks? Regardless of the cost...if it's not good (or maybe better), no amount of expense is gonna save it.