Most sales pitches are lies. Here’s how to see it

There is no area of ​​consumer technology out there that is filled with coverage that is harder to understand for the average reader than audio. It can be a confusing slogan for those moving forums and reviews to make heads or tails of jargon that sounds like a flower inside, so how do you avoid the noise? How do you find useful audio quality discussions out there?

You need to improve the bullshit filter. And that’s a much longer task than you might think – especially since AI chatbots have happily picked up the massive trash generated by audio gear everywhere, and returned it on demand to unsuspecting headphone buyers.

What exactly is “bullshit” in audio marketing?

You know they are trying sell there is something, right?

Money is a powerful motivator to relax moral standards every now and then, but bullying is not necessarily a calculated evil. Most of the time, it is unintentional or the product of a misunderstanding. BS can still be well-intentioned, wrong, or confusing even though not all lies are intentional. And although not all bullshitters work I’m trying misleading you — believing BS can train you to reject the truth when you see it. Learning how to spot the fertilizer grade text will help you avoid the nonsense when it comes up.

For our purposes, we will use the following definitions to guide us:

Bullshit – (n.) A deceptive distortion, regardless of intent, that leads to the belief of something that is not true.

Bullshit — (v.) To distort something, regardless of the intention, that leads to believing something that is not true.

Editor’s Note: I highly encourage you to check out “On Bullshit” by Harry Frankfurt, and “Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World” by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West.

Even factual statements can be bullshit when the main context is missing – as marketers sometimes use facts to hide the truth. For example, applying the widely held misconception that “bigger number = better” in certain audio situations where you won’t hear the difference. If you spend enough time looking at forums or online reviews, you can easily find users who make up their own opinions about their favorite audio products, and very few people back down because it usually takes a lot more effort to deny the obvious BS than to put it.

That’s why there’s value in both objective data collected about products, and human reviewers with the knowledge and expertise to write about each of these things. It’s hard to know what’s right for you if you don’t have someone working with facts and figures in your corner. It is also worth getting some reading and writing information about ratings and other types of data around sound quality, as this will help you make sense of the information. I won’t be fudged. Heck, you might even help your friends avoid making big mistakes with their money, too.

Which you should ignore

So if you want to protect yourself from crap marketing, there are a few things you need to understand up front. We’ve covered these topics in depth before, so what follows is just a synopsis of each.

It attracts luxury

Did you know that there is no correlation between price and sound quality? Because there isn’t — and I’m not the only person who can collect that data. There is no correlation between response frequency and price, and there is no correlation between the effects of price perceptions and product price. Spending more money won’t get you better sound quality; so don’t listen to anyone who tells you that spending more money on a higher quality product means better sound. Similarly, a new product advertises a “superior listening experience” unless they’re actually talking about improvements in the headphones’ comfort, durability, or care options.

It’s always a good feeling to find something good, but new isn’t always better. Just ask anyone who uses whiskey. Generally, your best choice won’t be that expensive, so don’t run a dragon unless you have something specific you want to achieve. Ignore any language that wants you to associate something with luxury or the idea that this is something the rich buy (and so should you).

Flowery language

Big numbers

Digital audio has come a long way since the early days of MP3. In fact, the different algorithms and encoding have done so well that many people do not realize or care that they are listening to “lost” music, especially if they are listening with wireless headphones. If you’re fine with Spotify’s sound quality – or really, any of the streaming service’s default settings – congratulations: you don’t mind losing it.

You may see wild claims and big numbers associated with sound quality, but you won’t normally listen to music in a format that uses those bitrates and depths. In publishing, you certainly don’t get it with wireless headphones. If you see headphones or earbuds that are billed as supporting 24-bit or 392kHz sample rates wirelessly, you should put it out of your head as something you should care about. Even if you’ve been listening to music files that have been properly processed with those stats, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to hear the difference once you get past CD quality. 16-bit audio is fine, and doesn’t require a sample rate higher than 44.1kHz for consumer applications. Beyond that, you’re also chasing intangible benefits that may be limited by your hardware.

“Upgrade” components

Unless you need a specific piece of hardware to accomplish a specific task, there’s no point in spending extra money on accessories like cables, charging bricks, or USB cables. The job of any piece of audio gear is to get a signal from something that makes a sound. Modern audio gear is often so easy to drive that you can avoid getting an amp or DAC. Cables, too, can be very good and still work perfectly. Heck, I managed to get stronger My speakers are not sweaty but bent zinc coathangers.

You don’t need to buy ridiculously expensive cables. No loose power cable, USB cable, speaker cable, or headphone cable will improve performance unless the one you originally used was broken or the wrong part for the job. You don’t need to buy your own telephone pole, either. You don’t need a magic box that “enhances” the sound by being near your gear. You don’t need cable risers, or rock sacks you can attach them to your amplifier as well.

The caveat here is that sometimes there are accessories – such as charging bricks – that are completely your product requirements efficiency. But the idea that upgrading these components will help you in a way that suits the price is almost always bullshit.

Bright certificates

To lend the brand something official, some companies like a bunch of badges and certificates that look impressive. For example, the Discord logo is a desirable logo to associate with a brand. However, that may lead people to mistakenly believe that anything not guaranteed not to work with that service. That’s a lie, and the company itself doesn’t even want to say that: they only tested so many headsets, and only a few paid for licenses. That’s all. The presence of this badge does not mean that your headset without the badge will not work.

This is one of those things that is only problematic because people tend to make meaning where there is none. It can be tempting to take something to its logical extreme, but often things like badges and certificates only mean what’s on the label.

What to look for instead

Very little of the press release will matter to most people – even spec sheets without context can be horse hockey with some flavor. You should look at the features you have identified that you need, price, compatibility concerns, and dimensions to determine whether or not the product will fit you.

Look for unbiased reviews and specialist shops for that actually use and measure products before you buy them. While you may not always agree with reviewers’ assessments, there is a lot of information they provide that is useful. Unless it’s ChatGPT you’re asking, then it’s pretty stupid.