finding this a really weird comment. In both NYC and Chicago I've had no problem walking into a store where I can try many different sets of headphones and talk to someone on staff about my listening habits, taste in music, and environment where I'll be listening. Both times I got straightforward advice and wound up buying a headset that lasted at least five years that I loved.
this is like saying "programmers follow trends and there are many things in the tech industry that are frauds therefore you should not program the computer"
It's not remotely like that. They're talking about how people will spend dollars to defend their 'audiophile' badge with no regard for what if any actual impact it makes on sound fidelity.
ah yes programmers are so smart, they would never spend dollars attending conferences or buying training or buying service contracts to defend their 'scalability expert' or 'tech guru' badge with no regard for what if any actual impact their pet technology choice makes on their startup.
It seems like you are arguing against yourself now. If the phenomenon you describe is real, and you think it's also present in audiophile circles, then you agree with the post you replied to in the first place.
Your earlier allusion to "not program the computer" is a bit strange. Nobody is saying "stop listening to music".
It's fine to spend a little extra on actual good quality headphones. Or to push for certain software design for good/pragmatic reasons.
It's less fine if the headphones are completely overpriced because of unsubstantiated claims or unproven features. Same as it is less fine to push for some software design because of infatuation/obsession/narcissism despite significant downsides.
Some programmers do go to conferences and buy training courses to keep up appearances regardless of the impact on their actual performance. We mock them for it just like we mock people who buy $1000+ headphones to impress other audiophiles. Responding to this fact with "people waste money on conferences, so you shouldn't program" is like saying "people waste money on headphones, so you shouldn't listen to music," though.
