Quote Originally Posted by poppachubby
Don't get defensive, I'm not trying to make you look foolish.

I don't see how your reply answers my question. What you are talking about is apples and oranges. If someone can't pick out expensive gear vs. inexpensive, how are you able to pick out a pair of speakers vs. others?

My point is not expensive vs inexpensive, simply A vs B. I think some people probably can pick out a piece of gear from others, just as you can pick out the AR speakers.
I am NOT claiming that people cannot pick out their favorite out of a group of components. I AM claiming, much as happens in blind wine tastings, there will be no, or very little, correlation between price and perceived quality. When I was comparing speakers blind (yes, over 45 years ago), in a group that included the famous AR3a, there was a HUGE difference between the AR3a and other (small bookshelf sized) ones (yes, a huge difference to me). I am NOT claiming someone else might not prefer one of the other speakers. I love blind testings precisely because I am looking for a bargain. Everyone, including me, is influenced by brands and advertising. I have seen many fans of expensive cult wines humbled in a blind taste test that included several lower priced wines. I have seen the same thing happen in blind comparisons between audio components. Of course, blind listening tests are much harder to conduct than blind wine ones. Nevertheless, IMO,
the conventional wisdom that holds that there is a direct correlation between price (or a famous brand name) and perceived quality, is no more true in audio than it is in audio.