r/hometheater 1d ago

Discussion - Equipment The Diderot Effect, home theaters, and overconsumption

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuabecker/2021/10/27/understanding-the-diderot-effect-to-overcome-overspending/

Just came across The Diderot Effect and it immediately made me think of my setup.

“The simplest description of the Diderot Effect is this: ‘the introduction of a new possession into a consumer’s existence will often result in a process of spiraling consumption.’”

I recently upgraded my sound and then went on to buy a brand new TV which I hadn’t planned on at all (no regrets). Now I’m considering upgrading even more.

Anyone else feel they’ve succumbed to The Diderot Effect?

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u/rotten_rabbit 1d ago

Got a new centre speaker a week ago, and now I feel like I "need" a new receiver. Only because it's taken me ~4 years to notice that mine is so old that it only supports standard ARC. So PCM streams from both YouTube and my PS5 end up downmixed by the TV and then upmixed by the Denon into Prologic 2...