A couple of points, a well regulated and good performing (sounding) power supply are not mutually exclusive. I think you are making many assumptions in your statements there to justify a product which doesnt perform as well as it should (in whatever regard).
Secondly, I have never said that people imagine things. That has a negative connotation which is unhelpful and an inaccurate description of what I am referring to.
People most definitely do get psychologically influenced. They are more likely to perceive what they want to. There is no escaping that <snip>
As far as I'm concerned this is a far more open minded approach than people seem to be implying. Far better than belligerently saying "I hear it therefore it is" and proceeding to stick your head in the sand.
I am open to suggestions as to what the cause of peoples perceptions are. I would also like to know why I cant hear the difference if it is real.
Firstly, apologies for inadvertently implying you had used the term you imagined it. I know you didnt, that was just my verbal shorthand.
I appreciate that a well-regulated and good performing power supply are not mutually exclusive, but they may be if you also want to include inexpensive as a parameter. And inexpensive is a relative term. This is not my view, but one expressed by designers whose knowledge and understanding I respect and whose products Ive used and liked.
I do think you are straying into unwise territory with your assumptions about perception, unless you are qualified to hold those opinions. So, when you say People most definitely do get psychologically influenced. They are more likely to perceive what they want to. There is no escaping that then you need to be able to show that you can tell what people want. That is not perception, it is psychology.
How do you determine what somebody wants (to hear) if he perceives an improvement on a stand he cant afford, for example? What about somebody who hears something without having any preconceived ideas, say somebody new to this hobby, who has never experienced different stands? (Like a friend of mine who asked me what the hell Id done when he came back into the room after making some tea. He had no idea Id even made a change to the system. Id simply put 3 Quadraspire acrylic feet between his CD player and a glass shelf in his AV cabinet).
I do think your counter-question why you cant hear an effect if it is real - is a telling one, and I dont have any answers.
I could say you want to be sure that your understanding of events is valid, in technical terms, so your subconscious wont permit you to perceive any changes. That would be drivel, because Im not a psychologist. It might still be drivel even if I had a PhD in perception, because I still wouldnt be a psychologist
So, unsubstantiated claims about what we perceive, and our motivation for that perception are no more, or less, rigorous or valid than unsubstantiated claims that microphony and supports affect the sound of a system.
And thus, we progress, after a fashion