We sometimes front-load our expectations into what we believe people will say or what a system should sound like. I can't count the number of times I've walked into a room full of speakers and prejudged their performance before the music started playing. Often, I am surprised, both pleasantly and otherwise.
The problem with preloaded expectations is we have to work past them to get to the core of what's really there—yet, it's often those very expectations that drove us to try something new in the first place.
When I am told what to expect from a piece of gear or new technology, the results can go one of two ways: I am happily rewarded or sadly disappointed. The problem with this process is we can often miss the underlying truth blurred by our preconceived notions.
It's not always possible to audition new gear without the burden of expectations but, when we get the chance, it's likely to give us a more honest result.
