A $3000 price tag takes expectation bias to stratospheric levels. Manufacturers of overpriced products are counting on this.
Sure. And once purchased, there is confirmation bias. 100%. That said, I bought things and then thought they sucked. Many here have. And that's totally fine
Personally, I heard them at an audio thing with a lot of gear. There was a headphone room, and I listened to a bunch of headphones. Stax 009/s (both), 007mk2, Focal Utopia, Abyss both the Diana Phi and the 1266 Phi TC, Ether 2 and a few others. Wasn't planning on liking any, didn't even know what these cost. I liked how they sounded. Didn't like the 1266 at all (comfort was terrible, as well as the form factor and they were bright).
You can find my posts at headfi, where I said I don't think they are worth their price. But I enjoy them, so decided to indulge myself. I'm not going to run and sell them, don't worry. Maybe one day, but not today.
Anyway I always thought one should have an accurate chain (dac and amp), then choose whatever they like as the transducer. Which is what I did.