Is beauty in the ear of the beholder? A new study suggests that the classic (and expensive) violins such as those made by Stradivarius aren’t so remarkable in producing their magical sound. Is it, then, all in our heads?

Claudia Fritz, an expert on the acoustics of violins at the University of Paris, has arrived at a different explanation for the secret. Despite a widespread belief in the old violins’ superiority and the millions of dollars it now costs to buy a Stradivarius, the fiddles made by the old masters do not in fact sound better than high-quality modern instruments, according to a blindfolded play-off she and colleagues have conducted.

The conclusion of her experiment:

Despite a general belief among violinists that Stradivari and Guarneri violins are tonally superior, the participants in Dr. Fritz’s test could not reliably distinguish such instruments from modern violins. Only 8 of the 21 subjects chose an old violin as the one they’d like to take home. In the old-to-new comparison, a Stradivarius came in last and a new violin as the most preferred.

Unfortunately, the experiment was carried out in a hotel room, leading some critics to downplay the study.

This appears to be a placebo effect in action: those playing the more expensive violins perhaps actually internalize these thoughts and end up playing better. It’s similar if you were told you were drinking expensive wine (i.e., more than what it was actually worth), and so it would taste better to you.