If you cannot actually HEAR a difference, then there is no AUDIBLE difference.
If Drug A (costs $10,000) lowers your blood pressure from 140 mmHg to 110 mmHg and Drug B (costs $10) lowers your blood pressure from 140 mmHg to 111 mmHg, are you going to pay $10,000 for Drug A (with everything else being equal)?
The point is, why pay $30,000 for a Pre-pro if you cannot actually HEAR a difference from a $1,000 Pre-pro?
Going back to your tree analogy, if a tree falls in the forest and you're NOT there to HEAR it, would you pay $30,000 to silence this fall (if your only intention is to not hear the noise)?