A friend of mine filled my bike tires with helium . Boy did that make a difference in my singing. Tires, not so much.
As for the original thought about expensive versus inexpensive... All of us see the world through our prism of experience and life circumstance. What each of us prefer is what works best for that individual. There’s no right or wrong answer. However what I find objectionable are the judgements when one person’s preference doesn’t match another’s and they express it negatively. However that can usually be chalked up to trying to temporarily build one’s self worth by tearing down some else. Not a healthy way to develop a positive self-esteem, but it’s all too expedient.
I may not play a psychologist on TV, but I do in real life.