Anything you wouldn't hesitate to buy without hearing it first?

giantsteps · « **Reply #20 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 12:56 am »

Yes....the SP Tech minis.

IronLion · « **Reply #21 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 12:57 am »

Done and done.

Quote from: giantsteps on 17 Dec 2007, 12:56 am

Yes....the SP Tech minis.

KBK · « **Reply #22 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 01:11 am »

Anything found to be designed by Bruce Moore.

Tweaker · « **Reply #23 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 01:13 am »

Quote from: giantsteps on 17 Dec 2007, 12:56 am

Yes....the SP Tech minis.

I wish I'd jumped on a pair at their introductory price.

RobertB53 · « **Reply #24 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 01:34 am »

I would buy a small, digital receiver (10 wpc) with a world-class phono stage.

I would buy an adjustable, transparent subsonic filter. (Easier said than done.)

I would buy a modern 1 1/4" CONE tweeter that would play down to 1kHz without distortion. I'd want a polar response graph, too.

I would buy a loudspeaker kit with this alnico cone that included a suitable mid/bass driver and a Japanese saw. (It cuts on the pull and exerts considerable control.) I'd want thin-wall construction, too.

I'd buy nigh any push-pull, EL84 amp with published specs.

If I had the moolah, I'd jump on those modern incarnations of vintage loudspeaker technology. The Braun version of the original Quad comes to mind. And the SoloVox by Audiotorium 23 looks sublime.

We are entering a golden age of hifi in which the siren temptations of bandwidth are denied in favor of the allurements of the "girl next door." You'd think that a mag like Stereophile with a writer like Dudley, whose humanist background cracks from the page, would want to keep the vintage reviews.

ajayrav · « **Reply #25 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 03:42 am »

The ACI sapphire XLs. Love 'em- have never ONCE regretted buying 'em.

TONEPUB · « **Reply #26 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 04:01 am »

Anything that SME makes. Bought my 10 without hearing it and have been
very happy.

It's too bad Stereophile doesn't do more vintage stuff. We try to have at least
one vintage piece every issue and it's a lot of fun revisiting some of the great
gear from along the way.

I just got in a pair of clean Celestion SL600's for next issues' article and I
loved em so much, I bought them from the guy! There is still plenty of
great gear that has withstood the test of time and it's always fun to read about.

I really liked his articles about rebuilding the quads!! Cool project!

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #27 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 04:10 am »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 17 Dec 2007, 04:01 am

It's too bad Stereophile doesn't do more vintage stuff. We try to have at least
one vintage piece every issue and it's a lot of fun revisiting some of the great
gear from along the way.

For sure, it would be interesting to see how well some of the old classic stuff holds up against todays tech.

mjosef · « **Reply #28 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 04:18 am »

Quote from: Tweaker on 17 Dec 2007, 01:13 am

Quote from: giantsteps on 17 Dec 2007, 12:56 am

Yes....the SP Tech minis.

I wish I'd jumped on a pair at their introductory price.

Ditto...

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #29 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 04:21 am »

Quote from: giantsteps on 17 Dec 2007, 12:56 am

Yes....the SP Tech minis.

Why?

jcpix · « **Reply #30 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 04:23 am »

Any recording by Mark Knopfler

ZLS · « **Reply #31 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 12:06 pm »

Any Omega speaker that Louis Chochos told me would sound better (in my room) than the model I currently own. He has not been wrong yet; and when he says better the difference in sounds is not subtle.

loki1957 · « **Reply #32 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 02:04 pm »

anything from Jadis

AliG · « **Reply #33 on:** 18 Dec 2007, 11:36 pm »

I changed my mind, I would buy her without listening..

norton54 · « **Reply #34 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 02:15 pm »

I just bought a ACI TitanXL sub woofer and am anxiouisly waiting for it's arrival. By reading everything I could about it and other subs I decided on this one and are hoping for the best. I was really disappointed with my last sub (REL) and everything else I read about all the new generation online subs; Epik, SVS, HSU, sound like they are probably great subs but a little large and geared more for HT.
I also bought a small pair of speakers off e-bay (PMC) that turned out to be fantastic for the price.

sts9fan · « **Reply #35 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 02:36 pm »

I have bought a few large things(to me) unheard. The first ended kinda poorly. It was a amp that is very popular on this site. It had ungodly gain that I think is a major design flaw and caused compatibility issues. The other was my Druids which I love!!! Was a bit underwhelmed with the bass at first but I am loving them all around now. I think the speakers I had before them gave me a skewed view of what good bass is. I have also bought lots of cheapo amps and kit. I am currently building up a Twisted Pear TXO-2 and I have never heard a LM3886 amp.

John Casler · « **Reply #36 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 03:01 pm »

Although I am quite small, as a dealer, I represent a large array of products and manufacturers.

I would estimate that more than 95% of the components and speakers I place, are to clients who have never heard (or seen in the case of video) the product.

And while some might consider that strange, as I go through my personal components, I find I did the same, past and present.

I don't recall any great disappointments.

norton54 · « **Reply #37 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 03:15 pm »

It's sad but in todays world there is a complete lack of "hi-fi" dealers, at least in my part of the country so we have to do a lot of on-line research and order off the internet and hope we made the right choice, unless, we want to travel to a major metropolis which isn't an option for me. I guess we can blame the mp3 player for that. Kids today would rather have a portable music source than a real stereo.

acresm22 · « **Reply #38 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 03:46 pm »

Quote from: jcpix on 17 Dec 2007, 04:23 am

Any recording by Mark Knopfler

I was just about to post the same thing!

riffer · « **Reply #39 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 03:53 pm »

With the exception of my speakers, I have bought my entire system without hearing any of the components first. I relied primarily on reviews, especially those with measurements. I also bought used, and those components I didn't like I sold with little loss except for shipping and taxes.