[Pez]

Biggest disappointment for me was buying the VMPS RM40s. They forced me to do some major upgrades like build my own amps, buy a modded DCX and get top of the heap cabling from Bolder Cables including countless other upgrades to make them sound like the worlds best system rather than just doing so magically right out of the box.

[Lyndon]

Thanks Pez, for lightening this thread.
Also, good point.  When I improved my speakers, it forced me to upgrade a bunch of stuff down the line.
Lyndon

[jazzcourier]

Not that any one single item i purchased falls into this category,but it was the people i had to buy it from.The dealers.Just rubbing up against these people has been a major disappointment! I went in expecting to learn something from them,to get some good advice,to share in the enthusiasm of this hobby and help create a system within my means.What i got was marginal service for the money spent,a creepy condescending attitude,virtually no information on set up, and half the time i had to remind them who i was and what i was buying.This has been good,I've stop reading those crappy stereo magazines,only buy used or direct from the manufacturer with whom   i might spend a few moments with on the phone getting some valuable advice on the product i am buying,and rely a bit more on the listeners who mark these pages,opinions both good and bad,worthy or garbage,it costs me nothing to let it all stream in to the great audio abyss in my head.The BEST advice i ever received from a dealer was.."why don't you sell it on Audiogon?" Referring to some out dated piece of junk unworthy, in HIS opinion.....   I replied whats an "Audiogon"?

[satfrat]

Come on Robin, you can name names...the OP asked...
Recently? I would say the Alan Maher breaker stones...after hearing all the hype about them, yeah, balls breaker alright...broke my sound. Luckily I was out only a Benjamin...
Moral of that lesson? Listen not to the village fools, hear for yourself...borrow beg steal or deal...

I'll be more than happy to tell you all about it at Emil's RAVE.    Too many ear around here. 
 
 
Cheers,
Robin

[mjosef]

now u are making those eyeballzees roll in their coconut heads. like so...

[jimdgoulding]

A Sony CD player in the 80's.  Don't remember the designation but it cost 600 clams and had a sublime review in TAS.  An issue or two later a reviewer was flattening out the general opinion at the mag cause of its limited dynamics.  Now, there may have been some reason why it rang like a doorbell in my system other than the unit itself, dunno.  But that's what it did on certain pieces of music.  Fred Hersch's piano, for example, from his Chesky trio CD was a big offender.  More than a little distracting it was.

[Bemopti123]

In retrospect, I could have saved plenty of $$$$ since the early 2000s if I had kept all my franken audio pieces, which sounded very dynamic and good and began to spend $$$$$ chasing an audio mirage.  Sometimes, the older, beaten pieces, combined in a certain way produce magic that no high caliber, highly rated, highly financed pieces will ever attain.  The only pieces that are left of that original combo is my Gershman X-1 monitors.  It is a shame. 

[Pez]

One of my biggest disappointments in audio to THIS DAY is selling my nOrh 9.0s. Although there is simply no comparison sound quality wise to my current system or the speakers I originally replaced them with they were so unique, so bold looking, and sounded great. I have never seen a speaker cabinet with more beauty since. I know some people don't agree, but F' em I always say. I can't help but wonder if I would have kept them and tweaked the hell out of them what they'd sound like today. 

[Tyson]

My biggest regret?  Selling my AVA gear - NOT.   Actually I was happy with it for quite a while, but IMO I thought the old Omega III stuff sounded better than the FetValve stuff. 

Seriously, my biggest regret is was not getting a DEQX sooner - this thing is so much better than any other pre/crossover setup I've had before, that I'm disappointed in all the time I've lost.

My second biggest disappointment is not getting into DIY sooner.  I'm still taking baby steps, but even so I can see how much of the esoteric stuff is doable by me.  I can also see how the cost of components can add up very, very quickly.

[PMAT]

Bought some VMPS RM-30's (my dream speakers at the time) and they came damaged like crazy. The damage was not from shipping like UPS. I am still seeing a therapist about it. 

[werd]

Sold my AR TT to go full HT with Marantz. Total backwards step and i regret it.

[Otis]

Worst, those Ratshack speakers with Linaeum tweeters from the late 90's recommended by s'phile.  The tweeters were nice, the rest, pure misery. I was only out $130 and felt like a thief selling them for half that on Fleabay.

After that, B&W DM610 speakers. Mumbly, inefficient, terrible definition. Hardly better than the Rats above.

Come to think of it the B&Ws and a few other disappointing things were recommended by AVA. Pretty bad, as audio advice goes. That experience opened my eyes. I've since grown up and ditched the idea of  know-it-all audio gurus.   

[Rocket]

Hi,


My biggest disappointment is purchasing a pair of Ampzilla 2000 monoblocks.  I spent over $7000au on these amplifiers and had them shipped to Australia.  I had them delivered in November 2009 and I've heard them for about 10 minutes only to discover that it appears that the voltage wasn't set for 240 voltage. 

They have been in Melbourne for almost 5 months waiting to be repaired.  What a waste of money  .

Regards

Rod

[philipp]

Klipsch speakers.  All highs, not much mids, and no lows.  Needless to say I don't have them any more.

This ties in to MY most disappointing purchase to date. About a year and a half ago, I bought a pair of Klipsch Forte IIs and loved them to death hooked up to my aging Arcam amp. Since the amp was on death's door, I listened to the choir preaching the virtues of tube amps with Klipsch speakers and got myself a Eastern Electric Minimax 8 watt integrated. No matter what I did, or what Bill O of Morningstar recommended, that amp made my Fortes sound EXACTLY like diofan56 described above. Awful, truly awful. Fortunately, Mr. O'Connell is a true professional and took back the amp for a full refund. A new solid state amp restored the sound of my Fortes to their rightful place.

[Niteshade]

I have personal experience with RF-83's and that's all within the Klipsch lineup. They have taught me some very important lessons regarding amplifier design. The speakers are GREAT! I love them and can't say enough good on their behalf. Hook them up to the wrong and you have a screechy mess. Hook them up to the right amp, an amp that can handle them and audio nirvana is around the corner. Tweeter control is every bit as important as woofer control. I have several mass produced amps which control then like a dream, worth between $100.00 and $2,000. One of my favorites is the Sony STR-DA2000ES. It's one of Sony's Class D amp based HT receivers that has a digital feedback loop. This amp gets it right. 100% spot on. My $100.00 Pyle does as well.  That's my diamond in the rough. (I've done some mods to it- but not the the audio circuit.)

Tube amps do not have issues with these if the feedback circuit is made right.

This ties in to MY most disappointing purchase to date. About a year and a half ago, I bought a pair of Klipsch Forte IIs and loved them to death hooked up to my aging Arcam amp. Since the amp was on death's door, I listened to the choir preaching the virtues of tube amps with Klipsch speakers and got myself a Eastern Electric Minimax 8 watt integrated. No matter what I did, or what Bill O of Morningstar recommended, that amp made my Fortes sound EXACTLY like diofan56 described above. Awful, truly awful. Fortunately, Mr. O'Connell is a true professional and took back the amp for a full refund. A new solid state amp restored the sound of my Fortes to their rightful place.

[dhwilkin]

For me, it was an Art DI/O dac, back when they first hit Head-Fi as a FOTM. I was looking to upgrade from a Dan Wright-modded MSB Link DAC III, and at best the DI/O just sounded different to me, unfortunately not different in the ways I preferred.

[hmen]

Just about every after market power chord I've ever tried.

[Niteshade]

Was it really the cord or the claims behind it? Power cords should never be thought of as power conditioners. If a power conditioner is required, it's best to buy a power conditioner OR see if something can be upgraded in the effected gear's power supply.

This thread could be good for debunking stuff.

As long as a power cord can deliver the proper current to your gear, there should be no issues. It is important to check cable quality- but that's typically a simple resistance check.

A power cord should be made with a good conductor and have the terminations wired properly. The plugs should be good quality as well. The only concern: It has to effectively deliver the current your gear requires. Solid contacts throughout and high quality wire will do just that! As far as weeding out noise, boosting bass, warming up the mids, etc... No. There can be positive effects relative to a defective or under-rated cord, but that's all.

There should be a guarantee of rated performance. A 15 amp cord should deliver 15 amps without breaking a sweat. It should not become hot at the terminations. Heavy electron flow can create some warmth, but it should be subtle. As far as other performance factors- I think the manufacturer would be simply guessing. Hit & miss.

Just about every after market power chord I've ever tried.

[Sonny]

Audio Research LS7!  Was dark, rolled off, and not very detailed!
T

[jtwrace]

There are a couple...

The most expensive was Cary SLP-05 & ML Summit