What is the worst sounding gear you have bought based soley on reviews?

raindance · « **on:** 10 Sep 2010, 08:21 pm »

I'll kick this off:

Wharfedale Diamond 8.1 speakers. The worst, most cheaply built, horrible sounding pieces of garbage I have ever seen or heard. Bought them based on a "professional" review that compared their imaging capabilities to Quad ESL's. These speakers have no bass and no treble. They are unbelievably rolled off at both ends of the spectrum. They image OK if you don't care for anything else. They were sold within a week (the one advantage of good reviews).

Elizabeth · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 08:43 pm »

When the first Sony 'digital processing' preamp came out I traded in my wonderful Hafler DH110 I built from a kit. I stopped listening to music after I got tired of playing around with the bells and whistles. Finally I realized what a ghastly chunk of junk the Sony was, Sold it

Zero · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 08:57 pm »

This is going to be an interesting thread...

decal · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 08:58 pm »

Silver cables,i.c. and speaker.I tried 5 different brands,all were way too harsh in my system. Yes,I used them long enough to "break in".No,I won't try any more.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #4 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 09:01 pm »

PS Audio Power Plant 300.

It did some things very right. But, once removed, my brain once again relaxed when listening to music. It adds a considerable measure of stridency into the mix...while other aspects did improve.

In the end it sounded less like a real event and more like a processed one. 2 years of jiggering with it and making excuses for it and out it went on Audiogon

John

Zero · « **Reply #5 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 09:15 pm »

Oh alright, I guess I'll chime in and throw something under the bus. For me, it would have to be the AV123 (Onix) Reference 1 and 1.5 (tower version).

They were a treat to look at, but not much of a treat to listen to.

Call it synergy, call it personal taste, call it whatever - but I could never get these speakers to work for me. No matter how hard I tried or what gear I attached them on, I always encountered thick bass, an unrefined top end, and hollow mids. After three weeks, I decided that enough was enough. Back to Colorado they went. I'm not sure how they earned the praise that they received.

Letitroll98 · « **Reply #6 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 09:46 pm »

Ortofon X3-MC cartridge, a high output MC widely touted as the cat's meow in the 80's. I kept wondering what was wrong with my system or my hearing. Why didn't it sound better than the Shure's and Grado's it replaced? The pundits in the rags raved about it and it's brothers X1 and X5, they're the experts, right? I was young(er) and impressionable then.

JLM · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 10:31 pm »

For me (IMO all power issues are local) it was battery power (small integrated amp and a DAC). It would probably violate A/C rules to reveal the manufacturer.

Not only could I (and others I found out via unsolicted PMs) not hear a difference between battery and A/C, but they required a trip back to the manufacturer for battery the DAC didn't make safely back to the manufacturer due to the heavy battery slamming into rest of the guts and that I'd have to pay for the repairs didn't exactly make my day.

Of course the DAC suffered another bout of battery self inflicted damage when I tried to ship it to a buyer.

BYOB · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 10:47 pm »

Interesting thread, could create some heated discussion. For me it was Audio Nirvana 10" single drivers. I read all the interesting reviewes on single driver speakers and had to try...made my ears bleed. Shouty was an understatement. I tried all the recommendations with stuffing, different wires, even tube amp but now I am turned off of single drives. Got some LS6 (line source towers) on sale and wow, that is nirvana. Sorry to affend AN fans (great customer service) but just not my taste.

Photon46 · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 10:54 pm »

The title of the thread should probably be "what piece of gear did you buy based on reviews that had the worst synergy with with your system." That said, the Belles 150A Hot Rod amp was my biggest disappointment. The Magneplanars I had at the time did not sound good with that amp, that's for sure. That buying experience sure taught me to read glowing reviews with a more careful examination of a reviewers prejudices, partnered equipment, and experience.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 11:18 pm »

I haven't blindly bought anything, so this probably goes against the thread's intent. I almost pulled the trigger on an item that I had the chance to hear by coincidence...

Musical Fidelity V-DAC - It's very appealing at $299 and has gotten rave reviews from rags and users. I thought it was awful, as far as musicallity goes. Didn't technically do anything wrong, but didn't do anything right at all IMO. More like Musical Fatality to my ears. The dealer (who I've dealt with before when I lived in a different area) thought I was crazy when I told him its one of the most boring things I've ever heard. He put it in 3 different systems that I know pretty well and aren't anything near boring. It sucked the life out of BB King Live at Cook County Jail and Floyd's DSOTM, which I thought was impossible. No soul, no groove, no boogie what so ever; just some sounds coming out of a few otherwise excellent systems.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 11:21 pm »

A neighbor bought a pair of Ascend speakers. Wouldn't be surprised if the guys who voiced the MF V-DAC voiced those speakers. My eyes were getting very heavy after a few minutes.

timind · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 Sep 2010, 11:36 pm »

I'm going to name two.
Classe CAP-151 integrated amp. It just seemed so lifeless in my system. Whenever I see one of those "Which integrated amp should I buy?" threads and someone recommends the Classe I wonder if the person making the recommendation actually owned one.
Next would be the Music Hall CD25 (original model). This cdp received glowing reviews as a giant killer by pros and "audiophiles alike. Totally unremarkable in my system.

denjo · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Sep 2010, 12:18 am »

I can't really say that buying gear based solely on Reviews has been a negative experience. But, I remember buying a piece of audio equipment notwithstanding that a reviewer had felt less than enthusiastic about the piece. It was the AudioNote Soro, a lesser known tube amplifier in the AudioNote line-up. It turned out to be one of the most musical amplifier that I have ever had the privilege of owning!

soundbitten1 · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Sep 2010, 03:42 am »

Probably the Parasound HCA-1000. It's not that it sounded bad. It just didn't warrant all the glowing reviews. That said, it was a solid amp and did offer a lot of bang for the buck.

Delta Wave · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Sep 2010, 04:48 am »

I tried a modded Rotel RQ970BX phono stage. While it had great imaging and a 3d sound stage, the midbass was extremely muddy and it sounded terrible in my system. I also had a B&K Reference 20 that had a deplorable digital section, it overheated more than often... I had to put a PC 120v fan on top just to watch movies. Though the analog section sounded quite nice.

Tyson · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Sep 2010, 05:53 am »

Gold Dragon KT77's. Sterile, irritating sound from those tubes. Tried them in several different amps.

skunark · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Sep 2010, 05:58 am »

I'm with Stu on the MF VDAC. It is clearly no better than the one in my TV.

My biggest disappointments would be center channel speakers, any brand.

doug s. · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Sep 2010, 05:59 am »

gw labs dsp upsampler. made cd's sound hard etched & sterile. couldn't listen for more than 15 minutes. thankfully, i got it from audio adwisor w/a no questions asked money back guarantee.

doug s.

cujobob · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Sep 2010, 09:41 am »

I owned Onix Reference 2s and while they weren't the best speakers i've had, they certainly bested a lot of similarly priced options when they first came out.

I would have to say that most B&M offerings from the early 2000s that received high praise were simply not worth the cash. Paradigm speakers, various models, didn't wow me at all and I found B&W speakers no better.

I also believe a lot of tube power amps are overrated and lack the detail a good solid state amp does. OTLs may be an exception.