2. amps-preamps
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Your most disappointing purchase or audition?

I've had a few.

bought a Naim Nait 3. Loved it in the store. Returned it within a week- way forward at home

Brought home some CJ preamp to audition perhaps 22 years ago. Noisy as anything and a turn off transient destroyed a tweeter (though years later i bought a CJ 17LS2 which I thought was the finest preamp I ever heard in my home)

Auditioned a VPI table (HW19) in a store- the store just could not get the belt to stay on. Bought a Rega instead. This was in perhaps 1990.

Fortunately, I never really experienced buyers remorse say 6 months or more after settling on a piece of gear.

Finally, there have been too many speakers that got stellar write ups which I just didn't care for.
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oros's avatar
oros
43 posts
 
Musical Fidelity A120 Awful would be an understatement.
Tried it on all my speakers and they all went into flapping fits.
Yet they have no problem with any other amp I have tried including a $150 mini chinese valve amp.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
Several years back I drove 100 miles to hear the Aerial 7Ts. I went expecting to buy. Very disappointing. I auditioned Magnepan 3.7Rs the same day. They ran circles around the 7Ts.
wolf_garcia
6,737 posts
 
A 1 meter Mogami XLR cable I bought from Guitar Center...I've used Mogami instrument and mic cables for years with success, and have a Neglex from my Akito tonearm that sounds great, but this run from my preamp to amp (XLR input on the amp but not balanced) sounded harsh and unnaceptable...not worthy of a break-in period...tawdry, untoward, blasphemous, insulting, off-putting, and surprising. Replaced it with an AQ Diamondback and all is well. The end.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
I was about to purchase great record collection and traveled 800mi. In the middle of my flight when I was changing planes I heard a voicemail left after agreed price that owner either doesn't want to sell the records or simply will try to bump up the price.
I still went to his home and wanted to REALLY check that out.
When I was walking away he asked me if I can stretch for $3k more...
runnin
397 posts
 
Tpair, you said, "Oppo 95 Replaced Theta Miles."

I'm not sure what you meant by that. Did the Oppo replace the Theta as the worst purchase, or did you have to replace the Theta, your worst purchase, with the Oppo?

And a general comment, some of the more boutique components need a break in time and do sound off for the first while. My NAD C326Bee needed a break in, at first it sounded somewhat bright with a less-than-perfect background. Some time on it changed that.
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