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The one component that you wish you had not bought

Most of us have a component that we spent good money on and then wished that we had not bought.
In my case, it was a Musical Fidelity X-Can V3....which I mistakenly acquired after reading a rave review by
Sam Telling....( yes, I know...that was pretty stupid!). 

What is the one component that you acquired that quickly went back on A'gon?
128x128daveyf
jond's avatar
jond
5,914 posts
 
Oh and I almost forgot my Supratek Syrah! Read all the online hype and what an epic piece of crap, I was rid of it within a week. Poor build quality and didn't sound great either.
lewm
13,346 posts
 
Re the Crown IC150.  I never owned one, fortunately for me, but it was notorious back in the 70s for great measurements and lousy sound. It was also unreliable, IIRC. Similarly, Julian Hirsch was notorious among audio cognoscenti for worthless BS reviews; his opinions were based pretty much only on measured specs, obtained in the "Hirsch Lab". Do you recall the Phase Linear amplifiers, with .0000000001% THD?  Got down that low by the NFB method.
barrysandy
193 posts
 
Oh no, not the Crown IC-150! I doubled down. I bought it and the D-150 companion amp. Ugh, ugh, ugh! Hard as nails. I did not like the Phase Linear 700B much either but the 400 had hidden potential if modified. I also didn't get all the fuss about the B&K ST-140. Cartridges? How about the early Decca Golds. The cantilever was so short the cartridge bottomed out in a light breeze.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,497 posts
 

A pair of Von Schweikert VR-33 speakers.  I got sucked in by the hype in their full page ad saying their 3,700.00 speaker sounds like a 15,000.00 speaker.  I purchased them second hand from a person who had them less than a year.  After getting them hooked up, I had to ask myself "where is the bass"?  I moved those 103 pound monsters all over the living room for almost a year.  I disliked the sound so much that I stopped listening to my main rig.


Finally I sold them for a 1500.00 loss and bought a new pair of Golden Ear Triton Ones.  That was a little over a year ago and I still smile every time I listen to the new speakers.  I even asked for help on the Von Schweikert Audio Circle and all the fanboys crucified me.  Never again and good riddance.

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