2. tech-talk
  3. 146424-308

Top Ten "Reasons I Don't Like This Component"

Many of us have had the short term experience of demoing or acquiring a piece of gear that, when we installed it in our systems, we soon realized that it wasn’t going to work.

An example I recently cited was after home demoing a CJ 17LS preamp years ago. I couldn’t stand the banging sound of the volume relays while adjusting. The unit sounded fine enough musically but this particular feature was intolerable.

What other features or quirks of components have you had similar experiences with over the short term? I’m not talking about chronic upgraditis, which most of us are afllicted with, just short term experiences that make us say, "this does not work for me."

No need to list ten reasons, just one or two. I'll keep a tab on them and summarize later.
stevecham
tuberist
951 posts
 
heh Sleepwalker....I should proof read more closely.....It not I sounded artificial....
LOL.....Larry
stevecham OP
3,340 posts
 
@pops: I totally agree on legacy Thiels. I had a pair of CS6s that I sold recently, keeping the 2.4s. Those bottom mounted binding posts were not only a PITA to get to while precariously tilting the cabinet if no one was around to assist, but, unless one had the spikes installed and adjusted fairly high, there was never enough clearance for my banana terminated speaker cables to make the 90 degree turn from vertical to horizontal. I’m happy Jim or someone at the company finally saw the light and mounted them appropriately on the back panels for later models.
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
Power amps with bright meters!

I do not want the distraction of useless information, or lights, when listening in the dark.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
It seems that Naim decided to keep the tradition for the sake of keeping the tradition. Their marketing department may be endorsing it to keep the story going.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 

generally speaking....

1 speakers whose binding posts are separated too far apart. von S 4JR were 20 inches or so really stretching the bi wires i had at the time. or forcing the use of jumpers or shotgun wiring.


2 preamps whose on/off switches used toggle switches similar to knife switches that were thin and extend from the face plate inordinately far. they were prone to breaking off in shipping. and, did.


3  getting upscale ubber sensitive audio gear and realizing you have a ground loop issue from your CATV rig and having to chase that down.


4 sub woofers whose controls are all on their rear panel and have no remote controls.


5  thinking a new ??? will fix the issue you have but then finding out it was merrely a synergy issue with miss matched components.


6 being told a prospective amp is fresh out of the box and that it will ease up after break in, but finding out that is the way it sounds once broken in after all!



7  eg., above but with speakers.


8  eg., same as above with anything else.


9 hearing that soft swoosh as the preamp volume is controlled up  or down with the remote. Although it stops once you are at the what ever volume, but it does tend to annoy at times.


10 owning mannually biased mono amps…. and suffering from bias checking anxiety. 


11 Buying a new pre/pro or receiver whose operation manual is more than 150 pages. actually if its more than 30 or 40 will be enough to lite the irritation fires. 


lastly, components whose IEC inlets are all over the place, right hand side, left hand side, and or in the middle making for dressing power cords a real mess.


More to discover