What’s a mistake you made by being impulsive?

In a space of 3 years I went up the Oppo ladder from DV-980H to BDP-105D with EVS mods in several steps. I could hear clear improvement with each upgrade which made me hungry for the ultimate upgrade. I knew I couldn't afford my dream Esoteric X-01, but I thought it would be fun to make a spreadsheet comparing the features, MSRPs, date of release, and going price for a used model of all the high-end SACD/Universal disc players that might fit my dream. ABSOLUTELY just for fun and amusement. Then I thought it wouldn't hurt to search for bargains on the used market...just for fun. BIG Mistake!

My spreadsheet kept growing and growing until my head spun. I knew that one feature I loved about the Oppo was the USB input. I can download music onto thumb drives and and scroll through them with ease. In the process of doing my research I came across much praise for the Ayre C-5Xce. So I added it to my spreadsheet. Alas, it lacks the USB port. The Ayre DX-5 has USB. I am not so good at keeping model names and numbers straight in my head.

A month or so goes by and I see a C-5Xce MP on the bay for a good price. I shave a few hundred off and make an offer. It is accepted and I joyfully make the payment. When I get it all set up I will sell the BDP-105 so I really didn't spend too much, anyway. The next day I had a haunting feeling that something was wrong. I went back and consulted my spreadsheet and as you can see, I had bought the wrong Ayre model! It does sound a tad better than the BDP-105; (maybe my hearing is not good enough to fully appreciate the benefits) but it can't replace it because it doesn't  fulfill all the same functions. I can't sell the Oppo or defray the cost of the Ayre, which I seldom use because navigation is a PIA. I can't see the LED screen from my chair. So I definitely wouldn't miss the Ayre if it was gone. Sometimes I think I'll resell it but I never get around to it.

The Bob Carver Amazing Line Source Speakers.
I own the Bob Carver 350 mono blocks and they are great! So what better than to buy speakers made by the same company/man?
Wrong! Very disappointed in the speakers. They took way too much power to run and it was mostly a high midrange/ lower treble sound.
I traded them in as soon as I could.

Audition, audition, audition, especially speakers!

ozzy

Another big mistake I very much regretted was buying a pair of Von Schweikert VR33 speakers of course without ever hearing them. They were marketed as a $15,000 pair of speakers for only $3750 sold factory direct and covered with a black sock. When I read Greg Weavers review, I decided to buy them. There was a 9 month wait for a new pair but I was too impatient to wait.


I bought a pair here, used for $3500. The guy wouldn’t budge on the price and I really wanted them. With shipping, it cost me more than a new pair. I was so disappointed when I opened the boxes, they looked so underwhelming! The sound was very thin with no mid bass weight at all. The speakers were “ugly looking” (my wife’s words) and again, the sound was anemic.


After futzing with them for 3 months, I spoke with Albert Von Schweikert and he gave me a lot of set up tips but nothing changed. Then, I stopped listening to them for over a year and mainly listened to my office system, upstairs. Eventually, I sold them for a tremendous loss and bought a pair of new GE Triton Ones which I replaced 3 years later with the Triton Reference in July 2017. These are my end game speakers.


My main reason for purchasing the Von Schweikert speakers was because of Greg Weavers review. At the time I didn’t realize he was a big VS fanboy, having praised the 5 different models of their speakers he reviewed and also having bought their Model 55 speakers. I actually wrote him a letter complaining about the speakers but he never answered.


I’m so ashamed😇

My biggest mistakes were my first dedicated speakers, three way Fishers with 12" woofers, followed by a Crown IC150 preamp for my new Stacked Advents and Phase Linear amp. 

many who can count that high dog