Costliest Brainfart

I had just a day before received a pair of the new Stage Accompany Ribbon drivers

with very powerful Neodymium magnets. I opened the boxes and placed the new drivers on the floor. Face down so as to keep anything from getting into the ribbons. Plainars really.  So after cleaning up the packaging. I sat down to listen to some music. I live by myself and leaving the drivers on the floor was no issue.

After an hour or so, I looked down and said to myself " I had better put those new drivers somewhere more safe..heck I could damage them being on the floor myself". I pick up one of the drivers and place it on my work kitchen table..where I had a small project being done.  Small bolts siiting on the table. Not thinking I had a powerful magnet in my hand...just as I was about to take my hand off the driver...woooosh !!! In the blink of an eye  4-6 small bolts sucked up by the magnet go right through the ribbon...POOF !!!!  $450 gone, disappeared.  right..." I had better pick those driver up off the floor because I don't want to damage them... good job !!!!

I doubt homeowners will pay for a mishap, a coffee got spilled on a new computer 

and the agent jerk at Allstate literally laughed.

many of these workers are not exactly M.I.T grads .

My first system all used adcom gear and snell c2 speakers all bought used almost 60 years ago. I had the big adcom amp and crossed speaker wires so strands were crossing from + to - terminals no more sound from amp. Adcom was in NJ near me I called and for a box of donuts repaired the unit while I waited!!  

AH, my brother, I feel your pain. I have murdered a few styli in my day. 1 from dusting (Shure V15VxMR). 2 (Ortofon 2M Black and Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC *) from clumsily knocking the tonearm, sending it careening across the record and banging the cartridge into the record clamp.

The last 2 may have been influenced by consumption of whiskey...allegedly.

I also had a Cayin tube amp. I decided to change the tubes from  EL34 to KT88. After the switch I turned on the amp to wam up and realized that I forgot to change the tube switch setting on the back to KT88.  I reached behind the amp and flipped it up without turning the amp off. One of the tubes started smoking and popping. Turns out it blew out the bias meter and several resistors. I took it in for repair and it cost $600 to fix. The worst part is that it took 6 weeks to get it back.