Buyer's remorse - your worst purchase?

I upgraded to an expensive Surround Sound Reciever from a lesser receiver and wish I had taken the oportunity to go to two channel then. It ended up being two years later that I dumped surround for pure stereo.

I wanted to save a few bucks so I bought a "B" stock Jolida 502A from Audio Advisor for $600.00/$1000.00 It sounded pretty good but it looked like it had been dropped from a 50 foot window.The transformers were all bent and dented,the paint was chipped and scratched.I couldnt stand to look at it so I sent it back and bought a Dynaco ST-70 for $150.00 that TROUNCED the Jolida!

I can honestly say it has never happened to me and I have been at this high-end business for about 15 years or so. The key thing is don't buy impulsively. There really isn't much reason for getting burned in this day and age. You have access to a great amount of information, especially on a forum like this. If you read and listen carefully, you will develop a feel for the characteristics of products that appeal to your own tastes and your knowledge will grow. So far as cables and tweaks go, make sure you can send them back if they don't work well in your system.

I wonder how many MIT,Nordst purchasers will have the guts to come forward.

My first attempt to put together a decent system. I bought Joseph Audio RM22s based on the rave reviews. I had listened to many speakers and was getting a bit frustrated. When I hooked them up to my Krell integrated, I was horified. Thet were bright, lean and lacked any coherence. I almost gave up. I was able to trade them in for a pair of Aerial 6s. More money, but oh so much better. Don't buy based on reviews. Listen for yourself.