Buyer's remorse - your worst purchase?

Amongst the main miscosceptions of life : assuming what comes easy to you,is easy for everybody.I never heard any of the pieces I own before I bought them.In a showroom,I am "putty"waiting to be molded. Heck,I'm not much better on the phone with a dealer.(So I am finding out).If read a "HOT"review,(Kharma EXQ) and if I have the means:that's it,the mold is ready.Buying this way hasn't hurt me;(still in Permanent Denial)Just paying to much. I'm catching on a little.Sounds like an AA (Audiophiles Anonymous) meeting going on here. Thanks ,Tmi2 for the tip on Nordst & Mit.So as you can see I am a loyal supporter of the genera,Keep those Bucks cirulating,guys,It is FUN!!!

OK - OK!! I was one of those Nordost takers who violated the first rule of Audiophilia (listen first) and spent a lot of money on Quattro-Fil and SPM Reference based on the press. It simply did not sound good in my system at all. Fortunately (for me at least), there were eager takers on Audiogon so the pain has been eased somewhat.

I am one of theose "Nordost takers" that recently upgrades to Red Dawn Rev II speaker cable (Bi-Wire) and SPM interconnect and could not be happier (I did listen first). I firmly believe that anyone that listens to these cables in a high quality system will be quite impressed. Also, not to get off track, I think my worst purchase was a Audio Alchemy DTI Pro (not the 32).

Oddly, I have never had a "worst purchase" until two months ago. I bought a Monster Power HTS3500 line conditioner after reading Robert Harley's rave comments in TAS about the HTS2000. I assumed that since the HTS3500 offered another filter stage, it had to be better than the HTS2000. WRONG!! When I installed the 3500 in my system (which is a pretty decent one with Bryston amps, Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers, etc.), there was a noticeable deterioration in the overall sound quality. My wife said it sounded like I had substituted some really bad speakers, or a bad preamp. After several weeks, I read a couple of comments in "AudioReview" by other owners of the HTS3500, who had the same experience I did. At that point, I sold the 3500 and bought two of the HTS2000's. BIG DIFFERENCE!! The sound quality of my system not only returned to its previous state, but showed improvements in the deep bass and high end, plus an improved video quality on the TV. So, I guess the lesson here is that more features and higher cost doesn't guarantee anything. For anyone considering the purchase of the HTS3500, I'd strongly recommend getting the HTS2000 instead.

Lexicon CP2. The MOST sterile sounding processor/pre out there. Not only that, it spent more time in the repair shop than in my rack.