Your most disappointing purchase or audition?


I've had a few.

bought a Naim Nait 3. Loved it in the store. Returned it within a week- way forward at home

Brought home some CJ preamp to audition perhaps 22 years ago. Noisy as anything and a turn off transient destroyed a tweeter (though years later i bought a CJ 17LS2 which I thought was the finest preamp I ever heard in my home)

Auditioned a VPI table (HW19) in a store- the store just could not get the belt to stay on. Bought a Rega instead. This was in perhaps 1990.

Fortunately, I never really experienced buyers remorse say 6 months or more after settling on a piece of gear.

Finally, there have been too many speakers that got stellar write ups which I just didn't care for.
128x128zavato
I was about to purchase great record collection and traveled 800mi. In the middle of my flight when I was changing planes I heard a voicemail left after agreed price that owner either doesn't want to sell the records or simply will try to bump up the price.
I still went to his home and wanted to REALLY check that out.
When I was walking away he asked me if I can stretch for $3k more...
Tpair, you said, "Oppo 95 Replaced Theta Miles."

I'm not sure what you meant by that. Did the Oppo replace the Theta as the worst purchase, or did you have to replace the Theta, your worst purchase, with the Oppo?

And a general comment, some of the more boutique components need a break in time and do sound off for the first while. My NAD C326Bee needed a break in, at first it sounded somewhat bright with a less-than-perfect background. Some time on it changed that.
Interesting the amount of disappointment with Musical Fidelity products in this thread
Green Mountain Audio Chroma speakers...just a bad experience during the sale and more so after receiving them with a damaged driver which I replaced. I sold them as fast as I could.
Oh yeah, and another......Coincident Super/Total Eclipse something or other speakers. Sounded DREADFUL in my room. No other component I've ever heard left me asking myself, "What the hell is all the hype about?" Couldn't sell them quickly enough.