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Major mistakes made in assembling your audio rig

What types of mistakes (in your estimation)did you make in assembling your audio rig over the last 5 to 10 years??

For example,...."I should have spent more money";

"I leaned too heavily on reviews and/or the advice of others";

"I should have just stuck with separates and not downsized??"

"I just can't get the thing to sound the way I want despite much time and effort"

Based on any or all of the above.... Have you ever considered selling your system and starting over, or concluded, it takes too much time and money, and is a hassle.... so regrettably I quit
sunnyjim
frogman
7,360 posts
 
Nice post; I agree with your take on the subject and feel that I am in the same boat. Some thoughts that come to mind:

I think that it is true that "back in the day" there seemed to be fewer choices, and many of those choices seemed to be able to tap into and give us that elusive quality that some of us refer to as musicality (like the sound of live; or, at least, having a good dose of it). I think that part of the reason for this was, ironically, because of the very limitations of the equipment. Contrary to what some fans of vintage equipment feel, I think that, overall, today's gear is infinitely better. The problem and irony are that as gear has become "better" (more transparent to the source) it also becomes easier and easier to put together a system that sounds poor (unlike the sound of live). However, it also becomes possible to put together a system that is far better than anything that I heard back in the day if one is willing to devote the time and research and deal with the inevitable mistakes? Not easy, considering just how many choices there are. Personally, I try not to stray too far away from the approach to system building that made it so much fun back then.
billbartuska
83 posts
 
Having a $1k phono cartridge within reach of a 2 year old.
More of a parenting mistake than an audio mistake, but it still hurt...a lot.
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,480 posts
 
Not getting tube gear earlier! I would have saved a ton of cash if I didn't hold out!
mbenus
9 posts
 
1- Get speakers that work in your listening room and are not too big! Sadly, most floorstanding speakers need a lot of space around them to work well, and that's not possible in many rooms. Consider monitors with a subwoofer. This offers flexibility in dealing with the bass problems that plague many rooms. You can place the monitors where they sound best and move the sub where it performs best. And if that's not enough, you can adjust the sub's level and crossover frequency!

2- If you spin vinyl, get a good phono stage. The phono stages in even excellent integrateds are good but not great.
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