Your worst HiFi/Audio purchases ever...?

[miktec]

I have had a number of self-inflicted unfortunate events that still stick in my mind....

Possibly the worst was a Phillips portable cassette recorder I bought to take to gigs in the early '80s
I fell for a glib salesman's patter - it was quite expensive, very plasticky and the recordings it made were absolutely abysmal.

Fortunately I managed to talk the shop into taking it back for a full refund - and consequently got a very capable Uher instead for about the same money ... but the memory of my initial stupidity still haunts me to this day

Obviously, most sensible punters are above all this - but any that other posters are not too embarrassed to share here?

 

[evand]

Schiit Jotunheim headphone amp with DAC card. Admittedly, I was coming from a Yggy, SCA2 & large active floorstanders.

Replaced with a Phonitor 2 & Yggy back in the mix and suddenly cans were not so bad, albeit still a poor substitute for speakers.

 

[RJohan]

Sugden A28 in 1984. Not only did it not sound very good, it was so badly built it fell to pieces when you carried it around! I had had my eyes on a Naim Nait1...

 

[Shuggie]

KEF Q35 floorstanding speakers - unwisely sold a pair of ES14s to buy these. The Q35s were truly awful things that demonstrate just how far KEF have since come with development of their UNI-Q drivers

 

[Mynamemynaim]

Had a pair of naim intro speakers that were a real mistake
Fortunately I managed to fob them off to an acquaintance at work who mistakenly though I was a hifi buff...and therefore they must be good woops

 

[Alex S]

My regrets are sales, the dinky stuff, particularly NAP 110, original AE1s and Shahinian Super Elves.

 

[DonMarks]

Pains me say it but the Quad Va-One.

Really wanted to try an EL84 and this cute little $#|* was not only ticking a lot of boxes but was getting rave reviews.
The bluetooth connection was dire and kept dropping out. Started feeding it with a Node but internal Dac felt barely adequate so I ended bypassing it completely.

stuck with it for 2-3 years as I really wanted to like it, but after replugging a 405-2 in, and now with a Croft, I just couldn’t belive how flat and boring it sounded.

shame

 

[Brian S]

Nordorst and MIT interconnects - utterly pointless expense. I went through a hearing test with Harvard Music School, it suggested my ears were far from brilliant but fell into the top 12% category.

 

[JoeJoe]

LP12. ‘The Emperors new clothes’ is all I can say about my expensive purchasing travesty.

 

[Del monaco]

As I was developing and learning, I purchased some Sony ‘Brookland’ floorstanders. I needed new speakers and these were decent and within budget at the time. I’m sure it was just psychological but their bland looks and a probably unjustified creeping insecurity caused me to change them quickly. I ended up with Spendors.

 

[S-Man]

All of mine have been taking a punt on a 2nd hand item that has been raved about:
Beard P100 - huge, ugly and with brutal sound
Q Audio Concept 20 - bland, boring, dull
Rega Saturn - other CDPs run rings round it

 

[1964meb]

I was underwhelmed by my creek 4040 - it didnt have enough oomph or detain and i scared the life out of me when switched on - the on thump sounded like it coukd fry most speakers.

 

[Del monaco]

I have had a number of self-inflicted unfortunate events that still stick still my mind....

Possibly the worst was a Phillips portable cassette recorder I bought to take to gigs in the early '80s
I fell for a glib salesman's patter - it was quite expensive, very plasticky and the recordings it made were absolutely abysmal.

Fortunately I managed to talk the shop into taking it back for a full refund - and consequently got a very capable Uher instead for about the same money ... but the memory of my initial stupidity still haunts me to this day.

Obviously most sensible punters are above all this - but any that other posters are not too embarrassed to share here?

There are two threads running with the same title.

 

[chartz]

The NAD 3020. Shure V15IV. Totally boring devices. The Shure couldn’t clear end of side tracks. The V15VMR wasn’t any better, by the way. And it was very poorly manufactured. The magnifying glass was ruthless. Ok, Grados were worse.

 

[nobeone]

Some Beyer Dynamic DT 330 headphones. I went in to buy some Sennheiser something-or-other low to middling headphones and was talked in to the BD as they were on offer . BD? More like BM, horribly muffled and boring. On the plus side they were very comfortable but somehow that just made it worse ... not an expensive mistake but they were awful headphones that I then kept way too long. Still a good way to learn not all sales staff are on your side and you must take time to listen properly and decide for yourself!

 

[seagullsnacker]

Naim Credos secondhand - sounded like farting wardrobes

 

[Fatmarley]

Dynaudio contour 1.3xx (SE or mk2 - Can't remember) - The sound made me feel physically sick.

 

[garyi]

I have not had many purchasing mistakes, in as much as its all fun to me. I did however sell a nait 2 for 90 quid would have been around 1998, I miss that thing.

 

[flutteringwow]

Rasberry Pi -Terrible, basically.
Topping D90 - didnt even manage a day with it, hurt my ears
RME AD-2 - cant understand the forum 'hero dac' status after spending time with it
Innuos Zenith - far too 'hectic'
Mcintosh MA252 - heavily 'influenced' sound

 

[miktec]

There are two threads running with the same title.

Possibly - the forum software seemed to throw a wobbly when I went to submit it (or perhaps the beer made me do it ...)

Can't see the other one now so maybe the mods to thank for the swift action