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What component have you heard and straight away thought 'no way'

S-Man said:
Much as a like Rega as a company, I've been quite disappointed with their products:
RB250 - dull and boring sound
Rega couple - fat and slow sound
Saturn - bright and "hifi" sounding (maybe it needed to be used with Couples?)
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I agree to a certain extent the saturn is very 'recording sensitive,' may i ask what couples are?
 
muzzer said:
Naim 555 system.
It cost how much? no way.
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Absolutely, i heard it at a local hi-fi show and they were streaming from a tablet. The interface looked good but the sound was awful they were miles away from some of the kit on display at a quarter of the price. As you say no way!
 
The ubiquitous and much lauded AT95E.

I've heard it in numerous systems at several price points over the last three decades and it has always sounded as rough as a badger's arse.
 
I suppose the conclusion here is never ask anyone for advice about a product on a forum. One man's peachy is another man's unlistenable.
 
Interesting reactions here and as another member has said - all personal taste! I find it is speakers more than any other component that have the instant yes or no factor for me.

My "no way" items (after 30 seconds): any Mission, Ruark and Proac speakers I've ever heard. Large active ATCs

My instant "yes, yes, yes" items: Focal speakers, small passive ATCs

Equally I can understand why others would hear Focal speakers as "no way" items
 
Yeah, speakers mainly, but then so much of that is down to room/speaker/system compatibility. Synergy, if you will.
Recently heard Kudos super 20's, & the super 10's which did nothing for me, especially at their prices. SL2's likewise...how much for speakers that then need a sub to get them sounding half decent???
Further back, the audiolab amps sounded dull & I will always remember eagerly awaiting a dem of the epos (es14's I think) after all the rave reviews they were getting. I asked the shop guy to come back to check they were set up right cos they sounded so awful. Oh well plenty of other fish, etc.
 
ex brickie said:
Interesting reactions here and as another member has said - all personal taste! I find it is speakers more than any other component that have the instant yes or no factor for me.

My "no way" items (after 30 seconds): any Mission, Ruark and Proac speakers I've ever heard. Large active ATCs

My instant "yes, yes, yes" items: Focal speakers, small passive ATCs

Equally I can understand why others would hear Focal speakers as "no way" items
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I think you've nailed it. Transducers were always going to figure on a thread like this and speakers are the obvious first stop- you often know within seconds if you're going to like them. Cartridges too- with AT proving to be Marmite items (I love them and I'm not in the least offended when people pan them). This is why I believe it's a matter of taste and we hear different things.
Thats what makes this hobby so interesting and makes me unwilling to listen to dogma- of which there's plenty. :)
 
Whatever the hifi mag darling/editors choice/best buy Marantz CD player was back in 1990.

Naim NBL speakers

Audiolab 8000A
 
Linn CD12/Klimax/Keltik. Holy crap. Utterly, irredeemably bad. No idea why. It was at the top(ish) of Linn's range at the time, so I presume someone, somewhere must have listened to it and thought "eureka!".

Probably dragged down by the speakers. I've not heard a Linn speaker since the 90's that didn't sound like it was at the bottom of a pool ....
 
Wandering about Bristol Hfi show a few years back Mission proudly showing off their latest floorstanders , black with white drivers. Never heard anything so bad since. Flat, uninvolving and the bass was like a box of tissues being slapped by a wet fish. Might of helped if they werent positioned against the wall.
Demoed Denon mid priced receiver about £1300 3 yrs ago cnat remeber exact model, but the sound was so veiled. Trying to down size at the time.
 
The late 1990s (original?) Audiolab 8000CD I found grey and dull. I much preferred the similarly priced Naim CD 3.5 (bought that), Cyrus, and Meridian players.
 
Thread Resurrection Time! :

S-Man said: "RB250 - dull and boring sound"

Now funny that some people prefer the earlier R200 for that reason YET... many modifications are said to create a 'super arm on a budget'. How much of this is actually true?
 
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