Hi Fi you REGRETTED buying!!!!!!!!!

[Pueblo_Boy]

I've bought a few things I regret, though some for different reasons. When you buy into the 'latest greatest' thing, you often move into uncharted waters.

I remember buying a Strathearn record deck, which promised revolutionary sound. I suppose the records did go round and round , but the sound and build quality was far from revolutionary...I think I then ditched it for a BD Connoisseur 1 with SME arm, a much better way to spend my money, though they didn't last much longer either. Ahh, the delights of vinyl upgrades!

Then there was the Arcam Delta 150 A.V. Nicam stereo tuner. You remember Nicam tv? It did make last night at the proms sound amazing, but that could have been my new (at the time) KEF 104/2 speakers. What great speakers! Not long after buying what the Arcam creator named as his favourite ever product, and it was good, I went to work abroad, and the Arcam Delta is still sitting in its box at the top of my wardrobe...what a waste of £250!

I guess I should add numerous pairs of speakers to the list. Whilst I may have bought many a decent pair, I so wish I had bought the KEF's much sooner. I went out, Hi-Fi magazines in hand (I used to avidly read them all), to buy the best pair at £400 and under, back in 1990. There were some strong contenders, which were given a listen to, but then I spied the KEF's in the corner, and asked the nice man to connect them up. They were on special offer - about £1200 IIRC - but they were so much better than everything else. Guitar solos were sharp and incisive, vocals clear as a bell. I was hooked, whipped out my credit card, and never regretted the decision for a second! So my advice to all you guys looking to buy speakers - trade up as far as you can, listen to the best at twice your budget, and see if you will be satisfied with anything less...

 

[BigH]

"Even though the standard sound-card in the Mac Mini is one of the best I've heard in a computer, this thing is several leagues ahead."

So what happened?

If I'm being honest, it's a perfect example of hearing huge differences because I wanted to hear them. Sometimes I think the first few weeks or months of living with a new HiFi component are absolutely the worst time to truly evaluate it. Quite often for me, the novelty of hearing something different clouds my judgement, and that novelty needs to wear off before I can truly evaluate whether what i've bought is better, or more often than not, just plain different.

I thought may have been the case, at least you are honest about it, one reason why I don't like doing reviews for a few months.

 

[relocated]

A Strathearn record deck, now you really are pulling out things from the mists of time. Welcome to the Forum btw.

 

[TrevC]

Wharfedale 8.3 speakers. Poorer bass than the much smaller B&W 601s I already had, and far less refined.

 

[Ben123]

for me its the arcam rpac. such a thin sound with no life, sold it on ebay for half of what i paid for it.

goodbye money.

 

[ISAC69]

Cambridge Audio Topaz CD5 CDP and Musical Fidelity V DAC II , both not expensive components with poor results bought them with no serious

demo . The CA CDP had some issues with MP3 cds , "boomy" bass and lack of details . The MF DAC had a negative affect on the sound (especially on classical and jazz ) : the bass was uncontroled , poor soundstage , lack of details.

My lessons are :

1. Pay more for better products . If you don't have enough money wait till you can afford it . don't make a compromise .

2. Make a serious demo for every component before buying , better in you home .

3. ignore hifi magazines reviews , go and check as much products as you can before buying including the ones received bad reviews (you will be surprise !) .

 

[steve_1979]

my Wilkinson's extension block.

Hi DIB

Wilkinson's mains extension blocks enable components to breathe

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Have you tried these?

 

[Dom]

I regret buying the Lite DAC-AH which I think is badly designed or something. According to forums I looked at about fixing it with some resistor, its basically a rip off.

And :roll:

Denting my MS Mezzo 6's and mucking around inside the Roksan K2 amp is an act of NAZI racism. Wooo.

 

[Pueblo_Boy]

Relocated said: "A Strathearn record deck, now you really are pulling out things from the mists of time."

Just as well I didn't tell you about my Amstrad record deck! Almost triangular! That Alan Sugar sure knew about marketing....

Actually, what I regret most in my Hi-Fi experiences is not so much something I bought, as something I sold, but should have kept - my KEF 104/2 speakers. Anybody know of a more modern equivalent I might be satisfied with? Something that makes guitars sound alive?

 

[Pueblo_Boy]

Relocated said: "A Strathearn record deck, now you really are pulling out things from the mists of time."

Just as well I didn't tell you about my Amstrad record deck! Almost triangular! That Alan Sugar sure knew about marketing....

Actually, what I regret most in my Hi-Fi experiences is not so much something I bought, as something I sold, but should have kept - my KEF 104/2 speakers. Anybody know of a more modern equivalent I might be satisfied with? Something that makes guitars sound alive?

 

[iamthegruffalo]

Cyrus cd8, classic error, bought without audition.

So cold and lifeless partnered with my roksan amp and b&w cm8s, different story with audiolab though

 

[ISAC69]

Cyrus cd8, classic error, bought without audition.

So cold and lifeless partnered with my roksan amp and b&w cm8s, different story with audiolab though

Why didn't you try the Roksan Kandy CDP ?