HIFI components you have been disappointed with and tried to live with a while,

Johnno2

New member
Feb 2, 2009
45
0
0
Visit site
Mine was the NAD C352, a highly respected amp, but it wasnt for me

Thought it kind of bright , but stll lifeless and a bit hollow, where was that big warm beefy NAD sound, adjusting the bass helped, but had a muddy effect :shame:

This is not Nad bashing, the other amps might be superb, but this kind of put me off, Tried to burn it in by playing it alot when I was out, but it never really gave me the sound I want, I now have a Marantz PM7001, and a Yammy AS500, The Marantz is richer and fuller, more refined cymbals, The bass tone control (when needed) adds more punch rather than adding mud like the Nad !

The Yamaha also gives a richer sound surprisingly, with more clarity

So the Nad had to go

Whats people experiences :?
 

Deliriumbassist

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2011
120
81
18,670
Visit site
Denon RCDN7. I still have it somwhere and might send it to Fidelity Audio, see what they can do to it to give it a new leash of life, but the network side of things was a bit iffy, as well as the volume increments being quite large. It wasn't bad for the price, to be fair, but I could have waited a but longer to save up for something better. Saying that though, it did outlive my CM1s and eventually ended up with Q500s on it. Now it sits in a cupboard somewhere.
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
Not quite what you're looking for, but when I was looking for a 2 channel amp to plug into the pre-outs of my AV amp to cover music and AV, the perfect choice on paper was the Moon i7. It was powerful, refined, had AV bypass, was well reviewed and was heavily discounted (due to RS version).

I had it for a long weekend and didn't like it at all. I found it a bit "shouty" and sterile......in fact I preferred my AVR600 for music. Reluctantly, I brought it back, glad I hadn't gambled on its theoretical benefits.
 

lpv

New member
Mar 14, 2013
47
0
0
Visit site
Rotel RA-11 integrated amp with Dac.. bought it as soon as it was released. On paper, everything I wanted.. Big disappointment in real life.. Harsh, dry, dull.. some say it's Rotel signature.. didn't like it. 7 days with it and return was obvious.. it's possible my unit was faulty as well ( but didn't investivate this further)... weird cracks on high frequencies on both channels. Bought PM6004 instead and big improvement... so that's the story.
 

audioaddict

New member
Nov 1, 2011
114
0
0
Visit site
my previous audiolab system, complete with 125watt mono blocs. i spent about 2.5k on this plus my arcam tuner (which was the best bit) I was in despair and tried desparately to live with it because it costs so much but in the end i had to get rid of it and took the plunge and bought the 603 and couldnt be happier:bounce:
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
I'd second the Arcam A18. Also their A70.

My first choice would be the KEF Q300 speakers. I liked many things about them and I tried so hard to love and enjoy them with a variety of amplifiers, but they just tired me out if I listened for more than an hour. Just not right in my room at all.
 

Johnno2

New member
Feb 2, 2009
45
0
0
Visit site
stevebrock said:
KEF Coda 9 speakers - crikey overated or what - they didnt last long and were replaced with Mission 782 (When Mission were good :))

Tried these KEFS as my first floorstanders, lasted a day, packed up them up and back to the shop they went, came home with a heavy pair of AE109 ! My god what differnce in sound, mainly the mid and bass, to be fair the KEFS had a nice crisp treble, but the AEs were just the full package
 

Singslinger

New member
Jul 31, 2010
16
0
0
Visit site
I once took a gamble on the Musical Fidelity M6 500i integrated, thinking that with 500W on tap it might be an upgrade on the 200W M6i. I was terribly wrong. Suffered for about a week but thankfully managed to flog it off.
 

iamthegruffalo

New member
Mar 6, 2012
12
0
0
Visit site
Singslinger said:
I once took a gamble on the Musical Fidelity M6 500i integrated, thinking that with 500W on tap it might be an upgrade on the 200W M6i. I was terribly wrong. Suffered for about a week but thankfully managed to flog it off.

Gulp...I had been toying with the Musical Fdelity M6i, after also taking advice on here regards other amps, I am now leaving it off my list.

Top of my list is the Creek Destiny 2, but I will definately audition before buyng.

The worst item I have bought without audition, stupidly, was a Cyrus CD8 SE2, which was so utterly dull with my Roksan and B&W's but they were lit up by the Audiolab 8200 which replaced it!
 

busb

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2011
83
5
18,545
Visit site
eggontoast said:
The Audiolab M-Dac.

I think I only preservered for so long because of all the hype, thought I was missing something but no I wasn't, it's just an overhyped mediocre DAC.

I'm still very impressed with mine - NAD's M-51 bested it in my own system but I still consider it a bargain. John Westlake who designed the electronics has acknowledged that he has had a number of these DACs back for various mods, has noted a number fell well short of the expected SQ. Yours may have been one of these.
 

busb

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2011
83
5
18,545
Visit site
I borrowed a B & O parrallel-tracking TT Seaward's in Wokingham - it went back. I ended up with a Technics DD with an SME arm & Shure V15 cartridge. Changed cartridges a few times but keep this setup for nearly 15yrs.

The 2nd was an early Sony digital tuner - returned it for a NAD analogue one that sounded much, much better. The time I lost some money was with the 1st Audiolab amp that never lived up to it's not inconsiderable hype - its phono stage rolled off too much bass compared to my Sansui AU217. Sold back whence it came for a 10% loss.
 

mikeparker59

New member
Apr 6, 2010
4
1
0
Visit site
Squeezebox Touch.

Took it back for a refund as it was totally unreliable would often just stop playing in the middle of a track, frequently crashed.

Decided to go for piece of kit from a HiFi maker rather computer peripheral maker. Happy now with my NP30.
 

Singslinger

New member
Jul 31, 2010
16
0
0
Visit site
iamthegruffalo said:
Singslinger said:
I once took a gamble on the Musical Fidelity M6 500i integrated, thinking that with 500W on tap it might be an upgrade on the 200W M6i. I was terribly wrong. Suffered for about a week but thankfully managed to flog it off.

Gulp...I had been toying with the Musical Fdelity M6i, after also taking advice on here regards other amps, I am now leaving it off my list.

Top of my list is the Creek Destiny 2, but I will definately audition before buyng.

The worst item I have bought without audition, stupidly, was a Cyrus CD8 SE2, which was so utterly dull with my Roksan and B&W's but they were lit up by the Audiolab 8200 which replaced it!

Actually, I meant that I was disappointed that the M6 500i wasn't much of an upgrade on the M6i. I should have said the M6i is a pretty decent amp, though I've no idea what the Creek sounds like. FWIW, I think at that price (roughly 2,500 pounds), the M6i is worth auditioning, as is the Naim SuperNait.

Hope this helps!
 

iamthegruffalo

New member
Mar 6, 2012
12
0
0
Visit site
Singslinger said:
iamthegruffalo said:
Singslinger said:
I once took a gamble on the Musical Fidelity M6 500i integrated, thinking that with 500W on tap it might be an upgrade on the 200W M6i. I was terribly wrong. Suffered for about a week but thankfully managed to flog it off.

Gulp...I had been toying with the Musical Fdelity M6i, after also taking advice on here regards other amps, I am now leaving it off my list.

Top of my list is the Creek Destiny 2, but I will definately audition before buyng.

The worst item I have bought without audition, stupidly, was a Cyrus CD8 SE2, which was so utterly dull with my Roksan and B&W's but they were lit up by the Audiolab 8200 which replaced it!

Actually, I meant that I was disappointed that the M6 500i wasn't much of an upgrade on the M6i. I should have said the M6i is a pretty decent amp, though I've no idea what the Creek sounds like. FWIW, I think at that price (roughly 2,500 pounds), the M6i is worth auditioning, as is the Naim SuperNait. Hope this helps!

Arghhh, I am trying to take equipment out of the mix. Seriously though, thank you for the insight, I had sighted a new M6i on Fleabay at £1600, which was calling me.

I think a trip to PJ HiFi in Guildford after Xmas to audition the Creek, Rega Elicit R and the Exposure 3010s2 and the M6i is bang in order to make a decision.

This is a long term decision I am making, so gotta get it right this time.
 

jesmat

New member
Dec 17, 2013
1
0
0
Visit site
I wish I'd taken heed of people complaining about the Denon TU-1800DAB tuner momentarily freezing every 20 minutes or so.

Was there ever a cause / fix found for this fault?
 

stevebrock

New member
Nov 13, 2009
183
0
0
Visit site
Johnno2 said:
stevebrock said:
KEF Coda 9 speakers - crikey overated or what - they didnt last long and were replaced with Mission 782 (When Mission were good :))

Tried these KEFS as my first floorstanders, lasted a day, packed up them up and back to the shop they went, came home with a heavy pair of AE109 ! My god what differnce in sound, mainly the mid and bass, to be fair the KEFS had a nice crisp treble, but the AEs were just the full package

Tried to like KEF speakers but crikey no way - my sister has some Q series standmounts - crikey they sound shite
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Cambridge DACMagic 2. Lovely build, brilliant connectivity, good functionality, completely dry and uninvolving. Back it went.
 

gd11_be

New member
Dec 24, 2013
0
0
0
Visit site
I went from a Yamaha (old AV amp) to an Onkyo NR-708. And I never got it to sound properly. It sound sharp/flat and dull. So after 6 months, I swapped back it out again for a Yamaha RX-673, based on Whathifi 5 * rating. And I must admit that I back to loving the Yahama. The combination of Mission old 7 series speakers with Onkyo was not a good one.
 

NHL

New member
Nov 12, 2009
83
0
0
Visit site
Arcam drDock, got a very strange equalized sound,

the funny thing is that rDock is top of the line, according to reviews.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts