Any regrets in selling gear?


By its nature, our hobby/passion for gear encourages buying and selling gear, hoping to land on a final purchase, that point of satisfaction where you can sit back and just enjoy the music without any niggling issues about there mechanics of it all.

That said, is there any gear that you came to regret selling? 

128x128zavato

I just remembered another item I regret selling- a mint Nakamichi BX-300 that had been serviced and had a factory update done. 

Sure, however it opened opportunities to try others. As some have indicated here, after they cycle through a bunch of stuff over the years or decades - sometimes , they go back and repurchase that lost piece of gear to tray again to see if its as good as they recalled the first go-around. Sometimes it is, and other times it might not be.

A few items that are pricy to replace now (some would require refurbishing).

Roger's LS3/5a's purchased in 1978 for $500 + the cost ($130 ?) of a 1-way plane ticket from London to LAX for an X-Girlfriend.

Nakamichi 700ZXE that I paid $75 for in perfect condition and sold 20 years ago for $600, or so, as we recently unearthed two large boxes of my wife's cassette tapes.

I do miss my  vintage Dynaco and Mac tube gear, but much prefer DH/SET to them (mainly miss the PAS preamps when running tape/line through them - phono was so-so).

 

DeKay

Oh yeah. Bought and sold lots; some I re-bought later. Many components I regret selling; others I sold off and never really desired again (learning experiences). Then a few times I bought/sold the same damn component 3 times (or more) - that’s generally a good indication I like many things it does, but can’t live with it long term. The audiophile equivalent of a toxic relationship lol.

Many components only shine when used in conjunction with the right partners and right system. I’ve had huge swings in opinion on a piece due to this. So that’s my justification to keep a few (or several) of each component on hand at a given time lol. And also in being hesitant to let go, in general. 

Some components get harder to find as time goes on - as interest wanes it becomes forgotten and drops out of general trade (they’ll probably hit circulation again when the last owner dies and it hits estate sales in the next 10 - 20 years). But generally, most lose value in the long run. The exception to this was some of the really esoteric headphones in the 2000s. I definitely regret selling many of these for "too low" prices back then. I mean like Sony MDR-R10, Sony Qualia 010, Audio Technica ATH-L3000, Grado HP-2...

I sold my Conrad Johnson MF2550SE amp because I had new CJ tube amps.  Make no mistake, the tube amps are superb, but I have wished over and over that I didn't sell the solid state amp.  It was spectacular.

I was thrilled to get rid of my Musical Fidelity CD, which everybody loved, other than me.  But, it doesn't make up for selling the CJ amp.