JBL SA-660 amplifier

Nope

OK, get out your handkerchiefs. This is a sad story.

About 10 years ago, I was forced to downsize from a 3500sqft house to a 900sqft condo. This entailed a 4000-mile move, so most of my stereo could not make the trip.

This included meticulously restored Quad ESLs (1957), a pair of 1950s Class A Quad monoblocks, a beautiful refurbished Stereo 70, a bespoke sub designed specifically for my system and room (14-inch drivers, -6db at 8Hz!), a modified Dahlquist crossover, a couple grand of room treatments -- that’s not everything, but you get the idea. I even had a big box of NOS tubes and 2 NOS Quad replacement panels in their original sealed boxes. Really unique gear, which I’d spent over 20 years tweaking and restoring. And these units, even the half-century-old components, were all at least 9/10 aesthetically. The ST-70 chassis was like polished chrome, ESL’s copper grills were almost perfect.

Well, for some reason -- maybe because I didn’t have the original shipping cartons and needed a buyer who could accommodate local pickup -- I could not find anyone in my rural area of the country who was interested. The time for the move came closer and closer and one out-of-state bottom-feeder, sensing the pressure I was under, offered me $1800 for the lot. He claimed to be a dealer and justified the low offer with the statement that he could only pay half of what he could sell the stuff for. It broke my heart, but he had me over a barrel.  Even $3600 seemed crazy low for a set of carefully matched, beautifully restored, vintage components like these.

Well he drove to my place and when he heard the system, he was knocked out and immediately snapped it up. As we were loading everything into his van, he mentioned that he actually wasn’t gonna sell it. He planned to keep it for himself. I didn’t say anything, because I was just days from getting on a plane, but I was absolutely friggin’ furious!!

Regrets, I have a few, but then again, too few to mention. But this one still sticks in my craw. I spent so many years and so much time and money putting that system together and tweaking it into something special...

Never regretted it.  Only regretted the time I spent fretting over finding the perfect recording set up.  Music is all that matters.

I buy high and sell low. Hence it's always a giant loss. Regrets? I am used to being around myself and I don't stress over it. 

YES

I miss my VPI TNT 3 /Graham arm/ Van den Hul Frog

Also miss my Mark Levinson no.38s and no.332

Apogee Mini Grands with DAX

Selling a pair of complely refurbisehd McKintosh MC30s.

I regret selling S.A.P Anniversary monoblocks and S.A.P Anniversary preamplifier.  Two great pieces

Yes, my Bose 901's

Yep for sure regret selling my mint pair of Plinius SA-102 amps and my Ultimate upgraded Cary SLP-05. I'm still crying over this

I regret selling my Luxman cl-35 mk3.  I am now using a Mac 110z. Trying to find another Luxman.

Have gear I'm regretting thinking about selling 

Oh man, 50 years of messing with hifi but it seems my 70s -80s stuff gave me the most regrets.

Marantz 3300, 140

Crown D150A, IC150A

Pioneer SX1250

Hafler DH-200, NAD 3020 as pre

Audio Analyst M6 speakers

Yea all my Adcom gear Pre, power , and CD. Great gear for the price.

"Regret getting rid of my Sony 707 ref cd player"

Marvelous player.  Gave it to my Brother-In-law and he still is enjoying it. 

The pieces that come to mind include a pair of larger Advent speakers and the high power (for the day) Kenwood receiver that drove them. My AR turntable. My Hafler amplifier. Many of the pieces lost in the fire I have very strong regrets for their loss. That is a long list...

THIS HOBBY is my passion ! I buy and sell all the time ! I look for rare and vintage one offs that are very hard to come by...... That being said I have a honey hole of rare and valuable grear . I have had many regrets selling this stuff, esspecialy shipping it ! I take ALL THE RISK, EVEN WHEN YOU ENSURE IT ! THE BIGGEST rip off is with Vintage , rare hard to find custom amps ! PART PRIATES ! steal hard to come by components and send you back the componets missing key parts ! I have a huge grave yard of items sold and returned missing key eliment parts ! it is quite a scam , All at my expence ! i have thought about quitting but I am soooooo deep into it ! It sucks that the few who mis represent our hobby stoup to those lows and tacticks ! i don't know how to stop ! I have a small fortune wraped up into this gear that to most is just non working junk NOW ! God Help me ! 

I have had three sets of AR3a's and two sets of JBL L100's that I regret selling.  I have zero of either now, and wish I had somehow held on to a set of each.  I have managed to collect a set of AR6's, AR4x's, AR12's, AR2ax's and several other vintage speakers.

For a while I had tried to set up a vintage system in one room and a more advanced, non-vintage, system in my main listening room.  Now both systems are probably more vintage than new.  But in wanting more items, I stupidly sold some items I wish I hadn't.     

Original 15 ohm Rogers LS 3/5a. Purchased for $495 in 1977.  Sold for around $2k in 1995 to help start a business.   Worked out well with th business, but still miss the speakers.

Around the same time, sold a Marantz 8b for $225 as I headed off to college because a dorm room is no place for a tube amp. Should have just put it in parents closet until I graduated.

the pair- the 8b into the LS3/5a - was magical.

I don’t truly regret anything I’ve sold because I simply had to.

But I do get quite wistful about my MBL 121 omnis.

I owned them for about 10 years and nothing else sounds like them.

I also Sometimes would like to listen to a pair of waveform Mach MC

Monitors that I sold.  They were such a A beautiful balance of monitor like

Frequency response, yet warm toned and completely disappeared.

I regret selling my pair of teak 15 ohm 1986 Rogers LS3/5a’s, my Naim NAP 135 monoblocks, and my Classe DR3 VHC. Other than that I’m content with the audio gear I presently own. 👍

A phono stage because I needed the money. But now boy do I regret it. It was terrific. Wish I had found another way for the money or found a way to do without the $.

Talk about regrets. A friend's grandmother left her a Van Gogh signed woodblock print. My friend sold it to pay for her college instead of taking out a loan. 10K in the 70s. I was not impressed. I said why didn't you hold on to it? She said Sotheby's told her it would deteriorate. I figured they just wanted the commission THEN to meet a budget quota.

I brought it up to her recently. She said 'I don't want to talk about it.'

Quad 57's restored by Wayne Piquet. Limited in some ways, but awesome.

I miss (but not regret) selling two pairs of speakers: Thiel CS 3.6 and Infinity RS Kappa 8 speakers. Both are finicky to place, and are hard to match electronics to, but when set up properly they are magical

I have made up my mind that I want to sell my Oppo UDP-205 soon. Not sure if I will regret later. I have not spun a single disc since July-2020. But you never know how regret strikes.

GamuT L7 Loudspeakers

milpai 

Oppo……the opportunity to keep!
 

Speaking here from the UK.

Oppo in the UK was branded Cambridge Audio and they have stopped selling now. They were badged Oppo units. They fetch really good money over here with the CA 752BD being the last of the bunch equal to the Oppo 105.

Universal players will be hard to find soon and all that functionality will be missed…..

Did you ever consider about using yours as a streamer?  An avenue some users in the UK have not even thought of. And that onboard DAC is so good.

Best wishes.