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Dumbest reason you were drawn....

What is the dumbest reason you were drawn to consider a piece of equipment? After all, before you've gotten to hear any of this stuff you've got to decide WHAT you're going to audition and/or buy. So come on, swallow your pride and spill!

I'll go first: It was that damn blue light in my 5.1 and 7.1 Citation amps. I was about 25 when I first saw their equipment and I thought it looked wayyyy cool! I decided that I just had to have that slick looking piece of equipment. So I gave them a listen looked into the build quality, etc. and liked what I heard. When Citation went belly up and I had more money a few years later I jumped. However, if it wasn't for that stupid blue light I don't think I'd have given the Citations nearly as much attention..... I feel like I've got the brain of a moth.
aewhistory
14 responses Add your response
hack
185 posts
 
perfect sound forever...
6550c
393 posts
 
I bought a tube DAC, well just because it had a tube in it. I thought it would some how change my life. Turns out, it was one of the worst audio gear I ever bought. Sure glad I bought it used for 1K (some bigger fool paid 4K new). Total waste of money.
danielk141
489 posts
 
I wanted a Mark Levinson 333 amp, based on John Atkinson's
continual praise for the (Madrigal Era) brand.
Then I actually heard one on my friend's Wilson Witts.
Ouch! I already had a dog, and my Airedale didn't cost $3K.
gammajo's avatar
gammajo
844 posts
 
Way back - Bose 901 speakers because of the cool shape and promise of direct reflected sound. Not the most neutral of purchases. But biggest mistake was not to compare it to anything before purchase.
4est
507 posts
 
I have an old HK that has a positively beautiful purple indicator.
mitchchavis
87 posts
 
Flash back nearly 40 years.. I bought a pair of Audio Project speakers which were Bose 901 knockoffs (looked just like them) and when I opened the pair the wood was laying loose from one speaker. The store, Lafayette Stereo outside Baltimore, intimated that maybe I had dropped them and were willing to give me a new one but refused a return. They were terrible, shrill sounding and I was happy to have had them stolen from my apartment sometime later.
krell1's avatar
krell1
250 posts
 
I bought an entire Nakamichi Series 7 thinking it was the greatest audio & I learned from that.
aewhistory OP
70 posts
 
A purple light! You've got a purple light, 4est?!? Damn you! Now I want a purple light.

Follow the light Aaron, follow the light.... why is it that I'm so attracted to these stupid perty lights? Probably because I've got the brain of a Moth. :-)

These are great stories guys. Keep'em coming!

PS-Why do I have this feeling that audio equipment manufacturers will be following this thread and taking notes?
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
Good reviews.
mrderrick
292 posts
 
Heath Kit Graphic Output Indicator AD-1701. Just had to have one of these.
Found one, used it for about 20 seconds, put it away.
I also have a weakness for big power meters and huge metal knobs, but therapy has helped me kick that habit.
nilthepill
842 posts
 
The Yamaha stack in early 90's and 15 inch woofers with red surrounds on Cerwin Vegas with adjustable tweeter controls. The more taller the stack, multiple features, complete with EQ, the better. I had the Yamaha DSP1 and cd player and then multi disc player, the laser disc player, the tape deck, the tuner, the preamp. When I stacked them it would be like 6 ft high ( well almost). Very impressive ;-) and good sound to boot for my then standards.
lewhite
156 posts
 
Darn I wanted to be the first it site John Atkinson.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
just like that 6550 guy I tried some tubed components because so many of you are always saying how you love the tube sound. OMG what a mistake; even the "good stuff" sounds terrible on my very revealing horns. Never again.
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 

* Buying a Musical Fidelity buffer because it had a tube in it.

* Buying a Linn Sondek LP 12 because I believed the Linn cult members.

* Buying anything because it was listed in Stereophile's "Recommended Components"
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