Krell amps (I'm wondering if they drop them in boiling water to get them sounding so sterile?), Blue Point Special cartridges (they NEVER open up and are flimsy at best), and the worst component I EVER heard was a Threshold preamp. I had to use a tourniquet on my ears after slipping one into my system for a test drive. As for speakers...well, speakers are so highly room dependent; room properties and set up are critical to how they sound. I've never heard a bad speaker, but heard plenty improperly set up.
