Has anyone else auditioned something that really was terrible?

Having majored in a low-paying profession, and not getting much help from the Mrs., I didn’t have the money to replace the stereo system stolen from my bachelor apartment.  And when you don’t have money, what is the point of window-shopping for audio equipment, or anything nice? (Sad, I agree).  And the people we hung out with didn’t have much more than we did.

I was still using the Sony receiver, Pioneer CD and Jensen speakers I’d had for 25+ years when, this past December, my she’s-the-one girlfriend decides to move on.  Bummer. And what’s a guy to do?  I decided I would finally indulge my long-time interest in fine electronics.  I have only been acquiring pieces since early January of this year.  I don’t know what sounds good yet, and instead of going to a local hifi store where they tweak equipment to make it sound better than it ever would for me, I decided to research on-line to find items in my price range that are well-regarded (and seek opinions here). 

Now the “what sounds bad” part:  I have recently been moving my new subs to see where they sound best, and I was close to my speakers and realized that there wasn’t much sound coming from the right main.  I heard this before and I thought it strange that so much music would have been mixed with most voice and guitar coming from the left channel.  Being closer and realizing “this ain’t right”, I switched the speaker cables and found that most music now came from the right channel.  Great!  Something is wrong with the right channel on my new-used amp!  

But before I got panicked, I started checking various connections and finally both channels played!  I sat back at my usual listening spot and realized that I was just now hearing my system the way it should be!  I know this sounds utterly stupid — how could I not have noticed before?  But there was some sound coming from the right speaker, but it was less than half the volume that was coming from the left, and I still thought it sounded good.  So . . . the weakest link in a stereo set-up is obviously ME!

Well I hesitate to say “terrible,” because audio is so subjective.
But, since you bring it up, one of the oddest and most eye opening auditions I’ve ever done really drove that point home to me. 

The speakers were Klipsch La Scala (the new ones within last year) and they were being driven by high end amps and source (I forget which), and were being played LOUD.

But to me they did not sound good at all. I couldn’t really bring myself to hang out there for the duration. But the eye opening thing was that there was another dude there just digging the sound, and I could tell by his reactions that to him they sounded magical.

Different strokes for different folks.... probably the stuff I like he would have hated, and that’s cool too

I’ve heard whole systems that were bad -but I know it was how the dealer had them set up. McIntosh amps and pre, Paradigm towers, JL Gotham subs, etc.  It was disappointing, but I’m sure if done right the equipment would have performed well. manufacturers can’t control that. 

A couple things I would characterize as quite bad:* SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers* The amp section of a Parasound Halo integrated amp - the preamp section was actually very good

Not terrible, but not good:* PS Audio M300 monoblocks

So basically what you have is the best and everyone else owns crap, aye yi yi...if someone thinks something sounds good with their own two ears then to them it is not crap...ears or an ear are like a fingerprint, no two are the same....that’s why there is so much "crap" to choose from...I like my crap, it does not sound like crap...😁💩

Martin Logan Motion series. I heard them soon after they came out, so they may have been revised. In a subjective way they are objectively bad speakers. Not even overrated, but just really bad.

"Jump on Bose asap dude!!" is a completely uncalled for response from EBM.  Take it elsewhere.  Should have been removed by the mods.  Unnecessary harmful commentary.

I will have to listen to those the next time I visit my dealer, who also carries B&W.  Are Wilson's extra theatrical or something?  Should I ask the hear them on transistors, or Audio Research's giant tube amps?  You know, the ones that require a separate audio room A/C system.

Ouch! Very ouch! 

Not to step on any toes, offend anyone, or slay a sacred (cash) cow, but Wilson Audio Watts/Puppies.

I heard a Rogers Integrated with Magnapan 3.7i's. man did the music sound strained. Although the dealer commented on how good it sounded.

ozzy

Jump on Bose asap?  I was given what is probably Bose best speakers. They are towers with powered subs and do spread out acoustic piano well.  In fact, they even spread out triangles, making them sound the size of a tuba.  Well, maybe not quite.  He wanted them out of his house, and had already donated his Bryston electronics to me because he now needs remote control from his wheelchair.  I had heard his system many times, graciously accepted the speakers, and took them home.  I never hooked them up, thank you!.  Wanna buy them?  I also have his Grace 707 and a nice Sony tuner I don't need.  Plus the aforementioned Marantz surround receiver...  and a crap load (5 pairs and three orphans) of B&W speakers,  and a  single, painted 1950's or 60's AR three way.  Holy crap: Goliath and Son of Goliath M&K subs.  OMG, so to speak,  I need to sell some crap.

Thanks,  I feel much better.  I had shorted a preamp to the A/C outlet wiring trying to test a transformer, because the preamp was coming on slowly.  I sent 110 volts through the other preamp inputs, two amps, a CD player. I shulld have just left it on all the time.  I already had the little caps that triggered the input reed switches, but just had to try one more thing. Luckily, I found a good repairman and decided that my stuff was worth fixing.  I listened to Mac for the first time since seeing the Dead's Wall of Sound at Miami Jai Alai.  I paid about as much to fix my stuff than I had paid used, years ago, but I am happy again.  It was  lot less money than new Mac stuff, and I actually prefer my electronics for my speakers.

Am I just spoiled?

Hope not. You are probably just what you should be: discriminating. Audiophiles ought to have high standards. Not be running around buying one thing after another. Making fool statements and excuses like it might not work in every system. As if anything magically knows whether to sound good or not based on what else its connected to. Yet this is what passes for advice around here.

The vast, vast majority of stuff is crap. At every price level. Crap. Its just very, very hard to figure out what is good. A lot of which has to do with nonsense advice like it might not work in your system. So people buy crap that they can live with, but because its crap it has some glaring faults, which they then try and cover up with other stuff, because someone told them this is called system matching and something they are suppose to do. What utter nonsense.

What you are supposed to do is what you are doing. You read and research and winnow down to a few and then actually audition the few. Which inevitably you find are not what they were cracked up to be. Do this enough and you get so GD good at reading and analyzing that you almost never bring anything even remotely crappy home. But this takes a long time. Decades.

This is not called being spoiled. Far from it. This is called being competent, being a good listener, being selective. Its a virtue not a sin.
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367

Though it's not an amplifier, I think the worst hifi product I ever heard was the Bertagni panel speaker back in the mid-1970s. I like Magnapans, Quads and most other panel speakers I’ve heard, but these failed horridly.

Because it doesn’t work in your system doesn’t mean it’s a terrible product. Maybe something it’s matched with in your system is a terrible match and its performance is severely compromised, but I wouldn’t go around claiming it to be a terrible product. I doubt in this day and age you’ll  find anyone building a terrible product. That being said, I’ve no doubt there are manufacturers who build products that are way overpriced for their performance vs cost. Even then I wouldn’t call it a terrible product; maybe way overpriced.

Or, come to think about it, they might have concluded the speakers sucked, or McIntosh sucked, not realizing more power would have changed everything.

McIntosh Amp at a high end dealership.

I wanted to hear a pair of well regarded speakers, low sensitivity, at one of the most respected NJ dealers. I took some music with me, one being Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, a lot to deal with, and one specific part: Does Richard Burton sound right?

They had a McIntosh system, hooked up the speakers, music with very strong dynamics, and I noticed to my right, a bit behind me, the salesman was riding the gain up/dn manually, tweaking it (to keep the McIntosh Power Guard from engaging frequently I discovered). Stupid.

I knew enough, had my own 300wpc McIntosh SS system at home, to realize that size McIntosh amp could not handle those inefficient speakers. Someone else might not have realized it, might have taken those speakers home to an under powered amp, or, been sold an under powered amp with them.

Of course I had/still have great respect for McIntosh, it’s all about their transformers, and I like having Power Guard, especially if not needed.

Just swapped that SS system for McIntosh tube tuner/preamp mx110z, couldn’t be happier. I never needed 300wpc, it had been a gift, I replaced it with 45 wpc tube integrated, (Cayin A88T, they say designed to ’sound’ like McIntosh tube MC275). I could have easily gone down to 30 wpc with my efficient horns, drove them with 30wpc mono blocks for years.

Anyway, I always wonder(ed) what might have happened to a less informed/aware customer.

Some dealers are customer friendly, but they seem to be getting scarcer.  Decades ago, when I ran one pair of B&W DM14's, I went to a well-regarded store in Miami, Audio by Caruso.  The owner, a frail little man, told me that he had a really great trade in, and I could buy it and return it within a week. Despite the beautiful, sculpted wood cabinet, and overall quality, it was not what I needed.  When I returned it with 30 minutes to spare, he dug through his cluttered desk and handed me the actual check I had written him.

I remember many moons ago auditioning a CD player and when I arrived at the store I was told by the salesman that it was ready in the room to listen. I went in and sat down to listen and as there were three pairs of speakers in front of me I could not know which pair I was listening to . It turns out I was listening to Lowther horns and some ocscure 4 watt amplifier that I forget the name of. The sound was awfull with no transparency no detail and no treble. I dully told the salesman so and he told me that it was the best he was prepared to stock as he hated all things treansistorised so if it wasn't good enough then to go somewhere else and not come back. Not too many months after that he put the shutters up and has not been heard of again.