Supratek Syrah preamp this was back when all the hype started and it just never sounded good in my system and also hummed like crazy.
Stuff You Tried To Love
I know we talk a lot about confirmation bias- we buy something and then convince ourselves we like it. Or something like that. But did you ever buy something you wanted to love and just couldn’t make it work? For me, Esoteric X-05 SACD/CD player. Bought from a local who was upgrading to the X-03. Big, beautiful piece of gear, but I couldn’t get used to the sound after 6 months of trying. Sold it to another local- I insisted he listen before he bought and I believe he sold it soon after as well. Totem Forest and Hawk. I loved the whole concept. Slim, easy to live with. Couldn’t get them to work in my room. The Model Ones were much better. I had a couple of other pieces, but this is long enough. BTW, these were bought used without audition.
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First Watt amps. Most S.S. preamps. Horns. Harbeth speakers, Sanders electrostats, big omni MBLs, most KEFs I have heard recently,and on. Unfortunately as my personal systems improve and as I become a better listener, the list of also rans grows every year. So much equipment these days misses the true color and texture of the music or colors these beyond recognition. |
I had 2 pairs of speakers I gave up on. Von Schweikert VR33 speakers. Spent 6 months adjusting and breaking in, they still sounded terrible. Sold them and next owner loves them. Tekton Pendragon speakers. Very tall and lightweight speakers, flimsy shipping cartons arrived damaged. Tried to like them, tried 3 different amps, moved them all over the listening room. Where is the bass, never did find it. Back they went to Tekton. |
I really wanted to like the Blue Lights. Got a C2700 preamp new on trial and back it went. Looked nice though. I also had a much longer love hate relationship with my Auralic Aries G2. Even modified the power supply. It was just plain finicky on my network. I have been told I am hard to get along with. |
i cannot name the company but 10 years ago, perhaps 12, i bought a low cost amplifier , it was so bad we discarded it with a friend after one minute... And it was not a damaged one . i sell it the next morning my friend do not want one too even for free ...and no break in will redeem it trust me... I bought it because of all unanimous reviewers ... Thats my point ...😁 I also bough and here i will name it because it is not american product , then no controversies, i bought a Hifiman He 400... Bad design and a sound less convincing than the Akg K701 which i dislike ...The Hifiman He 400 break on my head for no reason save bad design of the cups attachment to the headband ( yes i take care sorry about my headphones) ... Here too the reviewers were unanimous... I lost faith about singular reviewers here ... I started statistical analysis of users and of all reviews before buying .... It was a good decision ...😊 After that i go for 6 months of analysis for an amplifier and i was very lucky because more informed after an extensive search ... i own it till this day... i bought also 12 years ago a pair of active speakers well reviewed everywhere... I hated it ...but one year ago i modified them extensively and now they are audiophile grade speakers ,incredible so for the price i dont need anything else...M-audio AV 40 ... But if you use them as they are out of the box you will never listen to them at their best and they are really extraordinary if we modify the porthole design , the waveguide of the tweeter , if we control the resonance and vibrations by tuned damping and isolation sandwich and if we use a tube preamplification and protect them agianst EMI .. They became so good i would be afraid to buy anything under 1000 bucks... Not bad for 100 bucks speakers i hated for 10 years before using them the right way ...
Never trust one or two or even three official recognized reviewers... Imagine it is me the reviewer : The american company producing the low cost amp i hated will be in bankrupcy... It is a good thing i was not a reviewer... They certainly created better design after that... Hifiman will also had suffer a lot from me ... All their models are not bad... And M-Audio will have recived from me only a enough acceptable review with no praise as Guttenberg did , praising them... In a way i was lucky because it is after modi9fication and optimization that they shine but not before sorry Steve Guttenberg... But i must say they were only really used as computer speakers even if they called it audiophile computer speakers... Anyway it is not false AFTER modifications of design ...😁 Now i am in love with them after 10 years of hate ... Then dont trust completely reviewers, trust your creativity...
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Oh my goodness, I love tubes. I even want one of those cool tube clocks! For me, it’s the NAD C658 all-in-one (preamp, DAC, streamer, DIRAC). The feature set sounded incredible and it used BluOS which I was familiar with from the Node I previously owned. I paid for the complete DIRAC version, invested in mic stand and purchased a UMIK. It sounded good for only a small portion of ownership, but I suspect it may have been due to a really good sweep in DIRAC. Great feature set, but never sounded musical and “right” in my system. Confirmation bias? 100%. But confirmation bias slowly goes away, too. |
Most people don't get music. |
1st comes to mind is a SS McIntosh Preamp C28. It worked fine as a switcher/attenuator, many features I still want, HOWEVER, I did not like the sound of it’s MM Phono EQ. I actually preferred the dinky optional phono built into my Audio Technica AT120 TT. Now I use my Fidelity FRT-4 SUT into my beloved McIntosh mx110z Tube Tuner/Preamp’s MM Phono, sounds wonderful. If it was stolen or blew up, I wouldn’t even look about, just find another one, find some money (they have jumped up in price) send it to Audio Classics for check-up. 2nd, more recently: I needed a Phono EQ for my ’new to me’ office TT. Temporarily I bought a $14 Pyle, compact, out of sight, got listening to vinyl up here for the first time. Better: tried ifi phono zen, preferred the pyle, sent ifi back. Tried Cambridge Alva Duo, preferred the Pyle, sent Cambridge away. Finally, I bought my Little Luxman 10wpc tube integrated with both MM and MC within. Love/preferred it’s sound (compared Pyle via Line Level into Luxman). kept my Pyle as a loaner for others with problems, or still researching something they might buy. I always say: anything to do with Phono: have return privilege’s!. 3. I tried a few SS Receivers to replace my beloved Tandberg TR80 in my garage/shop system (had to drive 2 sets of speakers). Nyet, Nyet, ... Finally I got a Yamaha CR-1020 SS Receiver (my 1st ever Yamaha). Great features/sound/looks, couldn’t be happier, except it is heavy, 42 lbs! 4th, I did a big search for a 'new to me' CD player, then realized I needed SACD as well. Asked/received help here, went thru about 9 recommended players (all used) until I tried the recommended Sony Vintage xa5400es, it sounds great.
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I had a McIntosh MC2200 that I bought new. It was the biggest mistake I ever made as an audiophile and I dumped it for a Bryston that a friend still uses. I had an Aurender N100 streamer, also purchased new from my favorite dealer. The thing was never really stable and support wasn’t helpful. I dumped it for a Bryston BDP-3 and have been happy ever since. I’d probably still have both of those components if confirmation bias was as powerful as some suggest. |
