The worst purchase I ever made was before I even had a system that could be considered high end. It was 1984 (or so) that I decided those newfangled CD players thingies had come down enough in price to warrant buying one. I read every issue of the known bible (Stereo Review) I could find that talked about CD players, and finally decided on a $400 Onkyo player with the heavily marketed "Opto Coupling" between the digital and analog sections. Brought it home, hooked it up, and immediately went through a whole roll of Bounty sopping up the blood pouring from my ears. I didn't know about things like break-in back then, but even that wouldn't have helped this player. Took it back to the store and told them it was defective. With no questions asked, they took it back and ordered a replacement. When that arrived, I took it home only to experience the same unlistenable dreck. The store had never really offered any money-back guarantees, but they were good enough to take back the 2nd player and give me store credit for the full purchase price.
I didn't even look at another CD player for over 5 years....
I didn't even look at another CD player for over 5 years....