What's the most overrated or overpriced piece of equipment you own, have owned or come by?

Thanks, dgarrestson - very informative.  Sadly, I have neither the skills or time for DIY.  Not to mention the inability to afford $4K worth of silver foil! 

So, dgarretson, I am curious.  What cabling do you have in your system, and why?

zavato:  Wow, you must have gotten a lemon of a Thorens.  I bought a TD-166MkII new in 1984 and it is still in regular use (slightly modded). 

2psyop: Sorry you had such issues with Odyssey Audio. I purchased a Stratos HT3 from Klaus (actually a one-off with new circuit boards for the L/R channels and an old board for the center channel) with cap upgrade following a little negotiating at an audio show. I had a hum problem as well. I was able to get Klaus’ assistant on the phone, and he walked me through the process of removing a ground wire inside the amp that he suspected was the issue. It was indeed the issue, and since then, which is about 10 years now, the amp has been totally silent. I did have one capacitor fail early on. While Odyssey Audio gladly and quickly replace it under warranty, I was a little upset by the large shipping charges required to send the 64 lb. amp to Minnesota. But overall, my experience was far better than yours, I think. FWIW, I love the sound of the Stratos. As they say, YMMV.