Bondmanp, Cables are an area where a little research and basic DIY skill, together with the use of first-rate materials and a modest investment of time, produces VG to excellent results at reasonable prices. My current loom is PCs: shielded 8awg .999 silver or Furutech Alpha 3 bulk cable with Furutech ends. Speaker cables: shielded and grounded, teflon and silk insulated .999 stacked silver foils with 1.5 lbs. of silver therein. ICs: shielded, grounded Parts ConneXion Connex/DH Labs BL-Ag balanced silver bulk IC cable with teflon dielectric and Neutric ends. 100+ ft. @ $16/stereo ft. At the current commodity price for fine silver, the entire investment is perhaps $4K. Over the years I’ve wasted perhaps 5 times that in commercial cables that depreciated, and demoed some in the $10K range that don’t compare to the better DIY. I try to believe that all purchasing decisions in audio should be considered at the margin of the greatest improvement for the least investment. There has always been something better to buy than expensive cables.
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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! |
The $4K represents everything in the loom. Materials for the speaker cables cost $750. BTW, I'm not suggesting that cables are unimportant-- rather that this endeavor is accessible to the average DIYer with almost no knowledge of electronics. Once understood you could hire a high school student or my sister-in-law to make cables... |
The only item that I've purchased that ultimately proved a disappointment was a Thorens turntable in bought in the mid 80's. Motor issues and tonearm bearing issues were routine. Admittedly it was not a very pricey table, and I did have it for about 5 years. Sold it and bought a Rega Planar 3 which was problem free.
I did did have a California Audio Labs CD player that needed several warranty repairs. Without jinxing anything I would say all my present gear has been quite problem free. For instance, I've had my turntable for 18 years now and it has never needed any repairs. |
DarTZeel
nice finish, sound like Kenwood |
Lots of nice post here, very interesting. I can really agree with Mitch4T. I started this game in mid 80’s with a much lower income. Over the years I’ve been disappointed with a lot of the so called Giant Killer products but that’s where we go when the funds a low. Once my disposal income reached a little higher level, I’ve been real happy with my buys. Of course, the education I have received along way helped. |
This one is easy...I bought one of the Carver "The Receiver" and I ended up counting the hours until that thing sold in the newspaper classifieds. It literally sounded awful. I don't think there was anything mechanically wrong with it, it just turned my Infinity speakers into echoing soup cans, and not due to an impedance or power-requirement mismatch.
The shame is, I’m sure Carver makes lots of great gear (I assume?) but after that purchase I’ve never been able to go back to that brand.
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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....
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A turntable that cost as much as a nice car but I rarely use. |
My biggest disappointment is having bought the simaudio 740p preamp brand new after reading so many rave reviews on this unit. Usd9k
Sold it for half the price in just 3 months.
Compared to my aged aragon 28k, it sound veiled, lacked dynamics, muted highs and muddy bass.
I swear i would never touch this brand ever. I really wonder what the heck those reviewers are hearing.
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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). |
I regretted buying the Dynaco 416 amp with the outboard C-100. I had heard it in someone else's system and I was enthralled with the immense power and the flashing LEDs. I got it home and immediately blew out 2 pairs of speakers. But it wasn't until I switched it out for a pair of Mark III monoblocks that I knew I had made a dreadful mistake.
I also regretted buying the Magnepan 2Bs until I got them into the right room and learned how to position them.
But generally I buy used and more than 5 years old, so I don't get much buyer's remorse. The only exception to that is cartridges and CD players, which are the only things I have bought new in the last 20 years.
But I am considering a NAS drive... |
Odyssey Audio. By far the worst company and the worst products I have owned. The most positive thing I can say is this; After owning three pieces that had hum and buzz coming from the transformers and not getting in touch with the owner (no returned messages) I finally reached him and returned the gear. It came back with the same problems. Mr K. lectured me on my power problems, even though countless pieces of gear never revealed this problem. So after years, not months, he agreed to buy it back at a huge loss to me. That is the good part.
I know there are fans, but I cannot see it from my vantage point.
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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. |
Everything I own was well worth the discounted price I paid. I seldom settle for paying the full price for anything. 90% of what I own was bought brand new. Some of it 30 years old or more, and still working. My Tannoys I bought at a great price, due to dealer error. I was supposed to receive a used pair, but a salesman sold them not knowing that they were set aside for me. Turns out, to make all good, they sent me a brand new pair fresh from the Tannoy factory in Scotland! That was a Happy day..... |
I had a pair of Bose 901s.I bought used in mint condition for $315 ,they were fair traded back in 1972.When set up right they sound Great...I don't know why people hated them...lol....but they do sell alot of overrated garbage...lol
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Ok, in 45 years, there have been a few dogs. Even so the one that I will never forget were the JohnZer speakers that I bought when I was in high school. They took every last penny of my very hard earned $380 and left town after the purchase. The upside is this>>> I was so pissed that I built my own speakers from plans bought from SpeakerLab. Those huge and heavy speakers sounded much better and the bass was unbelievable (they were Klipsch corner horn design). From then on, I was much more cautious about products in general. This has been a great hobby for me.
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I told an untruth in this thread, my apologies.
I complained about the wrong manufacturer. Careless on my part.
The brand I had reliability issues with was Arcam. (both lasers) I was not the original owner of either. I called Arcam and a lady basically said I should not buy used gear. So I stopped buying used Arcam gear like the lady said.
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Fortunately this is the one thread where getting something wrong is allowed. We had it created special for this purpose. All other threads require absolute fidelity to the truth. You will be banished for life to ASR for even the slightest infraction. So I would stick to this thread a while, just to be safe.
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Magnepan .7 speakers. I just never enjoyed how they sounded. Sold them to a friend who loved how they reproduced music. He still has them years later.
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I’ve had a couple of pieces by Schiit over the last couple of years: Thin, dry, clunky and sound cheap. Not super expensive, but more expensive that they’re worth. Fortunately, they were easy to sell.
Magnepan: Inefficient, sorely lacking in the low-end, require huge power, excel at simple, acoustic type music, and that’s pretty much it. Relatively expensive and one-dimensional. Disappointing.
Cambridge Audio: This brand reminds me of late 1980’s Jaguar cars. Pretty on the outside with all the real-world reliability of a junkie. Love me some Jaguars, not so much Cambridge Audio.
What I’ve learned:
What’s right for somebody else, isn’t necessarily right for me.
Reviews are, at the very least......let’s just say......"slanted". Trust your ears. The rest is irrelevant.
There’s no such thing as a "giant killer".
There’s no replacement for displacement.
I should add that I’m not trying to bash on any company, or get even, or anything like that. JM2CW.
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I went against my instincts once and bought "audiophile" speaker cables. Complete waste of money. I preach that any chance I get.
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Ooops...I forgot about this. When I was very young (and poor and not very smart) I bought my first "good" turntable. A Garrard Zero 100. I think I was trying to be different from my friends who had Dual 1229s. What a total piece of trash. The motor (I assume) went bad almost immediately. Not to mention the arm (a nice idea, poorly executed).
Oddly enough, I have, in a bedroom system, it's distant cousin. A GT55, with a much refined arm. It runs fine (I had it cleaned and lubed) and actually sounds quite good, at least in that system.
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I once owned an Esoteric X-05 and couldn't wait to get rid of it. A beautiful machine and I wanted to love it, but after 6 months it still sounded dry and harmonically incomplete. I sold it locally and I insisted the buyer listen before buying, but he bought it anyway and sold it shortly after.
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