Whats the worst piece of gear you have owned that cost more than $400
polkfarmboy
Posts: 5,703
I always hear what was the best so I thought i would ask what the worst piece of gear you have had in your rig that retails for over $400
Post edited by polkfarmboy on
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Bent Audio Passive Pre
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Anything recommended by PFB:cheesygrin:
Any amp with a broken binding post is a close second.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
McIntosh MC-2100 power amp. Why people think that these autoformer-coupled amps sound a) "good" and/or b) "tube like" evades me. A harsh, gritty, grainy amplifier that sounds exactly like what it is - an early solid-state effort.
Runner up: McIntosh C-28 preamp. Ugh.
Now, please note - McIntosh has made some fine sounding and truly wonderful equipment over the years (e.g., the MC-225 stereo power amp, MR-78 tuner, etc., etc.). But the two above-mentioned pieces... not so much. -
Any of the Yamaha "M" amps. Talk about no guts and lackluster sound. I'll never understand what people who praise them so highly actually hear. And the quasi- Class A trick circuit was a joke.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I know this will stir up some but it was the worst thing I have ever had in my systems.
Emotiva XPA-2 Amplifier. I think I paid 600 for it or around there. I heard so many people say it sounded good so i tried it. It was so in your face and shrill I just hated it. Had it for almost a year. It had plenty of power but it didn't know what to do with it. Tried it on several speakers and none of them sounded right with it. Even my Monitor 7's sounded to bright and boomy. The mids were just gone. I was comparing it to a B&K at the time and I kept the B&K for a few more years. That Emo had to go. The only good thing about that piece from Emo is the resell value stayed up. I got almost all my money back. So I guess that is something. -
I haven't had anything that was awful, but I have had some disappointments. Probably the most notable was a Harmon/Kardon preamp I had so long ago, I can't recall the model. I used it for like 3 days, and went back and bought (new) the same Yamaha Pre I had sold for it.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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Maybe I've been lucky, but I can't remember a "bad" piece of gear I've had. Mediocre, perhaps, but almost "never" bad!
Even my college AIWA (tiny boombox all of three watts x 2) with the metal tape selector had a nice sound and a response to 16Khz on metal tapes, as well as a decent FM section that got me through a lot of paper writing! Of course that was $199 in 1980 something? It even had stereo RCA INS and OUTS and outputs for external speakers? I eventually found that it could power some Minimus 7s (this was my 'only' system for many years!).
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash] -
I bought a quad decoder preamp for LPs in the 80s. What a POS. Had to use specail LPs even. There was just no surround sound and then it broke.
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hmm... probably some lower-level Klipsch speakers. I dont recall the model numbers, and I didn't pay 400 for them, but they retailed for way above that. They didn't do anything well... at least not as well as the many Polks I've tried.:biggrin:2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's
Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses
Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's -
mine was a Yamaha Tx930 AM/FM tuner. After 4-5 silver faced earlier Yamaha tuners thought I'd try a digital newer model that thing just stunk no reception worth a darn. The other was a Sony 9000es DVD/SACD player those had THE WORST LASERS I can't believe i still see them sell for close to 300.00 on Ebay.
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Okay, I'll be the first one to mention Bose!!! I had a pair of 901s that I could never get to sound really good. They were the second series and yes, I had the EQ and the stands. They always sounded hifi-ish, and not in a good way!!!!If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money.
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Back in their infancy.........a new Sharp VHS VCR. Very bad performance, wired remote control and a $400.00 plus price tag. What a POS !!
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you probably didn't feed em very well.Okay, I'll be the first one to mention Bose!!! I had a pair of 901s that I could never get to sound really good. They were the second series and yes, I had the EQ and the stands. They always sounded hifi-ish, and not in a good way!!!!
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Cambridge Audio 840A V2 integrated. Besides having functional problems, it simply did not sound good. Even the dealer that I retuned it to said it sounded "mechanical".
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Polk RTi 12s... lol
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Emotiva XPA-2
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you probably didn't feed em very well.
No, I feed them very well with 3 or 4 different set-ups. Everybody else thought they were great sounding. I packed them away and sold them 20 years later for $400.00. The buyer was happier than a pig in sh....!!!!If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money. -
This is an easy one....
Polk Audio RTi70- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Halcro ssp100 ht preamp. It defines the term "CLINICAL". It stayed in my house three days."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
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Technics SU V6 integrated.Replaced with a far less expensive but vastly superior sounding NAD 3020B.
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It should'nt Joe since your opinion is atleast based on real experience.I know this will stir up some ... -
I wish I could play this game, but I can not think of anything that qualifies as the 'worst'. I have been doing this since the early 70s and while I have gone through a lot, every thing has worked, and provided hours of enjoyment while in use. That includes TVs, and now home theater. Obviously, some gear works better than others, but for me that is not justification to call something the worst. For example, my Bryston DAC is better than the Benchmark DAC. Does that make the Benchmark the worst?Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
I wish I could play this game, but I can not think of anything that qualifies as the 'worst'. I have been doing this since the early 70s and while I have gone through a lot, every thing has worked, and provided hours of enjoyment while in use. That includes TVs, and now home theater. Obviously, some gear works better than others, but for me that is not justification to call something the worst. For example, my Bryston DAC is better than the Benchmark DAC. Does that make the Benchmark the worst?
I think the point of this thread is to hear about the gear you couldn't wait to hear and then was thoroughly let down. -
An Equalizer,,, not radio shack... something vox.. I think Audio Vox something like that.PolkAudioClyde
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A B&O 1900.
Slobbered like a rabid dog at high noon in August over the 4002, couldn't afford that, so went with the 1900 for about $2xx back then (over $400 now).
For the money, should have gone with a Garrard with a Shure 95 and spent the money saved on vinyl.
The 1900 wasn't "bad" (a couple of days of dust on the platter would double it's weight :redface:), but .... the 4002 got it's hooks in me and ..... I wasn't responsible for TT decisions made during that period.Sal Palooza -
I have a B & O 4002. Can't get it to track corectly and nobody works on them anymore. Sucks big time.
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Chumlie, there's an outfit in Israel that works on them. Can't remember their name and I don't see anything in my "Favorites" that rings a bell, but .... I'll work on that.
B&O stuff put a premium on "looks" which translated long term into proprietary, PITA gear to fix.
Still ..... a properly working 4002 radial arm gliding over vinyl is ...... ****. :loneranger:Sal Palooza -
Yaeh. I remember when i first got it, how good it sounded.
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I can think of a couple of things that thoroughly disappointed.
1) RCA Pro-LX5 II speakers using the Linaeum tweeter design- below is a picture of them without the front grill and top hat
These were sold at RadioShack back in the day when they decided to sell their own stuff branded under the RCA name; I think this came right after the Optimus time period. They were the ones that they sold for $300 a pair; however, I got them for $20 for the pair on clearance when I worked there because my parent's needed some speakers for their stereo system. They were okay for their intended purpose, and the clearance price was okay. However, for the normal retail price (or even the "sale" price of $150 a pair), they were a joke. They certainly felt well built however, so I guess that's something?
The crossovers on these things are the most poorly designed things I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure that RatShack picked a random capacitor and inductor to throw in there; probably because they were cheap. Simply put, there were frequencies going to the mid-woofer that never should have been going there. Needless to say they sounded horrible. I recently dusted them off and looked up a redesigned crossover on the web. I bought some cheap caps and inductors from a local electronics parts place to build the redesigned crossover. Partly out of curiosity, partly as just something to do. I just built the crossover quickly with a point-to-point design and hot glue to attach the parts to the cabinet. In addition, I added polyfill and stuffed the ports to get rid of the 100hz hump. Oh, did I mention the port tuning was poorly picked as well?
I was actually pleasantly surprised when I hooked them back up. They really did sound a lot better, and were quite listenable. However, they were still too laid back for me due to RatShack's decision to use thicker ribbon than the normal Linaeum tweeters. They are so laid back that they make my Polk LSi's sound like Klipsch horns. I actually like laid back speakers like the LSi's, but these are in a whole other territory there. Simply put, these are terrible stock, but pretty decent modded, just extremely laid back.
2) a Philmore branded phono pre-amp from Frys. I purchased this one just to use with my parent's system; they didn't need anything fancy. I wasn't expecting much, and got even less. Actually, it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the hum that never ends (it just goes on and on my friends). Clearly the hum comes from a design flaw, as there was nothing I could do to get rid of it. It wasn't particularly loud, but still enough to be annoying. Replacing it with a better preamp fixed that issue.
These are the two that pop into my mind, but I may come up with more later. -
MIT S2 speaker cables & IC's...at least I made a few bucks on resale so it wasn't a total bust."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
