Ever feel snookered? 'fess up!

Bought a used VPI magic brick from dealer, the magic was gone from mine for some reason and it now languishes alone.

 

I replaced a 12 year old CA DacMagic with a Topping D10 balance. The Topping may sound better, may be placebo, likely the same. lol
The CA was loved by Stereophile....and me.

 

I’d say I’m the opposite, I tend to be very critical of most purchased initially. It’s probably because my expectations are greater than the product although there have been times where my initial opinion has been correct, I quickly remedy the situation by getting rid of it.
Recently, I spent a massive amount upgrading all my interconnects and speaker cables ($50K). Initially I thought that the improvement was very slight however after about two weeks of playing, my mind totally changed and it was equal to an upgrade of a preamp.

 

I have certainly bought stuff that failed to live up to my expectations; I have also bought stuff that I figured was a stupid purchase even as I was buying it. Highest on that list was a not inexpensive pair of super tweeters. Even my dog cannot tell the difference.

 

I bought a RME ADI-2 DAC to replace my Node2 based solely on ravings it received. Sold the RME after two weeks. Makes me wonder if more expensive DAC’s really do sound better.

 

The black and gold from Memorex? I burned many over the years.
May not sound better but they sure do look cool!

 

Not snookered but stupidity. Some months ago, I got kind of crazy and bought 4 pairs pf Russian tube for about USD1,000 in total. Should have just bought a pair to try out first, ended up dont like them at all. I guess I was drunk at that time but the thing is I dont drink...

 

Ooh, that stings.

 

1) a vintage marantz receiver "inspected and serviced". not inspected very well becase THE LEFT CHANNEL WAS DEAD. fortunately it was an easy fix and i sold it for a profit.
2) chord c line rca cable that was a "what hifi" darling of the year. sounded veiled and worse than a basic interconnect.
3) a "new in box" cary slp 98 preamp bought in 2020 from a reputable dealer. did not look very new so i checked the serial number with Cary and the unit was made 16 YEARS EARLIER IN 2004. at least the tubes were new.

nothing else that i was not able to return.

 

Very reputable dealer in Sweden sold me demo unit of what was current model according to him. Two years later I had to service it and sent the serial to manufacturer. Hold and behold, the unit was ten years old. Now with every purchase I first ask for serial number.

 

The RME offers many more options than a 'regular' DAC (and is not what I consider very expensive), but I guess you didn't need those options?!

 

Indeed it does but comparing to Node2 (v1) it was very grey, boring and clinical sounding. Was rather disappointed.

Digital is only used here as a sidekick to analog rig to discover new music.

 

I bought the Uptone USB Regen reclocker, based on the outrageous hype it got on the Computer Audiophile forum. At best, it did nothing to improve SQ of my system. Thankfully, I unloaded it on ebay to someone else, and got most of my money back. Made me reevaluate my participation on that audio forum, which I have not looked at for years since.

 

Every once in a while some product on a forum will just have everyone going totally berserk about how wonderful it is.
I remember one amp that was the all the rage, a fellow brought it over and we compared to my VTLs and just looked at each other like what the hell?
This is what all the fuss was about?
I didn't buy the amp but the guy who did felt snookered!

 

Compared to nearly $10,000 tube amps, most others would sound worse. I guess if he paid more maybe.

 

Just recalled another dive into snookered-ville. Back in the mid to late 70's (as I recall) I used to hang out at Woodland Stereo in Woodland Hills CA. Decided to make the leap to my first stand alone phone stage. At the time Mark L Schifter was hanging out trying to sell his wares to the store. I was on a budget back then and purchased one of his first creations, a relatively inexpensive phono preamp. All I remember is that the level of hiss was breathtaking. On the bright side it did drown out some of the pops and ticks on my records. After a few months I traded it in for something else. Those of us who hung out at the store on a regular basis gave Mr. Schifter the nickname Shifty Schifter. I wonder if it still applies. Lol.

Edit: Now that I think more about it I'm not sure the store took it back on trade-in. It might still be in a box somewhere in my garage. If it's really quiet out there in the garage I think I can still hear it hissing.

M. M.

 

Lol, I guess we all hear different .

 

Definitely, otherwise it would be boring. Just a note that I didn’t said that Node2 sounds good. Search for new DAC is still on track here.

 

Rule #1 on “tweaks” : stay away from professional reviews (most of them are b.s.) Go hear the tweak from a friends system, a show demo,or if it has a try and return if not satisfied offer.There ARE some surprising good/great “tweaks” but there are a lot more so-sos or disappointments out there

 

Ok, I ordered the Beatles 2014 US CD boxset when it came out on Amazon. I got to thinking all night, just why I bought this when I already had the Capitol CD box set. Didn't sleep well.

Next day, it wasn't shipped yet, I was able to cancel the order. Phew!!!

 

Ordered an SR Blue fuse a couple of years ago for an amp. It made zero difference but I don't regret trying. I've bought a number of items that I was pretty skeptical of that have worked out very well, like Symposium Rollerblock footers. It's all part of the journey.

 

In 90s. Audio quest solid core speaker wire. A pita to route and not flexible at all

 

Dang! I don't think I'd maintain my composure very well after seeing that come to light. Especially considering the quality tier you're dealing in there.

 

Most recently would be the Origin Live Gravity One record weight. It does absolutely nothing sonically on my Ovation table! It sounds like no weight at all. Have anyone everything had one of these? They're so light as to be pointless. Don't even see how they can work, I was swayed by a 10Audio review I think.

 

I've always preferred the idea of a clamp for mating and flattening LP's to the platter. Extra weight on the platter sounds like a recipe for premature bearing wear.
The J.A. Michell clamp is simple and effective. The "R" works great on the shorter spindles of Rega's and Technics.