Yeah, my mistake was selling a BAT VK-31SE. I ran through 6 preamps from Mark Levinson, Krell, VAC, CJ, Threshold, etc, 'til I realized that I'd made a mistake. I did recover after time, and the story ends happily, because now I have a BAT VK-51SE.
Sometimes you're not sure what is doing what in a system, good or bad, and if you pick the wrong one to change, it can sure foul things up.
To help make sure that doesn't happen again, I now buy the 'new' item, and don't sell the replaced item until I'm sure it's been replaced, and the sound is better, not just different.
John
John |
I gave away a Mitchell Cotter step up transformer abgout 17 years ago. Who knew?! |
Sold a beautifiul pair of Unity Audio Signature 1's in a rare Koa wood finish.....I sold them for next to nothing ( after the company went under ) They would have sounded great in my Surround Sound system ..... should have kept them for the price I sold them for !!!! |
Sold Bigjoe my Cary CAD-5500 preamp. I had to go find another one after I found I missed it in my system. |
I suppose we've all sold gear, only to realize what a dumb idea it was to sell it. For me, it was a Mac MC7200 amp, and it wasn't gone a week and I could've kicked myself. I have since replaced that amp with another 7200, but it cost me some bucks to do it. Why are we never satisfied with what we have?!! |
I have a few to share:
Sold an ARC SP-10 years ago as I was sure the LS2B was the ticket to refinements across the board. What a total disappointment that was! Meanwhile, it took an incredibly expensive purchase of the PH2/LS5 to get the SP-10's musicality back.
I would have thought the SP-10 experience would have taught me a lesson but I did it again. I sold an ARC VT130 amp for a pair of Classic 150 mono amps. The magic in the music was immediately gone. The CL150s were so analytically sounding and the VT130 controlled the Magnepan 3.3 speakers far better than the CL150s. The VT130 (non SE model) under $2k is an awesome bargain.
The other major mistake I made was waiting far too long to try a power conditioner. What the Audio Magic Eclipse did for my system was like no other upgrade I ever experienced before. It was as if I upgraded 4 components at once ... and all for just under $2k. No other single purchase even comes close to this.
John |
Sold my vintage 98' Shakti magic pebbles for a song! I've tried a dozen different bottles of'em since letting that one special bottle go, but they just haven't had the synergy the 98' vintage did. I'd give my left testacle to get those pebbles back!
Marco |
Sold a Levinson 27.5 to finance a Parasound home theatre system; huge mistake. The Levinson is worth more than what I paid for it and the Parasound stuff is long gone and I took a bath on it.
Oh, left the Thorens TD160 Super mit Grace 707 Mk II (black) with the soon to be exwife; mistake. She decided she liked it once I left; she complained like hell when I spent some 500 bucks for the rig, new back in the late 80s. |
Glad I ain't alone. I sold my Montana eps's and two speakers later I still got zip for bass slam. |
Married my wife!.... (just kidding) |
I wish I had my Cary SLM-100's back. WOW, did they sound good for how much they cost. They'd be a great start to a 2nd system. Also, some day, when I have the space for that 2nd system, I know I'll wish I had my Quad ESL-63's back.
All that said, I've never sold anything that I wish I could have back in my main system.
Jeff
|
Sold my 1200 pristine LP collection when CD began. Been trying to replace ti for about the last five years. It's especially disheartening when I look at the condition of many I'm interested in. |
Sold my Jadis Orchestra Reference to make some room by moving something that was "collecting dust". After I retubed it for the buyer, I was dumbstruck at how good it sounded.
Picked up a DA30 to make things right, though I still have yet to regain that elusive sound. |
Not realizing the value of my ESS Heil AMT speakers from the 70's and throwing them away once dry rot set in. Should have repaired them or had ESS do it. They had the best tweeters I ever heard and great bass too. But I was an uneducated enthusiast then.
I have a pair of Definitive Tech BP 7002's I just sold. A couple of recent changes in my electricity and connections brought them to a new level of performance I never heard before. This happened just as I closed the deal on a new pair of speakers and just as I sold the Def Techs. I'll be shipping them to the buyer this week. Hope the new speaks are a good decision, but I think I'll miss the Def Techs.
One mistake I avoided was to keep my Jolida JD100 even though I had purchased a Simaudio Nova in order to improve my front end. I planned to sell the Jolida and had it all boxed up and ready to ship but had not posted it on Agon. I hesitated because I had never sold or purchased any equipment on Agon before. In the meantime, I went through 3 months of various tweaks and changes with the Nova, but just couldn't get it to sound quite right in my system. Took the Jolida out of the box after 3 months, plugged it up with a new Flavor 4 PC and an old pair of Vampirewire IC's and got the heart, soul and emotion to the music that I was missing. I played the 2 sources side by side for awhile and decided to sell the Nova. I don't regret that decision.
In general, the biggest mistake I made since I've been into high end was purchasing audio equipment new. Being a newbie, I wanted all new stuff. I even read on Arthur Salvatore's website that you should buy audio equipment used. Didn't heed that advice. Didn't have faith in the system that exists here at Audiogon. What a dummy I was. Audiogon is the only way to go. |
Stopped listening to the music and started listening to the equipment. My system sounds better today then it ever has. The problem is I got in the habit of analyzing it instead of listening to the music. This is a mistake I suggest be avoided. I remember getting more enjoyment out of my $500.00 JVC system than I am getting out of this current system (embarrassed by the money I have spent so won't say how much).
JUST ENJOY THE MUSIC |
My biggest mistake was not taking room treatment into consideration. I got to the point where I enjoyed listening to my Grado RA-1, RS-1 combo more than my (retail about $15k+)system because of the harsh brightness in my room. Get a good sounding room and a $2k system will make magic happen. But it's hard to figure out, and you have to work hard on the wife to get it to work. I guess that's why people have incredible systems and bare walls when I look at their systems on Agon. |
The purchase of the Wilson Witt; and then the 3000. upgrade to the Witt II. |
One February (long ago) I got my tongue stuck to the garage door. Punched a wall and broke my hand when I was a teenager. Got involved in audio. Hmmm.. which one is worse? |
entrope,hows it been? ya know ive bought & sold 2 other cad 5500's since buying yours & each time i sell it i start to miss it,one things for sure for the money spent they are amazing preamps,i still have one on ice in the closet.
mike. |
Marco, I have TWO bottles of the '98 pebbles. I'll let one go but first I have to know whether your testicle will be packaged in brine or formaldehyde... |
I guess it was selling my Shanling CD-S100 MkII. A h**l of a player for the money, overbuilt in many ways. I was short of cash that month, no better reason--except that I thought I didn't deserve to have three sources I liked listening to.
I liked the Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 SE a lot too, but I really couldn't afford to keep those in my bedroom. I have a pair of Acoustic Energy Aegis Ones now that should be a nice step up from my old Titans. |
My biggest mistake was in taking the advise of others about what would make my system sound good!
My next biggest mistake was in not taking the advise of others about what would not make it sound good!
But its so hard to do this in a vacumm. :-) |
I think this one might take the cake:
Last year I turned down a set of KRELL FPB-250M monoblocks and Krell KPS-25sc CD/Pre which I would have gotten for NOTHING. Yup, Nada, Zilch, Zero.
A very generous family member was getting a mid-life crisis system and getting rid of their previous mid-life crisis system (who knew you could have two) and my reasoning for refusing the gift at the time was that firstly, if you sold the combo at the time you would get more then if I sold it (I wasn't going to be able to use it for a year); secondly, to be honest I didn't love the sound of the krells, and the size of all the gear was pretty prohibitive considering my stand/apt; and thirdly, I thought the generous family member should recover some of the money they had spent (especially considering the cost of their new system) and I felt a little guilty owning such a nice system w/out doing anything to earn it.
The minute I heard the gear sold it was like getting the worst hangover ever!
Can someone tell me what the F I was thinking? |
Well, the list is too long to mention here, but one sticks out. In a manic-depressive rage years ago, I smashed my Krell KAV-300 integrated to bits and took a baseball bat to my MB Quart speakers. My landlord, who was a really sweet guy, helped me clean up the mess, but never looked at me quite the same way again. Can't say I blamed him. Anyway, in a material sense, it was probably for the good, as I eventually replaced the gear with far better stuff, but it was clearly an idiotic thing to do, and very self-destructive. This was before I discovered effective meds, of course! |
I stand corrected, Hooper, your story takes the cake. |
Hooper, for the sake of womenhood, stay single! :-) I empathize. |
Newbee:
Too late! I've been married for two years, and the poor girl has had to put up with a lot--particularly my ridiculous spending habits on high end (though I doubt I'm alone there!). But we're soulmates, so I think the future looks pretty bright, despite my gear-bashing past. :) |
Selling my Berning EA-230/Chartwell LS3/5a combination.
Selling my Marantz 150 tuner. Never get rid of a 'scope tuner! It would have been fine for AM and the 'scope was great for system trouble shooting.
Buying a/d/s CM7 speakers. I don't want to trash these speakers; it's just that they didn't mesh with my then BEL 1001 amp. |
hooper,your a mess,i love it,i too had a hissy fit with one of my rigs,i had an equlizer that i couldnt get right & i ended up throwing it down a flight of steps,damm that felt good. |
Getting sucked into the whole Naim Audio spiral was a big mistake for me. Luckily, I bought wisely and didn't lose money. However, my wife said that she's never seen me so agitated and upset at the state of my system. I'm glad I got out while I still had my sanity (and bank account) intact - I was about to drop seven figures on the 252 preamp!
Audio Research and Totem have shown me that incredible sound quality doesn't have to cost a mint. It's not cheap, but that's all relative :) |
Biggest audiophile mistake was not buying thousands of Lp records more than I did in my youth. A quick second was not buying a good friends Aesthetix Callisto Signature for dirt cheap (relatively speaking) before he begrudgingly put it up on AudiogoN. Hmmmmmmmmm! |
Two mistakes... (1)buying all my gear at retail prior to finding Audiogon, and (2)tried two different home theater systems at retail prices, only to realize you get bigger bang for your buck with simpler, high quality 2 channel system (no offense to home theater fans). |
Islander - You live near me I think (Seattle), so you can come and check out
my testacle in person. It's pickled in vinegar and we keep it in the pantry
after our dog, Diesel, knocked the Ball jar off the shelf in the bedroom it had
been on, and almost got the damn thing after he ate through most of the
brine I'd been storing it in.
I dunno though, I've been looking for the same 98's I sold as they're the ones
with the synergy with my system. I can't tell you how many bottles I've
already tried. I hired a detective to find my stones in 02' and the trail ended
at a fish tank in an Ohio Thai joint just off the Interstate. The gumshoe tells
me he has it on good authority that they're holding up a plastic sunken
treasure chest (ironic, ain't it), but that they'd be hard to pick out from the
rest of the acquarium gravel. I told him, just get me the tank, I'll know my
stones when I see'em. He put in an offer on my behalf for the tank, but the
place was sold to new owners and now it's a Pizza joint an the fish tank's
gone without a trace.
Marco |
Marco, it seems to me that I read somewhere (here on Agon?) that testicles stored in vinegar have a lesser specificity than those kept in salt brine. For my purposes, I would need to be assured that the tissue density was close to OEM. I realize I'm being picky (particularly when I haven't even seen that oyster yet) but I nearly got ripped off last year when a guy in Salt Lake tried to pass off a goat gonad on me. Well, I guess trust has to start somewhere...
As to the pebbles, one jar is the original gray granite, grade 3's which - if I'm not mistaken, were a short run. I've seen a jar on ebay that was described as the ogg, but I doubt it, as the seller was only asking $39 and he didn't include a photo. I have the original mfr's certificate of authenticity and, btw, these pebbles also create a warm glow in my listening room just after I light the incense and test my lungs. The second jar is the bluish black fake basalt variety that - briefly - replaced the ogg's. While these don't make for the same warmish glow they will not only tune your system but your car as well. I doubt that you'll find either of these '98 pebbles in ready availability so I urge you to contact me as soon as possible; precious bodily fluids are at stake!
Best from your Brother In Viscera. |
. . . . .to keep reading the postings on this thread! |
Islandear - a quick check of my feedback should dissapate any concerns over any farm-animal testicle substitute scams. Mine's the real deal. It was kept in the more desirable salt-brine till only recently when the "Diesel incident" occured and we went to vinegar in the pantry for safety's sake. Rest assured also it is a solid 9/10 as I cannot find a mark on it. Removed only because I went to Jockey's and needed the extra room. Look, I'm interested in both your 98' bottles since they are the very desirable short runs. I'd give you my groin-pearl for the OGG's. For the Black Basalts I've got a pinky finger with a large gold ring suspended in beef talow (no, it's not my own, I got it from one of my Italian relatives in NYC).....Or, a genuine Pope John Paul II turd collected during his 95' visit to the States and cast in a beautiful acrylic suspension complete with brass plaque and a certificate of authenticity. If you want the latter you'll have to add something else to the deal. Got any of those magic tuning dots perhaps?
Hooper - if you go off the meds again get yourself one of those inflateable clown figures that you punch and they come right back up for more. Much cheaper than a Krell and makes for less of a mess to clean up. Your landlord may still look at you funny though.
Marco |
Marco, apparently the moderator didn't care for my enthusiastic response to your offer of papal poopoo. I have to say that this disclosure on your part throws everything out of whack. I am going to have to consult with my CPA, MFP and LSMFT to figure out a way to acquire said poo. Having said that, the pinky finger might be put to use for iso control so I will consider that as well. You'll be hearing from my people soon. |
Selling off my B&W 805s. My Jadis Orchestra Ref would have loved them |
Not marrying my college girl friend that went on to become a doctor - just think of the toys she could get me.! lolol |
In audio, not being patient was a mistake. In life....being a @#$% up in high school cost me a scholarship. |
biggest?? Not applicable - I've never made a mistake. |
Getting repair work done on a mid-fi piece at a hi-end store. Salesman placed me in front of the best system there. Should never have walked in there. |
Not having kids to take care of me when I'm too old to support myself. |
