The worst piece of HiFi Equipment you've ever owned?
- Thread starter Inspector_Sw
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George W
Active Member
Anyone remember those 70s Heil adverts in Stereo Review, the "Cherry Pit" demonstration ? Only Heil drivers beamed out the sound in a straight line, everyone else's speakers spit out sound that fell down to the floor!!
Even in middle school I knew that was a crock.
The dipole Great Heil disperses front and back, has a wide horizontal dispersion with a fairly narrow vertical dispersion to prevent floor and ceiling issues.
They don't beam-unlike cone tweeters and some horns, one of the big advantages of their design.......
The cherry pit has to do with the squeezing nature of the folded diaphragms, and the velocity of the sound waves, not straight line beaming.
http://www.ccgr.net/ess/ESS_AMT_1C_Brochure.pdf
Funny how you get these negative comments from people with what appear as strong opinions, but with little personal (this is key IMHO) experience, and/or understanding (also important towards a accurate and intelligent discussion) with the products, things or people they are criticizing.
A few negative words, with little supporting evidence, a sure sign IMHO that the comments have little merit. "had 'em for 2 weeks", etc.....
The flavor of the day, instant internet experts.....bloggers, etc. The new intelligentsia?
IMHO if you can't back up your comments, why bother?
A serious drag IMHO:sigh:
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eljr
Koyaanisqatsi
McIntosh MCD201, $3,500 CD PLAYER, ten years ago
An iconic failure of McIntosh.
At the time, you could not even post honestly about it here or the mods would have an issue. It was garbage then, it is garbage now. I hope moderation finally allows this.
George W
Active Member
Actually, the notion I got from the ad was the 'arrow' diving to the ground. Since sound waves don't disperse in that fashion, I took their graphic as a misrepresentation of the Inverse Square Law.
MannyE
Exterminate!
Without a doubt, the BOSE system in my 2002 Acura MDX. I bought the thing new back then and was totally disappointed when I heard the awful SQ. I know it's not a home system, but I was so let down when I heard it. 13 years later it's still a great automobile purchase but every time I turn on the radio I die a little inside.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
phalanger
Active Member
Worst piece of audio equipment owned: Philips wireless headphones. This experience is one of the things that drove me towards high quality audio gear.
Most disappointing hifi purchase lately: Ponoplayer: Horrible touchscreen, rediculously short battery life and cheap build for the price. The sound is very good though but usability is very disappointing and as a whole does not live up to the hype (not surprising considering the rediculous way this thing was hyped by Neil Young and friends)
Most disappointing hifi purchase lately: Ponoplayer: Horrible touchscreen, rediculously short battery life and cheap build for the price. The sound is very good though but usability is very disappointing and as a whole does not live up to the hype (not surprising considering the rediculous way this thing was hyped by Neil Young and friends)
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Reminds me of the time I rode in the car with some relatives, who owned an Acura (not sure the model) with the Bose sound system. Incredibly lifeless, sterile sound!
MannyE
Exterminate!
Yeah. And to top it off, the way they integrate the sound systems into the nav and climate systems also means the days of leafing through a Crutchfield catalog or your local stereo store for a new system are over.
The one good thing is it makes even the crappy Fisher combo system I "bought" (Christmas gift) in 1977 which is my official "worst audio purchase ever" look great. The speakers in that system were a joke. Supposedly a three way speaker but really just a 4 inch full range with a dummy tweeter and a passive radiator as the "low end". Bastards.
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MannyE
Exterminate!
I would hope that 13 years would make for an improvement in the sound
. But let's not hijack! I'm going to start another thread about car audio. I have a question. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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pocketchange
AK Member
Anything & everything s o n y
Not long ago, in a world with reason, this Corporation had (IMO) a better than respectable following.
Back as a decade or so,
something within their constitution faded.
I've enjoyed Sony products except when repairs were needed. From there on, I've decided that avoiding Sony is something to keep in mind unless you have deep pockets.. pc
Not long ago, in a world with reason, this Corporation had (IMO) a better than respectable following.
Back as a decade or so,
something within their constitution faded.
I've enjoyed Sony products except when repairs were needed. From there on, I've decided that avoiding Sony is something to keep in mind unless you have deep pockets.. pc
steve59
Active Member
my wall outlet. A Krell kav 300il drove my hyper sensitive KEF 105/3 beautifully and it failed 3 times under warranty the amp section broke again, the buttons barely working I have to say for a brand with a rep like krell a huge dissapointment. paradigm studio 100's for $2000.00 list the sound was inoffensive enough but the cabinet finish was as fragile as wallpaper.
Warpserver
Active Member
I'm going to say the Sony STR-DA5300ES that's in the living room.
I picked it up cheap (less than $10) and while it sounds alright with movies, music sounds like crap. Even if you max the tone controls it still sounds flat either with or without a sub connected or enabled\disabled. It works alright for movies though and has great input switching, the only things I like about it.
Second to that is the Onkyo TX-SV7M I have. I originally tested it with headphones and it sounded amazing however once hooked to speakers on the A channels it didn't sound so great. B channels sound good though. The thing's a bit of a weird design in that the A channels are run off a STK amp and the B off a set of Sanken (iirc) amp chips.
I picked it up cheap (less than $10) and while it sounds alright with movies, music sounds like crap. Even if you max the tone controls it still sounds flat either with or without a sub connected or enabled\disabled. It works alright for movies though and has great input switching, the only things I like about it.
Second to that is the Onkyo TX-SV7M I have. I originally tested it with headphones and it sounded amazing however once hooked to speakers on the A channels it didn't sound so great. B channels sound good though. The thing's a bit of a weird design in that the A channels are run off a STK amp and the B off a set of Sanken (iirc) amp chips.
fordiebianco
Active Member
Denon AVR X-4000. Wireless functionality was hit and miss and the HDMI board broke after 4 months. Apparently the trick with Denon gear is to buy the ones they manufacture in Japan.
2011etec
Super Member
worst buy has to be my 1976-77 ish sears stereo system with the 4 air suspension speakers.honorable mention goes to a pyle receiver I bought this year.horrible thing,worst tuner section bar none.must of over medicated myself when I click buy on amazon for that junk heap.it shall be banished to camp and if somebody steals it it their loss I will refuse to take it back.as a matter of fact if the thieves even think like that I will prefer charges on trying to inflict misery on an innocent man.
Valveglow
Super Member
Aptly named, I would suppose...
DustyOldPile
Vinyl Goddess
Bose 901's. I don't remember what series... owned a pair for about a month in the early 80's. Hated them...sold them to a friend who loved them for some unknown reason.
A SAE TWO integrated amplifier that blew up if you looked at it crosseyed. I had output transistors replaced about 5 times before I threw it out on the curb.
A Garrard MRM-101 Music Recovery Module. Was supposed to eliminate ticks and pops on records. Just made a bunch of garbled sounds when encountering pops. I suppose it might work on ticks if you hit the tick hard enough with the unit. Ticks can be a problem...I had one crawl across a record last year while it was playing and it totally derailed my tonearm into sliding right across the label! Oh...not that kind of tick? Well, it didn't work very well.
A bit of history...
A SAE TWO integrated amplifier that blew up if you looked at it crosseyed. I had output transistors replaced about 5 times before I threw it out on the curb.
A Garrard MRM-101 Music Recovery Module. Was supposed to eliminate ticks and pops on records. Just made a bunch of garbled sounds when encountering pops. I suppose it might work on ticks if you hit the tick hard enough with the unit. Ticks can be a problem...I had one crawl across a record last year while it was playing and it totally derailed my tonearm into sliding right across the label! Oh...not that kind of tick? Well, it didn't work very well.
A bit of history...
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