damacman
Resident Psycho
Yep yep - remember DAK well. Perusing that was indeed a walk down memory lane. And to think, I'd nearly forgotten about the Sparkomatic subwoofer that will add thunder to your car. LOL . . .
The worst piece of HiFi Equipment you've ever owned?
- Thread starter Inspector_Sw
- Start date
Yep yep - remember DAK well. Perusing that was indeed a walk down memory lane. And to think, I'd nearly forgotten about the Sparkomatic subwoofer that will add thunder to your car. LOL . . .
cleverdick
Active Member
Am I allowed to mention three items? All bought second-hand (for a song, luckily).
1. Toshiba SR-A25. Cheap silver plastic, hardboard base, plastic headshell, a platter that rang like a bell and the thinnest mat you ever saw. It was to replace an SP-25 MkII. Whilst it ran quieter than the Garrard (whch as we know also had a plastic headshell), it certainly didn't satisfy in the same way.
2. Akai AM-U22. Cheap silver plastic. Gutless bass, poor treble, and no transparancy or 'air' to the sound. Not a patch on the (much older and rare-to-the-point-of-extiction) Nikko STA-70 receiver that I had been using and ultimately went back to.
3. Kenwood KR-2120. Possibly the most disappointing of them all. A deaf tuner front-end, a dial that didn't spin freely, no centre-zero tuning meter - and worst of all - a single supply rail for the amp section! Oh, and it sounded pretty pathetic, too.
1. Toshiba SR-A25. Cheap silver plastic, hardboard base, plastic headshell, a platter that rang like a bell and the thinnest mat you ever saw. It was to replace an SP-25 MkII. Whilst it ran quieter than the Garrard (whch as we know also had a plastic headshell), it certainly didn't satisfy in the same way.
2. Akai AM-U22. Cheap silver plastic. Gutless bass, poor treble, and no transparancy or 'air' to the sound. Not a patch on the (much older and rare-to-the-point-of-extiction) Nikko STA-70 receiver that I had been using and ultimately went back to.
3. Kenwood KR-2120. Possibly the most disappointing of them all. A deaf tuner front-end, a dial that didn't spin freely, no centre-zero tuning meter - and worst of all - a single supply rail for the amp section! Oh, and it sounded pretty pathetic, too.
lionheart-uk
New Member
Rogers LS3/5A's great sounding speakers if you live in a phone box, bettered by a cheap pair of AR18's in a medium size room though.
The BBC mini-monitors worked well in a 2 man Army barracks room.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
UMRKretread
Active Member
Not my own, but my brother bought a pair of Bose 301s back in the day. The only place they ever sounded decent was in his shoebox dorm room. They do make sound, is all I can say. On another note, we have a Sony alarm clock that is simply a POS, hands down: has a volume control that is nearly unusable, and an antenna that looks like an afterthought. The bean counters really did a number on that brand, I would not buy ANY damn thing they sell. Too bad, we have a 13" Trinitron ca. 1974 that still looks new inside, built like a tank.
And last, I am hearing some serious NAD hate. I have a 3155 integrated that has run flawlessly (and continuously) since new, 1984 or '85. Also a 5325 CD player, same, since 1989 (the remote still works too).
And last, I am hearing some serious NAD hate. I have a 3155 integrated that has run flawlessly (and continuously) since new, 1984 or '85. Also a 5325 CD player, same, since 1989 (the remote still works too).
brokenbodyma
Active Member
I don't know if it was the worst thing ever but it was my 1st foray into stereo. I had a Zenith drop down suitcase stereo. The speakers like wings would open up and were on pin hinges so you could remove them for that stereo seperation sound w/ about 15' of wire. I tried but I have not seen another example ever. This when and now I'm going into the way back machine where spindle stacking started and about 5 records dropped on one another.
highwaychild
Well-Known Member
My first own TT, a "Lenco" L-3807. Especially the pick-up and needle were crap. But it was dirt cheap, so what.
Soon followed a Dual 1218, and since I am stuck with those Black-Forrest-Hifi...
Soon followed a Dual 1218, and since I am stuck with those Black-Forrest-Hifi...
McBru6177
One Way or Another
PSB Alpha speakers--the original version. The tweeters die far too easily. One tweeter was replaced several years ago with a new one, and now its dead. These speakers were never driven hard at all and were only hooked up to quality amps/receivers, which makes it a mystery. I have many other PSBs (the Image line for example) which are driven hard and they are rock solid.
repo_code
somewhere in the 20th c.
The Kenwood KR-9400 gave me headaches in stock form. It has a few issues:
- reverse-biased tantalum coupling caps in the preamp
- an emitter-follower in the preamp adds a fair amount of distortion all by itself
- high-current lines leaving the power transformer are 1cm from the input lines for the left channel amp, this creates 60hz noise by inductive pickup
- output inductors millimeters from the power rails, this creates some distortion by inductive pickup
After moving the power rails, direct-coupling the preamp, adding shielding, deleting the tone controls, replacing the preamp's opamps with OPA1611's, and converting the power amps to Honey Badgers (see diyaudio) it sounds respectable...
- reverse-biased tantalum coupling caps in the preamp
- an emitter-follower in the preamp adds a fair amount of distortion all by itself
- high-current lines leaving the power transformer are 1cm from the input lines for the left channel amp, this creates 60hz noise by inductive pickup
- output inductors millimeters from the power rails, this creates some distortion by inductive pickup
After moving the power rails, direct-coupling the preamp, adding shielding, deleting the tone controls, replacing the preamp's opamps with OPA1611's, and converting the power amps to Honey Badgers (see diyaudio) it sounds respectable...
KevinCorr
Super Member
Wrong. I can drive you out of a 24x24 ft room with a pair and a big assed HSU subwoofer. The party goers cannot believe the sound and look for more or bigger speakers. I don't know what little monitors would not need a sub.
JBL's
I've noticed this of JBL's. Specifically those ones with the metal dome like the LX55's etc.
Every one I have got from the GW is with dead tweeter, maybe hat's why they end up in the GW.
Cool.
Srinath.
I've noticed this of JBL's. Specifically those ones with the metal dome like the LX55's etc.
Every one I have got from the GW is with dead tweeter, maybe hat's why they end up in the GW.
Cool.
Srinath.
bossmustang7
Active Member
sansui divorce
Without a doubt, after lusting for years, wanting big sansui, in intregated, or reciever, I pulled the trigger in a cool vintage stereo shop,8080 DB.re capped, serviced, mint.listened a bit there(my mistake),and brought it home.hooked up my speakers and t.t.noticed immediately, the woofers dance at lower levels.phono section, absolute crappy.power?the vu's are moving, no grunt.what a huge let down.no damping, flat, dismal.i threw in an azure phono pre.that really helped it.had a good fm section, but , hey, a giant tuner is all it was.all the goodies of its brother, the 9090?.no lie, my marantz and pioneer gear no comparo whatsoever.the sansui hype, ill never understand..also ive had 2 adcoms, and a pre.both tone lacking, dry, but even they were nothing as shitty as the big sansui.now igotta whatch my back...
Without a doubt, after lusting for years, wanting big sansui, in intregated, or reciever, I pulled the trigger in a cool vintage stereo shop,8080 DB.re capped, serviced, mint.listened a bit there(my mistake),and brought it home.hooked up my speakers and t.t.noticed immediately, the woofers dance at lower levels.phono section, absolute crappy.power?the vu's are moving, no grunt.what a huge let down.no damping, flat, dismal.i threw in an azure phono pre.that really helped it.had a good fm section, but , hey, a giant tuner is all it was.all the goodies of its brother, the 9090?.no lie, my marantz and pioneer gear no comparo whatsoever.the sansui hype, ill never understand..also ive had 2 adcoms, and a pre.both tone lacking, dry, but even they were nothing as shitty as the big sansui.now igotta whatch my back...
bossmustang7
Active Member
sansui divorce
I should add that I traded that 8080db for 2 marantz receivers, a 2230, and a 2240.2 weeks after buying that turd.i sold the 2230, and kept, and loved the 2240.much better overall sounding than my old 2252.go figure.so, it did work out pretty good for me in the end. That 2230, even at 2 times plus less(rated)power than the sansui, just killed it in tone.the phono stage, just superb.
I should add that I traded that 8080db for 2 marantz receivers, a 2230, and a 2240.2 weeks after buying that turd.i sold the 2230, and kept, and loved the 2240.much better overall sounding than my old 2252.go figure.so, it did work out pretty good for me in the end. That 2230, even at 2 times plus less(rated)power than the sansui, just killed it in tone.the phono stage, just superb.
repo_code
somewhere in the 20th c.
I picked up a Realistic STA-870 for cheap on CL a few weeks back. This is from 1987 so it's the BPC era but this one has a metal case, metal face, and discrete transistors. Made in South Korea. So far so good.
The internals are on one big PCB. So what? That's a place where the factory can reduce costs without reducing quality.
This is bad: there's no way to adjust the output stage bias current, and bias current reads as 0mA! So it should produce a fair amount of crossover distortion. It sounds kind of transistory.
This is where the single big PCB comes back to haunt; there's not much room to modify it to add a proper VBE multiplier with bias current adjust pots.
For now it's on the shelf. The transformer, chassis, and switchgear could support a DIY integrated amp project... it's not a bad looker...
The internals are on one big PCB. So what? That's a place where the factory can reduce costs without reducing quality.
This is bad: there's no way to adjust the output stage bias current, and bias current reads as 0mA! So it should produce a fair amount of crossover distortion. It sounds kind of transistory.
This is where the single big PCB comes back to haunt; there's not much room to modify it to add a proper VBE multiplier with bias current adjust pots.
For now it's on the shelf. The transformer, chassis, and switchgear could support a DIY integrated amp project... it's not a bad looker...
I'm going to go out on a limb and say something was definitely wrong with that amp, restoration noted. Sorry you bought a lemon.
MJB1959
Super Member
So many descending opinions on NAD, Philips, and, well.....Bose. Bose I will always agree, back in 1978, I bought a new pair of ADS L810 speakers, and my good friend bought the Bose 901 with eq. We went to his place to set up both systems together, and his face said it all when he compared his "direct reflection, 9 full range speakers" to the humble L810's. IIRC they were priced similar.
About NAD, I was fortunate enough to find a NAD 3150 Stereo integrated amp, outside, with 6 inches of snow on it for garbage pickup. What are they a circa 1983 product? Anyway the thing worked when I got home, and I am listening to it now, pushing my ADS speakers, it sounds great! I actually got a matching NAD tuner for it, it works well also.
About Philips...yes stay away from their commercial grade stuff, but they also had some serious audiophile equipment, not so easy to find here in North America, I have a pair of Motional Feedback 532's with built in amps
and
So cannot simply blanket everything NAD/philips as crap, but agree a lot of it may be. As for me.
my biggest disappointment has been the set of ADS-M12 speakers, I still have them, and I am trying to find the right setting to get the most of them, but all my other speakers seem to outshine them(ADS L980, 880, 620, L400, 400) Thinking of replacing all the woofers with something far more ballsy.
About NAD, I was fortunate enough to find a NAD 3150 Stereo integrated amp, outside, with 6 inches of snow on it for garbage pickup. What are they a circa 1983 product? Anyway the thing worked when I got home, and I am listening to it now, pushing my ADS speakers, it sounds great! I actually got a matching NAD tuner for it, it works well also.
About Philips...yes stay away from their commercial grade stuff, but they also had some serious audiophile equipment, not so easy to find here in North America, I have a pair of Motional Feedback 532's with built in amps
and
So cannot simply blanket everything NAD/philips as crap, but agree a lot of it may be. As for me.
my biggest disappointment has been the set of ADS-M12 speakers, I still have them, and I am trying to find the right setting to get the most of them, but all my other speakers seem to outshine them(ADS L980, 880, 620, L400, 400) Thinking of replacing all the woofers with something far more ballsy.
I had nothing but good luck (knock wood) with NAD stuff. I think it's great.
So many descending opinions on NAD, Philips, and, well.....Bose. Bose I will always agree, back in 1978, I bought a new pair of ADS L810 speakers, and my good friend bought the Bose 901 with eq. We went to his place to set up both systems together, and his face said it all when he compared his "direct reflection, 9 full range speakers" to the humble L810's. IIRC they were priced similar.
About NAD, I was fortunate enough to find a NAD 3150 Stereo integrated amp, outside, with 6 inches of snow on it for garbage pickup. What are they a circa 1983 product? Anyway the thing worked when I got home, and I am listening to it now, pushing my ADS speakers, it sounds great! I actually got a matching NAD tuner for it, it works well also.
About Philips...yes stay away from their commercial grade stuff, but they also had some serious audiophile equipment, not so easy to find here in North America, I have a pair of Motional Feedback 532's with built in amps
and
So cannot simply blanket everything NAD/philips as crap, but agree a lot of it may be. As for me.
my biggest disappointment has been the set of ADS-M12 speakers, I still have them, and I am trying to find the right setting to get the most of them, but all my other speakers seem to outshine them(ADS L980, 880, 620, L400, 400) Thinking of replacing all the woofers with something far more ballsy.
MexicoMiike
Active Member
For MY ears, Heil ESS AMT-1. Had a pair in my house for two weeks and the shrill top end was unbearable.
gladiator335
MRTI
Rotel RX-1052 receiver. Nice looking unit, but totally gutless and no bass whatsoever.
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