Hav you ever looked at used high end equipment and it looks like someone dragged the unit behind their car on a rope?

[Hart]

So you spend thousands on something, take it out of the box and put it on the rack or shelf. How do people manage to scratch and mangle smoothing so badly? Do people have so much disposable income they can use a $5,000 amp as a step into a kiddie pool? Or something to keep a garage door wedged open? What gives? Maybe as an audiophile it just seems disrespectful somehow.

 

[Doodski]

No, I have not but I have seen people put planters over receivers and amps and then over water the plant. Spilling coke and orange juice seems to be OK too.

 

[Hart]

Ouch. Or people that stack equipment on top of each other. I lent a Krell amp to a friend who wanted to listen to it and I when I got to his house and there were other pieces stacked on top of it. Scratched the top. No good deed....

 

[Andretti60]

Yes I have, as a matter of fact it was my dad. Decades ago I left my first audio system (early 70s) with him because I moved to another country, I asked if he wanted to sell it but he preferred to keep it even though he was not much interested in music. First he butchered the turntable, then he became senile, disconnected all cables, tried to put it together again and it end up in a puff of smoke. Sadly I had to move my dad in a retirement community, of course I was more concerned about him than a bunch of electronics.
In other words, sometimes life does not look like it is in reality. It’s a matter of priorities and perspective.

 

[Doodski]

Ouch. Or people that stack equipment on top of each other. I lent a Krell amp to a friend who wanted to listen to it and I when I got to his house and there were other pieces stacked on top of it. Scratched the top. No good deed....

That hurts... I loaned a ~120W/ch mid 1980's Technics amp while we repaired the strip club's model. I went over for a check-up and he had stacked hot gear on top of it and during shows when he cranked the volume he heated up the Technics to the point the silver paint on top browned. What a gong show!

 

[Hart]

That hurts... I loaned a ~120W/ch mid 1980's Technics amp while we repaired the strip clubs model. I went over for a check-up and he had stacked hot gear on top of it and during shows when he cranked the volume he heated up the Technics to the point the silver paint on top browned. What a gong show!

Did they offer anything in trade?

 

[Doodski]

Did they offer anything in trade?

I ate it to keep the peace and not create a city wide spectacle. The amp worked fine it was apparently really hot though.

 

[Mrpinortiner]

So you spend thousands on something, take it out of the box and put it on the rack or shelf. How do people manage to scratch and mangle smoothing so badly? Do people have so much disposable income they can use a $5,000 amp as a step into a kiddie pool? Or something to keep a garage door wedged open? What gives? Maybe as an audiophile it just seems disrespectful somehow.

When I see gear in that condition I always figure it's been stolen.

 

[loafeye]

In the U.S. back in the "wild, wild west" didn't they drag people they had no use for down main street by a rope behind a horse? Maybe it's like that.

 

[H-713]

Here's one thing I've learned:

People are absolutely brutal to equipment that isn't theirs, isn't important, and is in their way. Some of the worst abuse I've seen takes place during decommissioning. Doesn't matter that it's a $40,000 network analyzer that's only 4 years old, people will drag it out of the rack and literally toss it onto a pile. If they don't have a reason to care about it, they'll basically treat it the same way that they'd treat a 300 pound box of rocks.

So in short, this stuff doesn't usually get trashed while it's in use. Once it's been replaced, however, anything goes, especially for family members who may or may not know what the value is. Maybe it goes into someone's storage unit. Maybe it makes it into their "shop system". Maybe it sits in the corner of the living room getting kicked every now and again. They have full intentions of selling it, but they're busy and don't get around to it for a few years, and during that time it plays musical chairs around the house, garage and storage unit. Of course, this stuff is heavy, and some people struggle to move heavy things in a gentle manner. Stuff gets stacked on top of it, because space is at a premium.

You get the picture.

Also, if it's rack-mounted equipment, it takes real effort and care to install and un-install without scratching it. Lots of equipment starts to look really beat up after a few installs, even if it's been looked after and cared for.

 

[Vive la dissonance!]

Wait, I mean, you all don't do this?

Ok, story time. This is all true, I swear.

It was moving day. The weather was warm and clear, so we borrowed a friend's pickup truck, a late-1970s-era Ford F-150. Included in the cargo were my beloved speakers, Wilson Benesch A.C.Ts. Probably I should have boxed them, some might say, but serendipity was with me that day, because what transpired changed forever my understanding of both audio and music. Anyway, I hadn't kept the original boxes, and it seemed like things would be just fine, so I roped the Wilson Benesch A.C.Ts expertly to hooks on the sides of the pickup bed, with some light padding.

Everything went well for the most part: smooth driving. But then we hit a rough patch. The F-150 was bouncing all over the place on some very brutal pot holes, and I feared for the Wilson Benesch A.C.Ts, but we seemed to get through it ok. Then my friend, who was driving, plowed over several speed bumps carrying far too much velocity; I think the F-150 briefly took to the air. Everything seemed fine, though, so we completed the drive. Under the loud engine noise—my friend's F-150 had what sounded like more or less tin cans and duct tape for a muffler—I thought I heard some banging and violent scraping, like the sounds of cabinets bouncing on tarmac, and faint cracking, but I assumed it was nothing.

Upon arrival at my wife's and my new apartment, we noticed that the Wilson Benesch A.C.Tss had, er... at some point unbound themselves from some of my expert knots. They otherwise remained roped up to other cargo, and had been dragged behind the F-150 for an unknown distance, possibly as far as from the potholes as two miles, or at least as far as from the speed bumps, over half a mile. I won't lie to you fine folks: the speakers looked a bit worse for wear, to normal expectations.

I've always made it a habit to set up my hifi system first, and today could be no exception. I hastily pulled together my amplifier and CD player, plugged in the power cords and interconnects, and, with some serious trepidation, connected the speakers. Probably I should have done this before hitting the power and cranking the volume on the amp, but no harm no foul, right?

After some minutes troubleshooting my connectors and cables, I put on Joni Mitchell's Turbulent Indigo. Incidentally, this is my wife's favorite album, but that wasn't why I put it on. It was just the first CD that has handy. "Sunny Sunday" began playing, and within seconds my wife, who had been unpacking plates, came running from the kitchen. "What's happening?" she breathlessly exclaimed. "What did you do to your stereo? Wow, oh my god!" Clearly she was impressed. Really impressed.

As was I.

I was frankly flabbergasted.

This music had never sounded so good. It was incredible. Sure, one of the woofers on the left speaker had come dislodged and was technically missing. Sure, there were cracks up and down the casing, some large splinters, numerous gouges and scratches, and I think the right tweeter looked cracked right in half. Also I had botched the wiring of the interconnects and speaker cables three or four times before getting it to work. But damn was this music better than I had ever heard it! It was like a veil had been lifted from my ears. Finally, Joni Mitchell's musical genius had a direct, connective pathway to my ears and mind. It was glorious. Better than it could be imagined.

My wife loved it all so much she threatened to move out unless I turned it off. I assumed it was simply... Well. Bedroom talk is best behind closed doors, am I right?

Clearly the amp needed the same treatment: my beloved McIntosh MC500. I roped it up to my friend's pickup, but he refused to drive. It was a very delicate operation, so I understood why he was nervous. I slipped the keys out of his coat pocket and performed the operation myself.

After six or seven miles, I drove it home. I no longer thought of the amp as distressed, it was on the contrary beautiful.

I rewired the system. On the first try, nothing. It took a few more tries to get the interconnects and speaker cables correctly connected, I was just so excited.

I pressed play.

This time, Celine Dion, "My Heart Will Go On."

For the first time, I detected an olfactory illusion, such was the power of this audio treatment! I detected notes of melting plastic, something sweet but acrid, like asbestos brake pads that have been overcooked on a old bus driving downhill. WOW. There were literally sparks. And with them, goosebumps. Pure frisson. I was in ecstasy. I thought I'd never hear that music sound so transcendent!

Finally, I put on the greatest work of musical art I know. John Cage's 4'33". I'm quite sure this great masterpiece had never been reproduced over electronic media with such incredible fidelity.

 

[Cars-N-Cans]

Here's one thing I've learned:

People are absolutely brutal to equipment that isn't theirs, isn't important, and is in their way. Some of the worst abuse I've seen takes place during decommissioning. Doesn't matter that it's a $40,000 network analyzer that's only 4 years old, people will drag it out of the rack and literally toss it onto a pile. If they don't have a reason to care about it, they'll basically treat it the same way that they'd treat a 300 pound box of rocks.

I can definitely vouch for that. Company has some campaign to get rid of "unused or underutilized" equipment and all manner of things get tossed. Have an entire rack of shelves filled with all manner of things like solder stations, scopes, HV supplies, etc. that were casually left for recycling due to ether a simple repair needed or being viewed as obsolete. Even better is when something well liked gets "replaced" because it doesn't meet some silly internal standard someone put in place and the furor over it is so intense they have to try and bring that equipment back, but don't want to spend the huge $$$ to purchase all new, so they beg everyone to see if there are any of the old units still hanging around. This, of course, is after they decided to mandate their disposal but don't want to have to own the mistake. Yes, I have three of them at home. No, I won't be bringing any of them back.

The lack of any concept of value in something is just staggering when its someone else's money involved. Its just obscene the amount of money people can waste.

 

[Cars-N-Cans]

No, I have not but I have seen people put planters over receivers and amps and then over water the plant. Spilling coke and orange juice seems to be OK too.

When my father still worked at a local hospital one of the nurses kept a faux potted plant over a large CRT monitor in the radiology department. One day when he was there another nurse thought it would be a good idea to water it since it looked a bit dry. According to him, the results were quite spectacular and even included some free pyrotechnics when the water simply ran out the bottom and straight into the HV supply of the monitor.

 

[JSmith]

So you spend thousands on something, take it out of the box and put it on the rack or shelf. How do people manage to scratch and mangle smoothing so badly? Do people have so much disposable income they can use a $5,000 amp as a step into a kiddie pool? Or something to keep a garage door wedged open? What gives? Maybe as an audiophile it just seems disrespectful somehow.

I agree completely actually... I see 2nd hand devices for sale and as you say some look stuffed, dented, scratched. I assume some is from moving home, but it can't explain all the mistreatment we see. I've seen for sale items that specify no smoke and no pet household, but the item is scuffed etc. I'd rather smoke and some animal hair any day over dents and scratches. Like you, personally I look after and take care of all my devices... a bit too much sometimes, lol.

I recall having to repair a CD stacker... 2 CD's stuck together with beer/wine.


JSmith

 

[Andysu]

No, I have not but I have seen people put planters over receivers and amps and then over water the plant. Spilling coke and orange juice seems to be OK too.

should never put plant pots to be watered on top of electronics .

 

[raindance]

On Craigslist often I see items with a 1/2 inch think layer of dust on it that could just get wiped off before taking the photo. I guess this didn't occur to the seller. Also, I see speakers that are in "like new" condition where someone has poked in every single driver.

 

[sergeauckland]

On one visit to a radio station in Paris, in the days when people smoked at work, I noticed a broadcast turntable that had had the platter turned over and used as a 12" ashtray. I wondered if when it was full they just turned it on to 78...

The station was filthy, and there was zero respect for the equipment.

S.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

That hurts... I loaned a ~120W/ch mid 1980's Technics amp while we repaired the strip club's model. I went over for a check-up and he had stacked hot gear on top of it and during shows when he cranked the volume he heated up the Technics to the point the silver paint on top browned. What a gong show!

You repaired the strip clubs model! Had she forgotten how to remove her clothes?

 

[killdozzer]

So you spend thousands on something, take it out of the box and put it on the rack or shelf. How do people manage to scratch and mangle smoothing so badly? Do people have so much disposable income they can use a $5,000 amp as a step into a kiddie pool? Or something to keep a garage door wedged open? What gives? Maybe as an audiophile it just seems disrespectful somehow.

It's the "near mint" grade they give it what gets to me.

 

[Adaboy4z]

When I found a pair of Bang and Olufsen S80 speakers at a thrift store I was amazed at the 30+ year old Cabinets. They looked new now the foam surrounds rotted away but where easily replaced.