OK, you are not really an audiophile if you haven't done this:........... (fun thread)

[DWPress]

So many things I've done I wish I hadn't!

Bridging two lovely NAD 2200's and then running into a cheap speaker selector made some lovely magic smoke within an hour.

Sending the tip of the screwdriver into the surrounds while installing a $250 midrange.

Trialing various things for the record platter like felt, cork, etc. I used some of the rubbery stuff they sell at dollar stores for your kitchen drawers and cupboards. I left my mint original pressing of Dark Side of the Moon on the turntable overnight and it chemically reacted with the vinyl literally melting into it rendering side two useless.

All I can think of off the top of my head but could probably write a novella if I thought about it harder. Which I won't, too many bad memories already!

 

[Milan]

(couldn't) Didn't wait long enough for the paint to dry while doing diy build. Besides minor blemishes, I had to be ridiculously careful not to touch painted surfaces while putting everything together. I just had to hear them asap

 

[flaviowolff]

• become frustrated by your friends/family not giving a f*** about the quality of the sound;
• become overjoyed when someone compliments the sound (the bass, of course, because thats where quality lies for laymen)

 

[MRC01]

especially, I would think "+ trannys"
...

Trannys would be an entirely different smell. The EP additives in 90 weight gear oil give it a distinctive smell. I lived in Iceland as a kid, and it reminds me of the sulfuric smell of geothermally active hotspots.

• become frustrated by your friends/family not giving a f*** about the quality of the sound;
• become overjoyed when someone compliments the sound (the bass, of course, because thats where quality lies for laymen)

My wife couldn't care less about sound quality. She complains how ugly the "man-cave" audio room is, arranged for sound quality with room treatments (of course, it's MY one room, and she has the rest of the house). Until... she realized when watching shows or movies on this system, she can understand the dialog better in this room than anywhere else. So... she can hear the difference, but still doesn't care.

 

[steve59]

Ahh.
1. screwed my bookshelf speakers to stands and later flipped over and hung from ceiling for better sound. I would cringe when visitors would bump their heads walking into them.
2. Blew two tweeters and an amp doing listening comparison, twice.
3. attach carpet padding to a throw rug to hang on the side wall to minimize early reflection.

so much fun reading this thread I wanted to contribute something.

 

[SimpleTheater]

I would send mine into @amirm for testing, but I'm in audio nirvana after I picked one up. My Revel Salons have never sounded better! A bargain at 10x the price. I was always told my nose was big, but no one ever told me it was absorbing nearly everything over 10 kHz. I can hear highs again.

 

[jsrtheta]

I would send mine into @amirm for testing, but I'm in audio nirvana after I picked one up. My Revel Salons have never sounded better! A bargain at 10x the price. I was always told my nose was big, but no one ever told me it was absorbing nearly everything over 10 kHz. I can hear highs again.
View attachment 107808

Soooo....Bose owners are without faces? I mean, I've suspected it for years, but feared I would be thought insane. (Not that I'm not insane, just not insane when it comes to all matters Bose. They really do suck.)

OTOH, it would greatly reduce the cost of audio. Heck, you could make a SOTA line of speakers out of cheap cardboard and really soak the rubes. Just like Bose does, minus the SOTA bit.

 

[Robin L]

OK, I'll put a few out there to get you started:

• Absolutely destroyed your very best stylus while unnecessarily 'cleaning' it...
• Damaged the previously unblemished front panel of your favourite amplifier with a swinging power plug or RCA cable...
• Stood up too quickly and torn out the headphone cable from the earpiece of your cans...
• Blown a pair of tweeters 'testing' a new amplifier..
• Researched, read reviews, pestered a HiFi store salesman and finally decided to buy something, only to find it is discontinued and sold out...
• Injuring your back moving speakers, or gouging your shin on a sharp front panel...
• Getting angry while trying to feed cables behind a rack of gear, in the dark, after a few drinks...
• Spending money on a 'bargain' bit of gear you really should have spent on a new set of tires for the car...

All of the above. Even worse, shoving money into gear and LPs/DCs/DVD-As/SACDs when I could have spent that money on a guitar which could get into and stay in tune.

 

[AdamG]

Great stories, many of which I can relate. Format obsolescence is perhaps my largest regret. Oh the 8 tracks and reel to reel content I had!

Doing deep dive research on gear you just bought. Just to prove to yourself you made a good decision.
Hiding new components when they arrive until the Wife is out.
Maintaining a straight and honest face when the wife asks “is this new”! Hell they do the same thing with shoes and handbags.
Heath Kit’s. Need I say more!
Moving to tape and selling about 1200 albums cause the rent on the storage facility was finally spotted by the wife.
Trying to splice/repair your tape only to jam up the player, every time. Rinse repeat....
Using wire coat hangers in various Audio system tweaks and improvements.
Milk boxes. The original multipurpose AV tool.
Hooking up new speakers but forgetting to unplug the Amp first.
Not setting max volume limiters before a house party.
Letting anyone actually touch your Remote!

 

[Snarfie]

Buying a Tascam DA-30 DAT recorder in good condition only for decoration.

 

[ThatM1key]

Before I got major into audio. Many years ago I used to have a junky KLH setup. KLH 900b's with a KLH r3100. Got the receiver from my automotive teacher at the time. The thing was on its last legs, high amounts of hiss. I think it was built worse than a $1 cheeseburger mcdonald's. So anyways I blew one of the woofers in my KLH speakers. I really doubt that receiver could reach 100 watts, the receiver could only go down to 40hz. Maybe I did reach the rated 100 watts while clipping. What I do with that blown woofer speaker, I took its guts out. Ever since I use it a temporary chair for outdoor use. Those speakers were probably more useful as firewood than to be used for sound.

 

[tomtoo]

Buying a Tascam DA-30 DAT recorder in good condition only for decoration.
View attachment 107922

It's a beauty!

 

[Snarfie]

It's a beauty!

Actualy this the one i bought in a secondhand store for just 25,- euro. They realy didn't know what to do with it so i'm now the foster parent a true audiophile could not leave it.

 

[tomtoo]

Actualy this the one i bought in a secondhand store for just 25,- euro. They realy didn't know what to do with it so i'm now the foster parent a true audiophile could not leave it. View attachment 107924

Hey i understand!!

Long time ago i bought a technics dc-10 out of the same reason. It was so cheap, and such a great piece of technologie.

 

[Robin L]

Buying a Tascam DA-30 DAT recorder in good condition only for decoration.
View attachment 107922

Got one used for $70. Had a project involving DAT tapes, my Technics machines had already crapped out by then. Lovely, rugged thing, gave it to a friend when I moved out of town and had to get rid of a mountain of gear.

 

[tomtoo]

Maybe we should ask @restorer-john , and we just suffer from the same virus??

 

[Sal1950]

Actualy this the one i bought in a secondhand store for just 25,- euro.

Do you have tape to use in it?

 

[Snarfie]

Do you have tape to use in it?

Yes i have 1 90 minute tape but it broke probably because of age.

 

[dasdoing]

your girlfriend/wife saying "you spend hours/days/weeks with this and at the end there is no diference in sound"

 

[Robin L]

Yes i have 1 90 minute tape but it broke probably because of age.

When I gave away my Tascam DAT recorder, I also gave away a ton* of DATs.

*50? 80?