Not really that expensive, but I bought a pair PMC Twenty.22's second hand. I was glad I didn't sell my DIY speakers (not build by me) before getting them, because those PMC's where not very good. At first listen they didn't sound too bad, but that changed after a couple of minutes and listening to different tracks. They had too much treble and there was something weird going on in the bass (had some weird transmission line noise at certain frequencies).
I’ve never encountered what I considered to be a successful transmission line design. They all sounded a bit “ weird” sort of in the way you were describing. Including the PMC speakers I’ve listened to.
Being a) cheap and b) kind of unwilling to spend large sums all at once unless necessary, I've bought very little expensive hifi componentry. That said, I can think of one four-figure purchase that was pretty disappointing all in all.
Oh man, that’s a nice looking turntable. That’s a real bummer that you were apparently disappointed with the sonics.
The moral? If I had kept my money by buying less, I could have invested in more targeted products, more useful, perhaps higher performing and certainly more resellable.
That’s been mostly my approach. I’ve tried all sorts of loudspeakers over the years, In a number of cases, I have bought by spending not too much and with resale in mind (they were higher and speakers, so there was a market for them). But when looking for a real “ settle down with it for a long time or life” decision, I’ve been willing to stretch my budget so that I get the best I can, know that I got the best I could afford, and so I don’t feel regrets. Plus that type of stuff tends to have a level of engineering and finish that gives me long-term pride of ownership, rather than something that feels disposable.
Anyone have a larger regret than this?
I will understand if Amir breaks my sword over his knee and bans me.
Oh man, those speakers look fun! I’d love to hear those!
If I bought something like that, they would have to sound truly awful in order for me to regret them. If they sounded even decent interesting or fun for a while, then I would consider it a worthwhile stop on my audio journey. (and if they sounded really bad, I wonder how you ended up buying them.?)
Sonic Frontiers SFL-3. The most transparent tube product I ever owned. The functionality was incredible. It has my favorite remote. It's beautiful to look at. But had two chassis, an armada of tubes, and despite the functionality it lacked tone controls. And it sounded no different than a Bryston preamp (for instance).
Nice! My friend had Sonic frontiers tube stuff for quite a while as well as their top preamp.
He finally had enough with tube upkeep, and weaned himself off onto solid state amplification. Bryston, and other pieces.
He still likes tube stuff, but he’s happy and content now with solid state.
I don’t think I’ll ever get there
