Used equipment that’s too bad to sell

[sal]

So you bought an audio component and it was so bad that you purchased a replacement. It’s so bad that you would feel guilty if you sold it to someone. There it sits in your junk pile. What is it?

For me it’s a PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC. I bought it used when I didn’t know what I was doing. Luckily I bought it used, payed nowhere near the retail price. However, this device is not good at any price. I can’t in good conscience sell this thing to anyone without losing some sleep. How can I unleash this sonic nightmare on some hapless chump getting into HIFI?

What’s in your junk pile that would make you feel like a sleaze bag if you sold it?

 

[egellings]

If the DAC is in original working condition, why not sell it? Let the prospective buyer audition it, if that's possible (or offer a return policy), and if the buyer likes it, no problem. I heard one, and although it did not tickle my nun-handles, it wasn't gawdawful, either. As for my junk pile, which is largely S.S. and vacuum tube amplification stuff, I just part a lot of it out, and something new arises form the ashes, as it were.

 

[mhardy6647]

If it works and one sells it "as is" sans warranty for a fair (agreed-upon) price... I see no issue legal, moral, or ethical.
I don't sell much -- I did sell my Klipsch Cornwalls.
I think their purchaser was happy with them.
My only regret is that I probably could've gotten more $$ for them, even at the time... but that would've made me feel guilty.

What's so bad about the Gain Cell DAC that would make you feel thus (if you don't mind sharing)?

 

[FooYatChong]

When in doubt they can ask Paul.

 

[Helicopter]

I can hardly muster the drive to sell the used stuff I like, so I really am not worried about the junk.

You could always just disclose a preference for transparent gear and say it doesn't fit in with your system. Might as well prevent someone from paying PS full retail for a new one.

 

[sal]

If it works and one sells it "as is" sans warranty for a fair (agreed-upon) price... I see no issue legal, moral, or ethical.
I don't sell much -- I did sell my Klipsch Cornwalls.
I think their purchaser was happy with them.
My only regret is that I probably could've gotten more $$ for them, even at the time... but that would've made me feel guilty.

What's so bad about the Gain Cell DAC that would make you feel thus (if you don't mind sharing)?

First off, it’s a very well constructed piece of kit. The housing is very nice. Volume knob has a nice feel IMO. You can tell that it was not cheap to make. They use very good components. The sound however is horrible. It’s very muddled, distorted and just not what you would expect from a device that retails for $1700. After listening to it for a while, I began to suspect that this was junk. Lo and behold, I found ASR and the test data for this device. It confirmed my suspicIons. One of the worst rated DACs to date

 

[egellings]

Puh-leeze! It's "equipment", not "kit". A kit is a group of parts sold to be put together to make something.

 

[sal]

Puh-leeze! It's "equipment", not "kit". A kit is a group of parts sold to be put together to make something.

Depends what side of the pond you’re on

And it’s “please”. Puh-leeze is not a word

 

[sergeauckland]

Puh-leeze! It's "equipment", not "kit". A kit is a group of parts sold to be put together to make something.

In British English usage, kit is a normal colloquialism for equipment.
What you're referring to is a 'kit of parts' or a 'construction kit', or just 'kit' depending on context.

S.

 

[sal]

This thread derailed pretty quickly Anyone have anything on topic?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Look there are some people somewhere who are going to buy one of those. Even if you told them your opinion. Sell for what you paid since it was a good price and you will at least save someone money on a bad decision.

I bought a device once which was odd and operated in a strange manner. The owner thought it was broken and was offering it at 25% of its normal price. I tried it out, it worked fine. I told him nothing was wrong with it he just had a wrong idea about how it was controlled and I could show him. He said, "Sonny, its your lucky day. If you can get it to work then good on you. I'm done with it and learned not to buy stuff from this company". So I paid him and used it for years. You are on the reverse end, but be honest and I don't see a problem selling it.

If you think it is a travesty that shouldn't be around for human's to experience then junk it. Landfill material. Make sure you break it apart so future humans can't unearth it and try to listen to it in the future.

 

[Jim Matthews]

I suppose the way 'round is to offer a trial period. The difficulty would be one of restraint, to keep yourself from derailing the sale.

As a philosophic question: is what you're selling better than what the buyer owns, at a reasonable price?
****
The real problem with any used computer is that something better and cheaper is always in development.

For my stash it's the antique tubes that have generated fallow inventory.

Lots of sunken costs, precautions for shipping fragile items and a general flakiness among the (limited) pool of buyers makes it unrewarding.

 

[sal]

Look there are some people somewhere who are going to buy one of those. Even if you told them your opinion. Sell for what you paid since it was a good price and you will at least save someone money on a bad decision.

I bought a device once which was odd and operated in a strange manner. The owner thought it was broken and was offering it at 25% of its normal price. I tried it out, it worked fine. I told him nothing was wrong with it he just had a wrong idea about how it was controlled and I could show him. He said, "Sonny, its your lucky day. If you can get it to work then good on you. I'm done with it and learned not to buy stuff from this company". So I paid him and used it for years. You are on the reverse end, but be honest and I don't see a problem selling it.

That's fair. I guess it's just easier for me to sell something that I like, or at least can perceive some value in it. I had a pair of low-end Klipsch tower speakers, definitely not high-end as most here would agree - had no qualms selling the pair for $200. But in that case, the low price comes with low expectations. And for most people, a pair of of these lower-end speakers are great for a modest home theatre system - a great value for a certain kind of buyer.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I guess more on topic. I've never had anything that bad for the money.

I do know much of gear I've had was purchased used. I always asked what was replacing what I was buying.

 

[abdo123]

an Audioquest cable lmao.

 

[Robin L]

This thread derailed pretty quickly Anyone have anything on topic?

Yeah, used to have a bunch of rim drive turntables people gave me that didn't work, no one was interested in and I couldn't do anything with. I guess there might have been someone looking for parts, might have reached out more to find someone with a use for these turntables. As it turned out, I had a hard time selling my working turntables.

 

[sal]

Look there are some people somewhere who are going to buy one of those.

Not if I can help it! I used to have a more casual opinion about PS Audio, until I saw their “Noise Harvester”... a $99 LED. Now I believe they are either incompetent or deceptive (probably both)

 

[Taketheflame]

With one exception, I'm happy to say I've never bought anything I really considered "junk", as I tend to do pretty extensive research on gear before I buy it.

The only thing I've owned in the past which I would consider "junk" (in the objective sense, at least) would be my old Ion USB turntable - before I really did any kind of research into audio gear.

It wasn't a great performer (some records I couldn't get it to play without skipping, but they play fine on other tables), but I didn't really care at the time. It was my first turntable, so it got me into the vinyl format, and it also introduced me to the fun of being able to digitize obscure old media that doesn't exist on CD or digital formats. That's something I continue to do today, albeit with better gear (and also with tape formats now).

I don't know that I would even really say I regret buying it, since I got it NIB for half off (but sold it for maybe $20?). If I could go back and do it differently, I probably would have just bought an inexpensive vintage Technics turntable and relied on a good ADC for digitization. But no regrets really.

 

[sal]

an Audioquest cable lmao.

But 72V!! I had some lesser cables with only 48V. What difference those extra Vs make!

 

[Thomas savage]

So you bought an audio component and it was so bad that you purchased a replacement. It’s so bad that you would feel guilty if you sold it to someone. There it sits in your junk pile. What is it?

For me it’s a PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC. I bought it used when I didn’t know what I was doing. Luckily I bought it used, payed nowhere near the retail price. However, this device is not good at any price. I can’t in good conscience sell this thing to anyone without losing some sleep. How can I unleash this sonic nightmare on some hapless chump getting into HIFI?

What’s in your junk pile that would make you feel like a sleaze bag if you sold it?

Loads of power and signal cables , a anti mode room correction thing , some fuses .... a pair of JBL 705p's ..,


Err, confession, iv never sold any audio hardware, it gets given away, horded or put in a skip.