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What items have you NOT purchased as a result of ASR?

escksu

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Nothing.... I like to try anything and everything as long as I can afford it. I love to try out new things, DIY them. Test if it makes a difference to my ears. The fun is in the process rather than end results. If I can't tell a difference, then its just BS stuff to me. Even all the testing (articles, graph etc... and specs etc....) won't convince me.
 

Iglo

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The HD660s, but mainly because in headphones I just want something that i) fits great (on my head) ii) sounds great (to my ears). But ASR as been of great help when deciding on a amp/dac. The objective facts are much more relevant to me in this category. If it wasn't for ASR I would have spend much more on stuff I do not need and/or wouldn't be very suitable for my situation, so I do value the forum very much.
 

Iglo

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The HD660s, but mainly because in headphones I just want something that i) fits great (on my head) ii) sounds great (to my ears).

But ASR as been of great help when deciding on a amp/dac. The objective facts are much more relevant to me in this category. If it wasn't for ASR I would have spend much more on stuff I do not need and/or wouldn't be very suitable for my situation, so I do value the forum very much.
 

tjkadar

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Nord Three SE 1ET400A MKII Dual Mono Stereo Amp - This is a quality amp and expect it would perform fabulously. However, I went with a pair of March P421 Mono-Blocks. I appreciate March's input and participation here. I also felt March's amps were put together a bit more cleanly with more attention to detail. I doubt this will make a difference in what I hear, but it makes a difference in how I feel.
 

Killingbeans

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When I joined in 2018 I was dreaming about making a full setup with (semi) DIY components. DAC would either be Twisted Pear Audio Buffalo-III or Soekris dam1021. I was sort of buying into the idea of R2R, but couldn't find evidence of the secret sauce everybody was talking about. ASR helped me realize that the sauce was just hot air.

I have now ditched the DIY plans. The things I have learned from this site has made it clear to me that a nearfield setup with some well-engineered active monitors and an unassuming desktop DAC will suit my needs much better. Still haven't bought anything though :D
 

hawk01

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as a result of what i purchased due to ASR, here’s a short list of what i did not purchase:

1. KEF LS50, saved a lot of moolah on this much hyped speaker.
2. boutique or name branded DAC. saved even more moolah on this.
3. upgrading my modest yamaha 5ch AVR. after learning and validating my suspicions on how hideous audio performance on gazillion channel multi-feature set AVRs i finally drew the line on this piece of hardware! you buy far too much of which you only use too less! need not say how much moolah saved on this.
4. popular branded hifi preamp, DAC, cd transport, network streamer all in one box. this one is a real huge money saver! potentially a jungle of noise with all the analog and digital sections in coexistence. since i am mostly a spotify junky at best, i finally settled for laptop source, SMSL sanskrit 10th gen mkII DAC, basic analog marantz integrated amp for dedicated 2ch stereo.

cheers to all that savings!
 
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Helicopter

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Klipsch Reference Premier speakers
Schiit Multibit DACs
Marantz 7025
More Polk speakers
Dayton Audio speakers and amps.
THX stuff (Schiit and Topping are better)
PS Audio anything.
Nelson Pass anything.

I was much more open to various speakers for critical listening. This has narrowed to Focal, Revel, Yamaha, JBL, and some Elac speakers, with Focal at the front of the pack.
 
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ahofer

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I think I was already one foot out the door of the audio dealers I visited when I discovered ASR (how much ”it isn’t the amp/speakers, it’s the cables” can one person take!). ASR helped me get the other foot out. I did buy my speakers from a dealer, with an audition and everything. But the RME DAC, March Audio p252, and Pi-based streamer were ASR-influenced purchases.
 

Cahudson42

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Just about to purchase a miniDSP IL-DSP when ASR post(s) advised PEQ implementation was defective. Couple weeks later PEQ became available on Qudelix. Purchased. Happy camper :)
 

KeithPhantom

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Tube anything. I thought because the Sennheiser HE-1 used them, also other audiophile equipment used them they were good.
 

Wombat

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Nov 5, 2017
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A phono preamp.

After long deliberation and vacillation reaching up to around $1000, I decided to use my old integrated NAD 3020e's phono stage and buy a quiet split system air conditioner for my bedroom.

Age and global warming beat better clicks and pops. o_O
 

valerianf

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Dec 15, 2019
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For now I have slow down any important audio equipment upgrade. HDMI 2.1 silicon is faulty, Denon receivers have buggy corner cases and get hot easily, Parasound Zamp does not have any serious heat sink (thank you Amir for the tear down), ICEcore based amplifiers have an increased distorsion in the high frequencies...
I will wait for next year hoping for new HDMI2.1 receivers and new class D compact amplifiers.
Pandemic time is not the good moment to trash money on buggy equipment.
Better gain will be obtained by tuning my settings and my speakers crossover.
 

MarcT

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B&W speakers. They sound catchy when you hear them at a dealer, but now knowing how colored they are, I wouldn't buy one.
 

Chrispy

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Hmmm....I only bought one item because of asr and that's because it was in an asr classified and was based on experience rather than the asr review of it. Haven't needed/bought any other audio items since aside from content to watch/listen to......unless something breaks I'm pretty well set. I could see an asr review turning me away from some products, but generally haven't really seen any surprises otoh.
 

decoRyder

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Apr 10, 2019
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KEF Q350 - didn't buy those after reading Amir's review, and kept it that way for about 5 months. Bought them a few weeks ago, since they had them at BB, and it would have been easy to return them. Turns out for my desktop/nearfield setup they work great, and I really like them - they offer reasonably good sound, and good off -axis response.
 

Angsty

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KEF Q350 - didn't buy those after reading Amir's review, and kept it that way for about 5 months. Bought them a few weeks ago, since they had them at BB, and it would have been easy to return them. Turns out for my desktop/nearfield setup they work great, and I really like them - they offer reasonably good sound, and good off -axis response.

I bought my KEF LS50's a few months before Amir's review and I've really like them. I felt a twinge to ditch them for the Revel M16 after the review, but decided that was nonsensical and stuck with them for my office application. An example where ASR got me to consider a change, but I did not.
 

Snarfie

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Was on the brink changing my Philips CD630 for a quality DAC so i was googling audio fora an came across ASR. Did read the Topping D10 test/measurments bought it an i was hooked on this little DAC ever since.
 
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