What was your best (and worst) audio purchase for the dollar?

[GaryY]

Best : Boxem 4512/E2
It does everything without telling me it's working. Sometimes I even forget I have amp. I also like form factor, design and considerate inner wiring and finish of termination. (from photo).
If II have to keep only one out of new components, I will keep this amplifier.

Worst:
Cyrus3 (Actually there was not many choices), Kimber PBJ

 

[Brian Hall]

Best and favorite so far: Eversolo DMP-A6. Second favorite Wiim Pro Plus.

Worst: I can't think of anything recent. I guess it would have to be a Sony multi CD changer I got close to when CDs first came out (back in the 80s). It was not reliable at all. It skipped some and when switching CDs with the remote, it almost never stopped on the next CD. Also some overpriced aftermarket car CD player in the 80s I installed in my Camaro Z28. It skipped on every little bump in the road.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Fun thread!

Worst = Bricasti M1 SE DAC, refurbished for $6k. I'll make all of this back though by selling it.

Best = miniDSP UMIK-1, and while it's expensive I'll have to say the Dan Clark Audio E3 because it makes plane rides so much more tolerable and I do like it a lot more than my AKG K371.

 

[Induna]

Best: A pair on Magnepan Tympani IVs for $500 back in the day (1991 or 92). They had a blown ribbon driver so I shipped them off to Magnepan for rebuilding. For a comparative pittance they completely renewed them with new ribbon drivers, midranges, totally rewired bass panels, new cloth and rebuilt crossovers. They were good friends for many years. Despite their size and sonic flaws they were a pleasure to listen to. I will never own their equals again, nor would I be able to accommodate them.

A Logitech Squeezebox Touch with a homebuilt server which enabled me to bring my music with me when I moved to Central America even though the "heavy equipment" and CDs stayed behind.

Worst: various geegaws that cost too much and did nothing for enjoying the music.

 

[Keith_W]

4. Joseph Audio Perspective 2 speakers. Extremely happy with the last speakers I purchased (and probably my last speakers):

I'm going to call you out on that one If you win the lottery, I will bet that i'll find you in the MBL showroom the next day!

 

[MattHooper]

I'm going to call you out on that one If you win the lottery, I will bet that i'll find you in the MBL showroom the next day!

That is an absolutely fair call! An audiophile can't really claim it was his 'last speaker' until he's 6 feet under.

But there are a number of reasons not just related to how much I like these speakers why I'm unlikely to purchase new speakers.

But yes, occasionally I still dream of the MBL 101E martians in my room.....

 

[CINERAMAX]

Bose 901 series iV, dumped them for a pair kef 105.4 and achieved a far greater and more precise soundstage that Bose promised by shooting 16 speakers towards the wall, a big mush, the Kef had a red dot to aim it squarely at your head, am back to kef now for the extended cea 2034 data and coaxiality.

 

[StigErik]

Best :
Logitech Transporter
MiniDsp Flex
Hypex Nilai amp kit
Umik-1
Anthem AVM70
Magnepan 3.7
Topping E50
Hypex FusionAmp (various models)

Worst / most embarrassing... :
Audio Note 300B power amp
Audioquest, Nordost...
Green CD marker pen!
Marantz SR7015
TEAC P500 CD drive

 

[JohnBooty]

Best...


Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers, $100/pair at the time. Another audiophile gateway purchase. Seasoned audiophiles may scoff these are a revelation if you've never heard anything "audiophile" before and that's who I was at the time.

MiniDSP 2x4 $120ish, UMIK-1 calibrated mic, $125ish. The foundation of becoming an "objective audiophile" for me. Had a lot of fun measuring speakers in-room and in open-air and learning about the objective underpinnings of what we hear and what sounds good. Taking measurements and turning bad cheap speakers into decent ones with a few DSP tweaks was an absolute eye- (ear-?) opener.

Bose Quietcomfort 25/45 headphones, $100-$280. Yeah yeah yeah I know... Bose! The dirty word in audiophile-land. But as Amir has shown these measure pretty well. And they sound fine. Tonally they sound great, not detail masters, but fine. As they should, with active onboard DSP. They help me sleep, they help me work, they help me on plane trips. I bought a bunch of refurb/used QC25's for ~$100 so I can have one at every desk and I have the QC45 for places where wireless makes more sense. In the long run I think they may help to preserve hearing as well... you can listen at a lower SPL, since you don't have to worry about drowning out background noise...

BIC America EV-15 "Eviction", $375 for the pair at the time. Yeah, these infamous guys. These were extremely educational. They sound better than their measurements would indicate. Massive power handling and high efficiency, to me, have a quality all their own. So much of the emotion of music is conveyed via dynamics. And these actually do measure well where it counts most -- through the vocal range. I am not going to tell you they are good speakers by ASR standards but you'll pry them from my cold dead hands. I'm also not going to tell you they're worth it at their current price, but $375 was absolutely a steal.

Paul Carmody's Overnight Sensations DIY Kit, $125 at the time. These speakers sound absolutely fantastic. I'll take these over just about anything commercial I've heard under $1K. Had a "spirited listening session" with a friend the other week with these and a $150 Sony 100W amp and jeez, that is a lot of fun for not much money.


Worst...

No real "misses" or audiophoolery purchases. I researched everything really well and was drawn to stuff with great price/performance. I guess in hindsight I slightly regret buying so much "mid" gear. Could have spent all that money one a smaller number of things that were more high-end. But all that "mid" stuff was part of the journey I guess.

 

[Schlippwhip68]

Best: ADS L520 speakers in good condition with grills for $75.

Worst: Audioquest Jitterbug for $50.

The Audioquest Jitterbug full metal jacket is a good purchase for me personally, I put an Avantree DG80 Bluetooth dongle into the end of that thing and plugged it into my PC. I have a cleaner signal to my JBL Partybox.

 

[valerianf]

My best audio purchase for the dollar is an Amazon 4k stick.
Using it with Amazon music HD allows me to get a 24 bits/192khz audio stream to my AVR.
After stopping listening music during 10 years I am enjoying it again and I am upgrading my audio system.
All that because of a $40 device.

 

[Angsty]

The Audioquest Jitterbug full metal jacket is a good purchase for me personally, I put an Avantree DG80 Bluetooth dongle into the end of that thing and plugged it into my PC. I have a cleaner signal to my JBL Partybox.

This one? Really?

AudioQuest JitterBug USB Filter Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the AudioQuest JitterBug USB data and power noise filter. It is on kind loan from a member. The Jitterbug costs US $60 from Amazon including prime shipping. I purchased a JitterBug back in 2015 when it had recently come out and my measurements...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Hear Here]

Best - Avantgarde Uno speakers bought in 2002 for GDP 4200 and sold 17 years later for GDP 4200. Spectacular sound quality that makes listening to music so exciting. Since upgraded to Duo and more recently Duo XD.

Worst - 2 purchases stand out as very disappointing despite great expectations.

Benchmark AHB2 amp. Raved about by a fellow AG owner but turned out as drearily dull despite excellent measurements and spec. It's the sound that matters and the BM bitterly disappointed.

Also disappointing and bought after years of looking forward to owning them - ATC Active 50 speakers. Loved by Pro audio engineers who need speakers to shout what's wrong with their original recordings so they can fix these nastinesses, we at home just don't want that. We want music to sound its best and not to emphasise any warts that may be.left after the master tapes are sent to streaming services and album.pressers. Far too in-yer-face for good listening , despite g excellent spec.

 

[Purité Audio]

Actually I just want to hear what is on the recording reproduced as accurately as possible, so the Benchmark and ATCs for me.
Keith

 

[Angsty]

Preferences do matter. I imagine that an AHB2 would make a horn speaker sound like … exactly what a horn speaker would sound like. A tube amp would impart more “character” to the signal.

 

[Steven Holt]

Oh, I'll jump in. My best purchases, for the money -- 1) Koss Kph30i headphones. These punch way, way above their price. 2) Yamaha RX397 Stereo Receiver, $10, local goodwill shop. Works like a charm and Yamaha quality. 3) Marantz 2220 Stereo Receiver, paid nothing, a gift from my brother in law for helping him move. Considering it's age, works quite well. Now, my worst. Both speakers. First, Sony SSCS5. Thought I was getting a 'deal'. I wasn't. Second, Micca RB42. Kinda Sorta decent at nearfield, flat f*ck*ng awful otherwise. No idea what I was thinking. I probably wasn't. I am pleased to say that since I joined ASR, and started listening and learning, I have made no bad purchases. THANK YOU AMIR!!

 

[Robin L]

Best: Infinity Primus 2 - way towers, bought at a thrift store for $30 the pair. Very sweet in the midrange. Not a ton of bass but what's there is tight and not boomy. Use them every day.

Worst: an antique pair of Schoeps 221B tube microphones from the 1950s, about $2000. Limited dynamic range, loads of self-noise, broke down twice, ultimately unrepairable. Only good for chamber music, got blown out with orchestral recording.

 

[Tell]

Going to write the same as lots of other people already have, the best is the UMIK-1 and MiniDSP 2x4HD.
Had the regular 2x4 first and that was amazing as well since it was my first venture into the room correction world (already had an regular EQ for years though), but the low output voltage made me upgrade when the HD version was released.

The worst, don't know, can remember everything I've bought for the last ~25 years, but I've mostly bought stuff that I really wanted and I knew what I was getting. Well maybe some random headphones at an airport a long time ago after my pair of AKG K518 was stolen at a festival?

 

[Axo1989]

I managed a "worst" recently. After living without AirPods Pro when I inevitably lost my first-gen pair (and found them via the usual electronic means, crushed on the road where I'd previously parked the car) I had a mental lapse and bought some other brand that looked good (and dark grey) and were equally expensive (my AP Max are great but not at all pocketable). However the touch surface to toggle noise cancelling on/off was unreliable/unresponsive, which makes them pretty useless for day-to-day life. Now they sit in their box. Sigh.

Eventually grabbed some new APP for my bag/pocket. The update means they can automatically let nearby voices through (I'm sure that's becoming a thing, software tech marches on). As for the others, I'll have to find an Android phone friend who can benefit from my dalliance with the dark side.

 

[pseudoid]

I worked for a defense communication company that was relocating down to Dallas area. Our Metrology department decided some of the old test equipment was not worth moving down south, so we had an employees only bulk sale and all items were being sold for $1.00 per pound.
...I owned that - original issue - McIntosh MC275 for over 20 happy years... until it was pried off of my hands by a Japanese fellow for $6000.


ADD: MC275 weighed 75 pounds.