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

[Sal1950]

View attachment 305428

I love mine, helps with everything from keeping my speakers set-up, to doing property measurements
for our home owners association. An amazing little toy.

 

[Keith_W]

Best: REW. It's free. Nothing beats free, not even cheap. Okay, so REW itself did not make any difference at all to my system. But it did open my eyes and make me change direction - from a cable buying subjectivist to a more science and measurement based approach. That was a MAJOR change in direction, and I have reaped many benefits from it. I have saved money whilst attaining sound quality I could only have dreamed of if I kept up with my old approach. I owe John Mulcahy a massive debt of gratitude, much more than the donation I gave him.

Second best: Acourate and JRiver. Both these programs are the heart of my system and make everything possible. Both are the finest in their category, and are inexpensive for what they do.

Worst: I have speaker cable that I paid $5000 for . Well, speaker cable does not degrade the sound of the system. It merely makes no difference. So I suppose that the absolute worst has to be:

Absolute worst: turntable. I have been down this path twice. I learnt after the second time. Never again.

 

[Sal1950]

I owe John Mulcahy a massive debt of gratitude, much more than the donation I gave him.

Yep, REW is an incredible piece of software that John puts a huge amount of work into.
I try to kick in $25 each time an update comes out.
Not much I know, but every little bit helps I hope.

 

[RB Dennis 57]

The Amber power amp? Still have one waiting for repair. I bought it used in 1988 at a highend dealer for probably much too much money (in a set with a used preamp, the first time in my life I payed a serious amount of money for audio). It was said to be tuned with a bigger PS, and having 2 very heavy toroidal transformers meant that each time I powered it on the mains fuse blowed so I left it on 24/7 (recommended anyway by the dealer to sound better ).

Once I killed it by my own stupidity and had to replace all transistors and the driver chips. Doing this I realized that the circuit design was quite simple (a clone of the app note by the manufacturer of the driver chip, with no output short cut protection of any kind and no relays to protect the speakers) and I got really pissed off. At least I added an input current limiter so it no longer blew the fuses when powered on. Many years later it became silent again and since then waits for a repair ( I had NAD 2200 for replacement and nowadays no need for power amps at all since all speakers here are active).

Unfortunate. I've owned mine for almost 40 years and serves and my secondary kit. It pairs well w/ my period NAD 1020 and B/W Mtarix 1 speakers. There were several factory addendums and bulletins published after the model was introduced. I've blown channel fuses from time to time but never the main fuse. The manual comes with a fuse chart, so I'm careful to replace them with the proper fuses. Most of the complaints I've heard were pushing them hard at 4ohms. I leave my unit on 24/7 unless I'm out of town for the weekend or longer. It does not blow fuses when I power it up, but it has been known to dim the lights in the house.

 

[Angsty]

Round five…

Best for the money: Bryston BP-25DA preamplifier. It was not cheap, but it’s been the mainstay of my system for over 17 years. I purchased it used from a dealer on eBay and later had it serviced (for free by Bryston) right before the 20-year warranty expired. The DAC section performs audibly identical to my more current standalone DACs. Low noise and distortion, high reliability and serviceability. I later purchased the complementing 4B-ST amp and BP-1.5 phono preamp.

Worst for the money: Parasound P3 preamplifier. This is the preamp that the Bryston replaced. My used unit developed a noise problem that was not repairable, but the manufacturer offered to replace it with a new unit at a discount (after warranty expiration). The new unit was a disappointment sonically, although it was aesthetically attractive. The price of the used unit, shipping for repair, and the new replacement made the whole deal a poor value. When the Bryston became available I snapped it up, sold the Parasound and never looked back.

 

[winsome]

Best:
SR009 paired with BHSE and Neko Audio DAC, but sold it around 8 years ago, pure high end bliss
Audiophilleo + pure power, got it used and at good price, indeed sounds better
Sennheiser HD580 - one of the best in its price bracket
ATH M50xbt2 - definitely not the best but works for me. Convenient factor wins vs SQ
Grado Gw100x - for non bassy tracks. Again convenient factor wins

Worst:
Electrocompaniet ECD 2 Dac - unbearable high with the Stax setup
Bladelius Embla - ditto as above
Maybe these 2 dac fits other system better and back in the days I'm the purveyor of no EQ. EQ is a no no back then to me. Hindsight, I should've tried EQ-ing it following the advise from this forum. I'm headphone enthusiast back in the day
Wireworld power cable

Candidate for best - my current speaker setup, Elac Connex DCB41, SVS SB1000pro (joining the hype train late, but didnt regret it), Fiio BT30Pro. spotify. Definitely not the best, no plan on going down the route of passive speakers and traditional non wireless setup albeit I'm sure it will sound better

 

[pderousse]

Wires, boxes and boxes of wires. If I could have known I would not even NEED half, I would have been able to afford the X I later bought.

 

[Sal1950]

Thinking back I believe the best upgrade I did for my system subjectively was to
update my Marantz AV7701 to the AV7703 which included the then fairly new Atmos immersive
codec. Atmos added an exciting whole new dimension to music listening, same for the Auro3D codec with the few
music discs that have been released so encoded.
Also a tip of the hat to the then new Audyssey Editor app with which the 7703 was compatible, best $20 I ever spent on audio!
I really enjoyed that Marantz Pre/Pro and was sad when a Central FL lightning storm sent it to audio heaven.

 

[Svend P]

Worst
Denon AVP-A1HDA and POA A1HD. It was a 13.000 € surround set, which performed fine, but it just didn't offer anything spectacular in relation to the price. Surround gear ages badly, and it didn't have Atmos or Dirac which would make it obsolete by today's standards.

I sold the set after a year, because I felt I had buried too much money into it. (I traded in a NAD M15HD which I loved for 12 years, but now I am back to a Denon X4800H, so no bad feelings)
I have later seen that most of the pre-amplifiers die from bad boards, which would make it a 6500€ paperweight.
Also the Denon DVD2500BT blu ray player that matched was truly awful. Extremely slow loading time, and eventually it just broke.

 

[ahofer]

I bought an Esoteric transport once (to feed a Theta DAC). What a waste.

 

[manisandher]

Best: Roon (Lifetime)

1. easy access to all my music
2. integration with Qobuz - have discovered so much cool music to listen to over the last few years!
3. multiple zones
4. DSP is phenomenal

Worst: dCS 4-box Scarlatti stack

1. cost $20k (used)
2. had it less than a year, and DAC has already failed (no doubt requiring a hefty repair bill from dCS) - I've never had another DAC fail in the last 30+ years!
3. doesn't sound better than some of my (much!) cheaper modern DACs (to my ears)
4. on the plus side, it looks a million dollars sitting on my rack!

Mani.

 

[JunkHippo]

Best
- Neumann KH 310 speakers: sound awesome, and just a well engineered product all around (e.g. no hiss, reliable, useful filters, extensive documentation...). I got a decent deal on a new pair, enjoyed them for 5 years, then upgraded to Geithain and sold the Neumanns for almost the price I originally paid. If I ever have to downgrade again from my current speakers to something smaller, I'd buy Neumann again.
- Streamer based on Raspberry Pi 3 and Allo Digione board, using Volumio: realizing that all the streamers made by hifi companies won't beat the performance of this combination saved me a lot of money.
- Technics SL 1200 GR: got one of these made in Japan beauties 6 years ago second hand and it's just a joy to use, a true classic.
- Funk LAP 2 preamp: one of the best measuring analog preamps (and headphone amps) out there, super reliable, fair pricing for what it is (state of the art performance, made in Germany, will last probably forever except the volume pot)
- AKG K712: I auditioned and owned much more expensive headphones before, only to realize that these AKG are more comfortable and sound pretty damn good to me, for a low-ish price. They do seem a bit fragile.

Worst
- KEF iQ30 speakers: my entry into hifi as a student was buying these purely based on reviews without auditioning alternatives, along with a second hand Harman Kardon amp. Didn't experience these as a big upgrade to the mini stereo from Sony I had as a teenager. Sold them within a year.
- Nakamichi CA-5: as student and career starter, I dabbled in vintage hifi to save money, and this preamp was one of the heartbreakers. Its volume control failed sporadically, blasting at full volume, even after two visits to a repair shop. Another shop refused to even accept it for repair. I learned that you shouldn't be into vintage hifi if you can't repair stuff yourself.

 

[pderousse]

Best: McIntosh C49 preamp - it connects anything to anything, and just plain works.
Worst: a dreadful Monoprice xlr cable that introduced awful noise into my right channel, was very difficult to track down, and I’m convinced was responsible for frying a Hypex NC400 amp module.

 

[Axo1989]

Best would be my Audio Physic Codex speakers. They look fabulous, do the audio job generally and do the [trigger warning] stereo image thing so well. They were a trade-in, so someone wealthier than me paid the depreciation, which helped.

I'm trying to think of a purchase I've regretted. I don't but many HiFi things, and almost none have been actually bad.

But I do have one, some Festool branded non-Apple wireless noise-cancelling ear-things. Seemed like a good idea for a minute. They sound fine but the UX is execrable. I thought I'd save my AirPods Max from damage when woodworking (decent NR is as good as regular ear protection, plus there's music and you can answer the phone) but it didn't work out. Simply toggling NR on/off gives a stochastic result. FFS.

 

[JimBean]

Best: McIntosh C49 preamp - it connects anything to anything, and just plain works.
Worst: a dreadful Monoprice xlr cable that introduced awful noise into my right channel, was very difficult to track down, and I’m convinced was responsible for frying a Hypex NC400 amp module.

Bummer to hear about the monoprice cable. I'm using their xlr cables in my system, with no issues.

My best is probably my Sennheiser HD 650 headphones, got them off someone through my local Craigslist in great condition for real cheap.

Worst is probably my Golden Theater GTX-1 preamp/processor, also bought through Craigslist. Mainly because it started having major distortion issues a few months after I got it.

 

[Newman]

Like Keith says, you can't beat free for value...although not technically a purchase per the thread title.

I'll give a special mention to the Behringer DSP8024 signal processor that I bought just over 20 years ago. Basically a first generation DSP unit, very crude and limited by today's standards, but it cost 1/10th of the main alternative from BSS Audio, yet still managed to deliver 24 bit specs, graphic and parametric EQ and shelving tools, AES/EBU digital and balanced analog inputs and outputs, 31-band RTA display with peak hold, auto room EQ to a target using an outboard mic of your choice, switchable hard bypass including auto-bypass in case of power failure, and 100 nameable user memories for your custom settings.

Compared to what my audio buddies were paying for a preamp with no tone controls, this was stupid-good value at $285, and unlike the BSS, I could afford it. Of course I instantly became part-pariah and part-curiosity among my peers...

This wasn't just a box, to me. This was my entry ticket to a new paradigm of sound quality for audiophiles, with a new level of power over my audio outcomes. But, in so doing, I had to break free of the prevailing belief systems on what was Good, Pure, and Right in an audiophile system 20 years ago. I lost all credibility. And I had a lot of learning to do, with effectively no guides or gurus for encouragement and inspiration. I made a lot of mistakes, but have no regrets, and the DSP8024 takes the credit for making it possible. All hail Behringer The Despised!

cheers

PS that unit was still in service in a friend's hifi system until a few months ago. Now in well-earned retirement.

 

[SeanAtx]

My worst was my first: A Panasonic 5.1 Home Theater in a Box, model number SCHT740 (sounded like scht that's for sure). I donated it to Goodwill a few years ago, hopefully they priced it below $20. Can't believe I paid almost 300 bucks for that thing.

My best? Gotta be a UMIK-1 for $120 & Room EQ Wizard.

 

[Sal1950]

Thinking back one of my worst, most disappointing HiFi purchases was a set of Kimber PBJ interconnect cables.
At a time when I was still under the influence of the highend BS, Corey Greenberg at Stereophile and others
were gushing over the sound of these new "low cost" cables, they were the hot high-value item of the time.
The minute I plugged them between my McCormack Passive preamp and the VTL tube power amps, I knew I had
been screwed. The unshielded design picked up such a bad hum from the radiated field of the amps they were
unusable, I was extremely disappointed to say the least. . This coming at a time when $150 was a lot of money
to spend when I already had a big box full of perfectly good cables.
But Corey and all had said they'd sound so -------------------------------------------------
The only good news was I threw them in a box for the next 15 years then was able to ebay them for the original cost.

Kimber PBJ interconnect

It's always a jolting, life-renewing Ka-BLAM when a new experience shatters your preconceptions of the order of things. From the moment you realize your dad isn't running right alongside you as you fly down the sidewalk on your first two-wheeler, to when you become a made man, these experiences...

www.stereophile.com

 

[ahofer]

Thinking back one of my worst, most disappointing HiFi purchases was a set of Kimber PBJ interconnect cables.
At a time when I was still under the influence of the highend BS, Corey Greenberg at Stereophile and others
were gushing over the sound of these new "low cost" cables, they were the hot high-value item of the time.
The minute I plugged them between my McCormack Passive preamp and the VTL tube power amps, I knew I had
been screwed. The unshielded design picked up such a bad hum from the radiated field of the amps they were
unusable, I was extremely disappointed to say the least. . This coming at a time when $150 was a lot of money
to spend when I already had a big box full of perfectly good cables.
But Corey and all said they'd sound so -------------------------------------------------
The only good news was I threw them in a box for the next 15 years then was able to ebay them for the original cost.

Kimber PBJ interconnect

It's always a jolting, life-renewing Ka-BLAM when a new experience shatters your preconceptions of the order of things. From the moment you realize your dad isn't running right alongside you as you fly down the sidewalk on your first two-wheeler, to when you become a made man, these experiences...

www.stereophile.com

View attachment 329329

In my recent second-hand selling experience, cables were by far the most liquid item, with the best resale/cost. I sold some 30 year-old cardas for around what I paid.

But a perfectly good Bryston or Adomc Amp? Streamer? Big discount.

 

[Svet Angelov]

Best:

1994 Onkyo Integra TX-SV919THX receiver, bought in 2017 for a cool 50 euros. Pulled double duty as a power amp as well as a heater.. LOL. Damn near indestructible, though.

Adam Audio T7V Used but practically brand new, 270 euros.

Worst:

the Audioquest ShitSandwich 1m interconnect (I don't remember the actual name, I know it was red and very "entry-level" in their line, for lack of a better term). A couple of months go by and I notice that the positive signal wire isn't properly soldered to the connector, since it was causing a complete lack of sound when it was moved in just the right, or wrong, way. I promptly threw it in the bin.