Worst Audio Purchases You Made

[bandphan]

Both Monster and MIT Cables, the latter cost me some sick money

 

[Haoleb]

The worst ever? That would have to be the KLH HTA-9005 surround speaker system I bought.

http://www.amazon.com/KLH-HTA-9005-Five-Piece-Surround-Speaker/dp/B00004SZ9V

sounds like utter hell in a box. i still have them in my closet. Probably end up giving them away. At least they werent very expensive. Paid like 70 bucks I think.

Even I noticed when I got them they kinda sucked, Although i guess I didnt realize just how bad.. according to a review i wrote in may 2001.

3.0 out of 5 stars klh performs, May 4, 2001
By brandon "brandx219"
i got this speaker package about 2 weeks ago and i think its great i knew that the klh name may not seem good to some people but thats just because they never had any. I have 2 klh fronts model# 4231 floor standings. and a klh asw 10-120 suband all work well so i got this for my surround sound. it works well for movies and video games but i would not recommend them for music. But if youve never had anything but a little boombox i guess they would be good. Also the speaker wire is @#$! its about 24 gauge. But other than that these speakers shine.they are solidly built and well worth the money. and can handle power i have a 110 watt per chanell (110 divided by 2 for rear)reciever and they dont even flinch. BUY THIS PRODUCT i would also recomend a sub for this and the asw 10-120 is great. klh is a brand i would recomend most speakers to anybody and they can stand with some of the greats.

My system: Teac-agv-8525 reciever Teac-pd-d2750 cd changer klh # 4231 fronts klh asw 10-120 sub klh #9005 suround system

Stands with some of the greats, Yeah, great steaming piles of crap.

Hmm. That reminds me of the JBL ND310 speakers i bought later that year. Those things were pretty terrible too. In less than a years time I just couldnt listen to them anymore. They sounded so dull and lifeless. I still have them in my closet too. I really need to get rid of some of this junk. Ive been trying to pawn those JBL's off on craigslist for ages.

After those JBL's i got my first set of Axiom M80's which have now moved onto my parents theater room and have been perfectly happy with those speakers since. I'm on my second pair of them now. Nicer finish, and V2 version

Seems like a few of us have had our KLH run-ins... I gotta give them credit, That first pair of 4312 or whatever floorstanders i got at costco for 80 bucks a pop hooked to my at the time aiwa mini system is what got me started down this whole crazy, insane path. For the money those were actually pretty decent sounding speakers. Awesome for a garage system or something. I gave them to a friend.

 

[Sheep]

Denon DVD555S DVD player. Couldn't play squat. $220

SheepStar

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Carver CD player on ebay. When I got it, the drawer would not even open. The guy who sold it claimed that it worked when he had it, so it must have been "damaged during shipping". I never got a nickel back.

Klipsch Reference bookshelf speakers. I thought they sounded good at first, but after a while painful listening fatigue set in.

Every subwoofer and/or center I have tried. I have yet to get either one to sound right to me. Now I use the bass from my mains and phantom center.

"Upgrading" from B&W 602s to 705s. The 602s actually sounded better, in spite of being less than half the price.

 

[GlocksRock]

Mps-1......

Reminds me of this thread from last month.

For me...IPS-1.

This kinda surprises me... why would you not like your emotiva amps? Do you feel the price isn't justified, or do you feel that you really didn't need an amp afterall, or have you just had numerous problems with it? Personally I love my IPS-1.

 

[mike c]

This kinda surprises me... why would you not like your emotiva amps? Do you feel the price isn't justified, or do you feel that you really didn't need an amp afterall, or have you just had numerous problems with it? Personally I love my IPS-1.

i think they both had problems with their amps ...

 

[alexsound]

Small Advent – Sounded great in demo but bottomed out or became sloppy so easy with any low bass you had to turn the volume almost off. $140 pr loss. Circa 1968.

Cambridge Soundworks 8” powered subwoofer – bottoms out so easy with any bass you have to turn the volume almost off. Totally useless $350 loss. Circa 1998.

Radio Shack 10” powered subwoofer – budget purchase where you got what you paid for – almost nothing. $200 loss Circa 1998.

Pioneer PL-5 direct drive TT back in the early 80's. It was at a "scratch and dent" sale, but they had dozen's of them new in the box. It wouldn't keep speed at 33-1/3rd consistently. I ended up getting it replaced within a few days with another one from the dealer (anyone in Orlando remember Brand Electronics in the Fashion Square Mall?) and that unit had the same problem. Took it back and got my money back.

Garrard speakers bought at Service Merchandise, around mid 80's. Nice glossy black cabinet, with 2 8" woofs and a 1" dome tweeter. They were with some clearance stuff and they were selling them for $60 a pair down from $399 or something like that a pair. They were heavy, looked good, but they weren't hooked up. Man what a POS those speakers turned out to be. Bad bass, bad highs, bad everything. 2 pairs were in clearance, and I got the ones new in the box.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I have had an issue with my amp since day one. It has a bad optic isolator and has been repaired only to have the same issue each time. As long as nobody touches it, it works fine but any kind of flex makes my right channel go out. It goes out if you lift the amp up by 1/4 of an inch. I would just sale it but I hate to pass the problem to someone else.

The 24 hour turn around promised by EMO turned out to be 3 weeks with no returned calls from them. Once I finally got a hold of them and asked why it took so long, they said "I dont know".

This kinda surprises me... why would you not like your emotiva amps? Do you feel the price isn't justified, or do you feel that you really didn't need an amp afterall, or have you just had numerous problems with it? Personally I love my IPS-1.

 

[gus6464]

Toshiba 42" 1080p LCD. It had a bit of a green push that could not be fixed with the settings and the TV ended up breaking on it's 2 month birthday anyway. Luckily Sears took it back and got a 50" Panasonic plasma instead. Been happy ever since and will probably always own Panasonic TVs from now on.

 

[gus6464]

I have had an issue with my amp since day one. It has a bad optic isolator and has been repaired only to have the same issue each time. As long as nobody touches it, it works fine but any kind of flex makes my right channel go out. It goes out if you lift the amp up by 1/4 of an inch. I would just sale it but I hate to pass the problem to someone else.

The 24 hour turn around promised by EMO turned out to be 3 weeks with no returned calls from them. Once I finally got a hold of them and asked why it took so long, they said "I dont know".

Hey PDawg since it keeps on breaking shouldn't they give you a new or comparable unit?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

You would think. They blame it on the fact that I have 3 amp modules vs. 7 and say it wont flex if I buy 4 more.

 

[MidnightSensi]

You would think. They blame it on the fact that I have 3 amp modules vs. 7 and say it wont flex if I buy 4 more.

They should just give you your money back.

There is some really bad crap recommended on this forum, I must say. It gets reinforced by these "hobbiest-forum-reviewers" and their test equipment they probably have no idea how to use.

Buyers beware. Forums are fun, but, step outside them because they get pretty short sighted and self-reinforcing sometimes.

 

[adk highlander]

Toshiba A2. I should have been more patient. I still think that HD DVD was a better product (finished spec & dual format discs) but now I have not fired it up in more than a month and am wondering if I should just get rid of it with the movies while it is still worth something.

 

[jostenmeat]

$80 Monster HDMI cable . . . is arguably my worst and best purchase ever.

Worst, because I've rarely felt so thoroughly ripped off.

Best, because it provided unbelievable motivation to find out what matters, and what doesn't, in the world of AV. Perhaps not all bad for an $80 mistake.


$430 Onkyo HTIB

Worst, because it was completely replaced after half a year.

Best, because it gave me half a year to research like an obsessed fool, audition speakers, subs, and the like, while enjoying my first DTS-ES surround experiences in my own residence.


For both the above, they were great in that I learned a lot for a $500 noobie first-timer misstep.

They were also horrible because I proceeded to lose more than a thousand hours of my life.


$80 Harmony 520.

Horrible, because I proceeded to lose more than a thousand hours of my life.


All the above were great because I maximized the efficiency of my expenditures, afterward.

They were also horrible because my expenditures were of the maximum nature.


p.s. still using that Monster cable. It feels lonely surrounded by multiple, beefier, Monoprice cables.

HTIB is happily providing entertainment at my brother's.

Remote is now URC, and its sooooo nice to add functions in seconds. In the last couple of weeks, on different days, I've added DRC switch, surround mode, THX modes, and re-eq switch.


All's well that ends well.

 

[10010011]

$80 Harmony 520.

Oh yeah, I had a Harmony Remote that almost destroyed my marriage. I can't remember the exact model number but it cost more than twice what you paid for your 520.

Every time my wife even tried to simply watch TV she would end up screaming at that Harmony and then scream at me for wasting so much money on it.

I even have to admit the Harmony was a piece of crap overall. That along with the equally crappy Logitech MX5000 bluetooth cordless desktop has turned my away from Logitech products for good.

 

[Halon451]

$80 Monster HDMI cable . . . is arguably my worst and best purchase ever.

Worst, because I've rarely felt so thoroughly ripped off.

Best, because it provided unbelievable motivation to find out what matters, and what doesn't, in the world of AV. Perhaps not all bad for an $80 mistake.


$430 Onkyo HTIB

Worst, because it was completely replaced after half a year.

Best, because it gave me half a year to research like an obsessed fool, audition speakers, subs, and the like, while enjoying my first DTS-ES surround experiences in my own residence.


For both the above, they were great in that I learned a lot for a $500 noobie first-timer misstep.

They were also horrible because I proceeded to lose more than a thousand hours of my life.


$80 Harmony 520.

Horrible, because I proceeded to lose more than a thousand hours of my life.


All the above were great because I maximized the efficiency of my expenditures, afterward.

They were also horrible because my expenditures were of the maximum nature.


p.s. still using that Monster cable. It feels lonely surrounded by multiple, beefier, Monoprice cables.

HTIB is happily providing entertainment at my brother's.

Remote is now URC, and its sooooo nice to add functions in seconds. In the last couple of weeks, on different days, I've added DRC switch, surround mode, THX modes, and re-eq switch.


All's well that ends well.

Only $590 in mistakes before coming of age in A/V? I think you got off lucky my friend...

 

[gus6464]

You would think. They blame it on the fact that I have 3 amp modules vs. 7 and say it wont flex if I buy 4 more.

Why on earth would a company make a modular amp, and advertise the fact that is modular yet sell it with a serious defect that does not let you take advantage of it being modular in the first place.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Why on earth would a company make a modular amp, and advertise the fact that is modular yet sell it with a serious defect that does not let you take advantage of it being modular in the first place.

As long as we are on the topic, why are those amps so heavy? After reading a review on here I looked at the weight (I always look, habit from having to move amps around)... 75-lbs for the two channel job?! What is this, 1970? Thing should weigh like 30-40-lbs soaking wet with technology now days. And the seven channel one is like 110-lbs, so not a dramatic/linear gain in weight... so where is the extra 50-lbs from? The chassis?!

 

[gus6464]

As long as we are on the topic, why are those amps so heavy? After reading a review on here I looked at the weight (I always look, habit from having to move amps around)... 75-lbs for the two channel job?! What is this, 1970? Thing should weigh like 30-40-lbs soaking wet with technology now days. And the seven channel one is like 110-lbs, so not a dramatic/linear gain in weight... so where is the extra 50-lbs from? The chassis?!

If it's the XPA-2 you are referring to I think it's because it's a dual mono design so it has two beefy power supplies inside the unit instead of just one. At least you know the amp should be able to handle a super low impedance with no problem.

 

[jamie2112]

Oh yeah, I had a Harmony Remote that almost destroyed my marriage. I can't remember the exact model number but it cost more than twice what you paid for your 520.

Every time my wife even tried to simply watch TV she would end up screaming at that Harmony and then scream at me for wasting so much money on it.

I even have to admit the Harmony was a piece of crap overall. That along with the equally crappy Logitech MX5000 bluetooth cordless desktop has turned my away from Logitech products for good.

Oh my God LMFAO right now...My wife would scream at the remote and then scream at me for the first week I had a Universal remote..Too funny that you had the exact same experiance....Now she loves it though...