We’ve had threads about hifi we regret getting rid of. We’ve discussed things people weren’t happy with. I’m not sure we’ve really dug into true regrets where, if we could turn the clock back, we would have simply opted to not muck with what we had.
Would people like to share whether they’ve ever had a hi-fi purchase regret they would undo if they could relive the moment again, and why?
I have never regretted a purchase at all.
I have regretted a purchase but not so much I would undo it (it’s all part of the journey).
If I could turn back time, there are bits of hi-fi I would have never bought.
Never bought PMC Twenty5.23s. If I had never upgraded to the DR, I would have never needed new speakers. PMC Twenty5.23s, which work brilliantly with the 250dr but not so much with the 250.2. I could have just stuck with Twenty.23s which were sublime with the older 250.2. Not the same massive soundstage but a smoother treble and more laser focused , if smaller, soundstage
One upgrade caused/necessitated the other.
I could have saved a lot of time and money sticking with the system as was. I learned my lesson. Don’t tinker and muck with something that isn’t broken. The shiny new thing will be just as not shiny and not new as what you already have soon enough.
I have had only one hifi purchase regret as such, but fixed by selling a month later so I don’t need to go back in time. It was the purchase of an XP5XS to add to my ND5XS: The improvement was so marginal as to not be worth the cost, even though I had bought ex-dem. (I had bought remotely without hearing, not living anywhere near a dealer, having been persuaded by the dealer from whom I’d bought the ND5XS remotely a year earlier). I sold it on and bought Hugo, giving very much greater improvement in sound qualityI lost a couple of £hundred over the process, which was annoying - but at least Hugo took my mind off it! That PS is the only item I’ve moved on that quickly, and the only real disappointment I’ve had.
I haven’t voted as it was fixed soon after.
Incidentally, there was a thread on regrets 6 years ago, but that didn’t explore foxes, by time travel or otgerwise.
I remember listening to CD albums in my car, some 30 years ago, on the shittiest speakers ever to be installed in a vehicle and love it! I was living back then. L-I-V-I-N-G!
I think I would have never bought my NDX2/XPSDR, now that I realize what I got to replace it for less money sounds so much better, and by a significant margin too.
Right now I use it with a custom AV Options XLR → DIN5 Y cable as the IC and their TibiaPlus12 power cable. I plan to upgrade to Siltech Classic Legend 680i balanced cables and 380i power cable in the next month or two, and that will still be less than I invested in the Naim streamer I had.
It’s all about matching equipment to speakers. I only have experience with 250DR, and I don’t have the intention of trying the non DR knowing I won’t like it after reading impressions from people who have done the comparison.
That would be counter to the point of the thread and the title even. But I get where you’re coming from.
I don’t really know how to accurately equate lost opportunity regret. Having not taken that path it is hard to say one would be delighted with the purchase. It’s like regretting the imaginary joy of something you never did.
I am busy planning a second system ( for when I move) plus a headphone system for late night listening.
I can be a little more creative, but over Christmas I just sat down listened to my system and got immense pleasure from it , even though I am not getting the best from its location. I have some issues related to the “incident” last year
On a few occasions I have made a spontaneous audio purchase , my Ruark Sabres being a point in question ( bought unheard, I just fell in love with the finish and the style of them)
I do tend to be boringly methodical- that’s wot a lifetime misspent in insurance does to you
What about Head-Fi? I have never regretted a bit of my Hi-Fi journey at all but Head-Fi I certainly did.
Was so dumb to believe forums, reviews and youtube channels about ‘ultimate neutrality’ is the goal of Head-Fi/HiFi, and bought a chain of ADI-2 DAC DS, Lehmann Linear and Sennheiser HD800S – won the respect from audiophile fellows and a most boring system I ever had.
I went from a CDS 3 to HDX/XPS. At the time I justified a dip in sound quality by the desire to rip and store CDs in a hard drive rather than shelves in the room. It was me looking to the future!
It wasn’t bad as such but the CDS3 had a bit of magic and in retrospect I should have kept it longer, stored downloaded music in other ways, and then ended up with the NDS when the CDs were finally put away.
Oh I spent years trying to convince myself that my new £850 Linn Mimik II was far superior to the £300 Arcam Alpha One it replaced.
Ultimately the extra £550 was for a Linn badge and casework that matched the Linn Majik amp I had.
I wouldn’t call it a regret exactly. I bought the latter on staff discount so broke even. But goes to show. It was superior, but not “far superior”. Maybe £100 superior
These were my only two forays into active speakers and I regretted both. Never got on with the Bowers and sold them at a huge loss some 6 months later. The Kef’s were slightly better but again, I could never sink in to the music. Bass was too artificial (DSP) and they lacked PRAT. Sold after a year. Clearly, I am a sucker for marketing.
I am now considering some Acoustic Energy AE1 Actives for a second system. They use a linear Power amplifier and no built in DSP.
I’ve made many changes over the year, moving up and down the Naim ladder, all made sense at the time so no regrets at all. Somewhere 2023 I’ve decided I wanted to have something really different and went for the Linn Selekt DSM Edition hub … honestly, although very pleased at the beginning, I started to miss the Naim ‘sound’ and after a year or so changed back to my beloved Uniti Nova.
Perhaps, thats the only move I’ve really regretted.
I’ve said to mrs. Klout to stop me if I’d propose any future changes
