Arcam CD93 - after my Arcam Alpha it was as dull as dishwater.
The only item I have bought and regretting was a Superline +Hicap
I originally did the demo against a Urika at my dealers and thought the superline was better and bought it, however, there was something about the urika which sounded good.
About 3 months later the Air plugs (or whatever they were called) started being touted as the best thing for superline, I am not one for tweeking with things and couldnāt be a***d to keep swapping plugs
So, the niggle about the urika returned.
I contacted my dealer and we arranged a prolonged home demonstration of a urika on my deck. The niggle proved to be right when returning to the superline, it had to go with Hicap.
It cost me more in the long run, Iāve never looked back and not regretted getting the urika
Original Rega Brio, late 90s.
It didnāt stay long, to be replaced by a Nait 5. Like taking two giant fluffy pillows off the front of the speakers it was.
A purchase of questionable merit, but got it ex demo in Congleton, so didnāt lose out too much when i happily moved it on.
And I replaced a Nait 5 after a month with Rega Cursa and Maia and lost a glare that was becoming increasingly annoying. System matching maybe, or knowing nothing about cable dressing or the smps in the cheap Richer Sounds CD player was upsetting it. The Rega didnāt care about all that so lasted 5 years until I got a CD5x and decided to give Naim amps another go, I lost no money on the Nait so not a regret.
The polythene platter I bought from Townshend for my mk2 Rock that reflected so much energy back that the stylus wouldnāt even track without the aid of the Rockās damping trough and even then it mucked up the timing, now that was a mistake as was the HRS record weight I bought to try and tame it. Impressive dynamics but the music bailed out.
I have been very fortunate - everything I have bought has stayed with me for many years.
I do regret ripping the cantilever off my Lyra Helicon, but traded it in for a Kleos so allās well that ends well.
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Iād forgotten the worst - a Project RPM3 tt that was never anything than completely unsatisfactory with its form over function approach, linked with a lousy Cambridge pre-amp. That and (mainly tbh) the ridiculous cost of vinyl drove away any desire to commit to vinyl.
Not sure I regret buying anything, especially not since I got my first Linn Naim System in the early 80s. Been with both brands ever since. I possibly took a bit of tortuous upgrade route before then but I think the experience of different systems helped me decide fairly early on what I liked and what I didnāt like from a system.
Iāve bought a few things I regret over the years. I was advised to get a Quadraspire reference - the one like a loo seat - rather than Fraim - and I did. It wasnāt that bad but it would have been much more economical in the long run had I got Fraim. The very worst purchase as a pair of Spendor A5s. I this case I cannot blame my dealer, who was guiding me to some PMCs, but I thought I knew best and got the A5s. They werenāt run in and sounded ok on the home demo but as they ran in the bass grew. And grew. And grew, until the sound was a dirgy mush. Absolutely dreadful. About as dynamic as a tub of lard. Luckily I got them at a good price and could get shot of them without losing much.
Marriage licence!
Not exactly hifi related but has had major consequences on my spending on hifi stuff.
5 Likes
Is it still in the closet 
Chord Hugo for me so glad I returned to a Naim engineered DAC must be my ears after all the hype.
3 Likes
Although Iām married I donāt recall having one of those! Is it like a driving licence, or a fishing licence, allowing you to drive different models or catch different many as long as you put them back?
Not exactly but wouldnāt it be great if it did. 
Not really - but if I hadnāt bought my SL2s a couple of years ago (yikes, where does the time go?) I could have taken advantage of the ludicrously cheap Titan 808s that became available shortly thereafter
Frankly, all the stereo equipment I had from 1980 to 2004, when I bought an all-Naim system.
As a punk aged 16 I once read a HiFi magazine and vowed not to bother with all that audio engineering nonsense.
And I kept that stupid vow, and remained ignorant about hifi until a couple of years ago, when I stumbled into the old Naim forum.
So a lot of Marantz tuners and amps, plus Rotel, Rega, KEF, etc.
My only regret in buying hi-fi equipment was the first generation Muso. I owned it less then 2 months and the connectivity and drop-outs was a constant irritant. So moved it onā¦
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Most of my regrets have been around having some hypothesis that I then seek evidence for via the internet. Most of which have led to sideways moves. I think I would have saved thousands if I just stuck with a good small dealer and developed a relationship (and patience).
and on reflection - a lot of the mistake has been around system symmetry + a chase of power rather than ābadā pieces. I sold a wonderful sounding Bryston B60 to be replaced by a used Bryston 3BST with various mid fi pre amps for 5 years - probably my biggest wrong move. Naim is expensive - but trying to do things on your own with various used or demo pieces can get ridiculously expensive, and sound middling.
Iāve been fairly lucky so far, and havenāt ended up regretting anything Iāve bought. I do think Iāve been extremely lucky on this front, considering I purchased all the components in my current system unheard and unexamined, courtesy of some excellent deals on the internetā¦
My father hasnāt been so lucky, and regrets the time he bought a Rotel RCD-991. It had been very well reviewed in the press at the time, played HDCDs, sounded pretty good in a demo at the Hi-Fi shop. Brought it home, absolutely hated it - found it relentless, harsh and shrill. As it was an outgoing product at the time, he fortunately managed to get the dealer to take back off him. Shortly after this debacle, he stumbled upon a used Rega Jupiter transport and Io DAC, which he is still content with to this day.
Naim 32/110
Iād have a much healthier bank balance today if I hadnāt brought that pair
Same here. 42/110, if I hadnāt bought them I could be retired now!