Buyer's remorse
Posted by: M37 on 12 October 2017
Have you made any unnecessary purchases or hifi investments latley or in the past that you regret?
Do you sometimes think about the amount of money you've lost over the years due to upgrades or equipment changes?
Or do you instead choose to see it in a more positive way and that it's part of the learning curve?
How about you M37?
Yes M37 fess up
Of course, we all have. Its all apart of our expensive hobby, we share.
Point and case:
Passive Bi-Amped Briks/ 200 250.2
Sound Factory Tripod < Fraimlite
Passive Tri-Amped Briks / 250.2
Each Upgrade brought something to the table.
Each Upgrade was incremental, but from start to end, worth it.
That's what we do, spend thousands on subtle upgrades, that the Norm can't detect.
But Remember, we aren't the Norm! LOL!!!!
Enjoy Your Music, The Why!
Allante93!
a mid level turntable which is not better than my CD2x or 272..... not the Woodpecker 2
Many years ago, in the grip of upgraditis, I decided to simplify and move away from hifi and I bought a B&O all in one system. Didn't regret it at the time especially but when I got back into hifi, via Naim, four or five years ago I regretted very much that I had lived for all those years without 'proper' playback of my music
252.
I regret going full on into Hone Theater gear. When I was just out of college I purchased a HT pre-amp and amp that are now both very useless. I could have had a Nait 3R (when new) and the corresponding CD player for the same price.
Richard Dane posted:How about you M37?
Biggest regrets:
Amplifier (£4560)
CD player (£1100 ) only to find out that a USB Dac (£90) sounded better.
The Strat (Fender) posted:Yes M37 fess up
I upgraded twice from the same turntable manufacturer only to learn that they had major problems with misstracking and inner groove distortion.
james n posted:252.
252 boo hoo or 252 yar hoo?
The latter for me.
Yah hoo here too Nigel!
Stu
Allante93 posted:Of course, we all have. Its all apart of our expensive hobby, we share.
Point and case:
Passive Bi-Amped Briks/ 200 250.2
Sound Factory Tripod < Fraimlite
Passive Tri-Amped Briks / 250.2
Each Upgrade brought something to the table.
Each Upgrade was incremental, but from start to end, worth it.
That's what we do, spend thousands on subtle upgrades, that the Norm can't detect.
But Remember, we aren't the Norm! LOL!!!!
Enjoy Your Music, The Why!
Allante93!
True Allante93! ..we do spend thousands on subtle upgrades and I begin to realize that maybe it's not worth it ..to me
M37 posted:Allante93 posted:Of course, we all have. Its all apart of our expensive hobby, we share.
Point and case:
Passive Bi-Amped Briks/ 200 250.2
Sound Factory Tripod < Fraimlite
Passive Tri-Amped Briks / 250.2
Each Upgrade brought something to the table.
Each Upgrade was incremental, but from start to end, worth it.
That's what we do, spend thousands on subtle upgrades, that the Norm can't detect.
But Remember, we aren't the Norm! LOL!!!!
Enjoy Your Music, The Why!
Allante93!
True Allante93! ..we do spend thousands on subtle upgrades and I begin to realize that maybe it's not worth it ..to me
I take your point, but what I have found is that as you upgrade and go up the Naim hierarchy, the system becomes more and more sensitive to setup, cables (and cable dressing!), racks, positioning and speaker matching. If you are streaming then optimising your LAN and ancillary devices (server/NAS, switch, router, ethernet cables) will also contribute to optimal SQ as you go up the Naim ladder. You simply need to get things as optimised as possible to reap the benefits of the bigger upgrades in SQ terms . It can be a PITA but it comes with the territory unfortunately.
nigelb posted:james n posted:252.
252 boo hoo or 252 yar hoo?
The latter for me.
Boo hoo unfortunately. The path started to stray from Salisbury after that...
nigelb posted:I take your point, but what I have found is that as you upgrade and go up the Naim hierarchy, the system becomes more and more sensitive to setup, cables (and cable dressing!), racks, positioning and speaker matching. If you are streaming then optimising your LAN and ancillary devices (server/NAS, switch, router, ethernet cables) will also contribute to optimal SQ as you go up the Naim ladder. You simply need to get things as optimised as possible to reap the benefits of the bigger upgrades in SQ terms . It can be a PITA but it comes with the territory unfortunately.
Not regret really because I only ever buy used and have only very rarely lost on a hifi purchase but I have been very underwhelmed on occasion. I have experienced that wow factor only a couple of times Nac a4 to 5, Linn Axis to LP12, Nap 150 to 200 and again from 250-2 to 300 also when I went from AR Sound Lunar to Hiline.
In principle three regrets in the journey...
1. Buying a cd box set and shortly after that realizing that the music is being released in high res, or buying in the middle of the year and seeing that you can get the same music half price at Christmas sale...
2. Not as such with the 252 but the fact that my ex wife didn’t want to spent the money on the 552, and we then bought the 252 to later upgrade. I don’t have a problem with the 252 as such as it was a great pre-amp
3. Investing in the initial Melco while soon after the improved 6tb Version came out, while the dealer was quite decent in the exchange.
No regrets here either, largely due to having a Naim dealer, known, both for his creative thinking when it comes to upgrading / trading in, and his ability, in the first place, to give sound advice as to the path for me to follow.
Selling the CD5x/FC2x, I could have done with it a year later.
accepting a pit-stop is required every now and then, i have absolutely no regrets at all. other than perhaps spending a bit too much time listening to the system but i guess that is what its about...
enjoy
ken
Going from 32.5 to 102. Can I have my money back please?
Selling a SuperCap I had bought because it was at a price I couldn't refuse I intended to save it until I had a 282 but ended up selling it before then I really wish I had it now. Whilst I had it I connected it up to a 202 and although it improved things a lot it was a waste having it there full time.
M37 posted:I upgraded twice from the same turntable manufacturer only to learn that they had major problems with misstracking and inner groove distortion.
Can't believe this one was left dangling - what manufacturer was that?
Just to clarify, none of my regrets has to do with Naim. This is not what this is about. I guess it's all a matter of preferences .. what you like and what works in you system and I've tried various setups.
I don't want to name the turntable models, I'm sure most of the hifi manufacturers are honest and believe in their own products.
No upgrade regrets as I tend to do thorough home demos so I know what I am buying. I also buy pre loved or exdem where I can and do it is very gradual stages.
I do occasionally sit here listening to music and add up the cost of my system and it can make me feel a little uncomfortable. But the music soon grabs my attention and I forget about the cost.