The most overrated kit?

Here's A Few -

Spendor S8 - Lifeless Pap

Marantz CD63SE - Quite an oldie now but was well reviewed by many - I thought it sounded utter Shite.

Musical Fidelity - F*/@off.

Cyrus Cdp's and Amps - The Height of Boredom.

Pmc FB1 - A Large Bowl Of Dough.

Surprised to read about the Tag Dac 20 - When I hooked it up to my Arcam Alpha 6 CDP it totally transformed it. So much so I couldn't go back to listening to it without the DAC 20. Then I sold the Arcam and went for the Tag CDT 20.

My Juices have flowed ever since.

 

Thank GOD it wasn't just me then!!! On the same day I had the misfortune to be anaesthetized by an Arcam A85 as well, which was actually even worse to these ears!

If you used the right cable with it.... Tee hee... Actually, it could do with a little more bass oomph, but it's not that bad

I'd have to add the Project Debut II (the I is good), the Project Phono Box (flat, dull, shite), and Mordaunt-Short MS25i to the list...

Here's where my lovely Gemini persona acts up though, as I actually own some of the aforementioned MS25is, and for £150 they're not bad; list price was a bit steep. They SUCK at soundstaging but groove fairly decently - for me to have kept them for 7 years, they can't be that bad.

:yikes: SEVEN YEARS!!! I can't believe it's been that long!!!

 

Another disagreement here

OK, I only have heard my speakers (M51's) but they were clearly better than all the speakers I listened to on the day at a similar and even a higher price. Compared to the others, they got the highs just right, they sounded fun to listen to, and actually had some bass to speak of!

 

Over-hyped?? Well, utterly uninspiring and some bits o' kit I was expecting much more from :

Audiolab 800A. Just could not understand why it was so popular and highly recommended. (ok this was a while back), totally bland, lifeless, as grey as a very very grey thing ! Went for a Creek - no comparison.

A complete Linn set up in Uxbridge on dem. ("Come and have a listen to these speakers, I've got them on the demo set up downstairs, they're superb") Harsh, grating, horrid. Couldn't get out of the room quick enough!

Finally that former Stereophile Class A piece the Pass Aleph 3. Had one on loan whilst my Audions were being repaired. Listened to it for 5 mins and found it so utterly devoid of life, I couldn't face trying it again !!

 

I think the problem with this sort of thing is the hype that products get. when you read a great review and hear enthusiastic rumblings, you get excited, only to find how your hard earned cash has been wasted.
Add to the fact other owners views, which naturally differ from ones own, then rooms, cables, mains quality, variables ad inf. however, the mags are a big culprit in this.
If they cut back on superlatives and hyperbole, and just said, its ok , fine, worth a punt, not bad, one wouldn't be disappointed.
Its only when ones emotions and dreams are touched - when one longs too much, then disappointment can come.
At least a realist can't have their hopes dashed

 

I can't say I've ever heard any hi-fi that I've disliked, only things that made no improvement whatsoever to what I already had. So, first up

ANY kind of equipment support I've ever tried, most of all Mana, which had no negative effect, but on the other hand, it's an awful lot of money to pay for something to have no effect whatsoever.

Audusa Eupen power cord - again, an effect of precisely zero. I suspect that this applies to all power cords, but as I've only ever tried this one, I can't say.

Any kind of expensive interconnect or speaker cable. I tested a good quality IC against the only thing I had available at the time - one of those cheapies that come with Japanese cassette decks. No difference that I could hear. (I actually do have reasonably good speaker cable, but it was selected only because it was extremely skinny (to fit under the skirting)).

 

What you need is an all-in-one midi system.

 

I'm surprised the Tag DAC20 was mentioned a couple of times. When I got mine the difference was night & day, one of the biggest improvements I've had in my system. OK, at the time I was using a Marantz CD50SE but still, it was mindblowing - even my wife was amazed .

The change to the DAC64 was of course another big jump but the DAC20 was definitely worth what I paid for it (£450). I sold it on to Dino and he felt it was a big improvement on his Rotel CDP aswell. It's extremely transport sensitive though which might explain why some people didn't hear any improvement. Seems to particularly dislike Marantz KI-Sig players as transports.

Michael.

 

I'll add to the list though:

I heard a system not long ago which comprised Krell KPS-28c CDP, Halcro pre and monoblocks into SF Stradivari speakers. All Nordost cabling. System was probably worth about £60K. It sounded no better than many £6K (or less) systems I've heard. In fact, I preferred my own system. If that's what £60K buys you then I think I'll buy another house or a flash car instead

Also - to hit back at the "any CD player" boys I'll say "any TT setup" :torkmada:

I've heard a few decent (and properly setup) TTs now and I like what they do and appreciate the difference but to me it's just a difference, no more. After all the hype about TTs blowing CD out of the water I was like: "err.....is that it?" . Nothing wrong with them but massively overrated.

Michael.

 

So congratulations Michael, you've personally owned two of the most overrated Dacs on the planet!

Next you'll be telling my you've got a digital amplifier

 

Perhaps you think that's what I've already got!

 

Cloth-ears is what you've got (lucky beggar, must save a fortune )

 

But nothing! The CD50SE was the very definition of hard and shrill. I suffered one for 7 years through various upgrades of amp and speakers, refusing to believe that the reviewers favourite CD50SE could possibly be at fault

As for the DAC20, at Robbo's bake-off last year it was shown a very clean pair of heels by my Arcam Alpha 9

 

Only pair I have, I'm afraid, and the more I read about what you golden ears put yourselves through, the happier I am with them. In any case, it's just as well, with a non-working wife, two large daughters and a Swiss mortgage...

 

Linn Kans, truely a squawk box in a 1/2 pint mug

 

I'm using a Marantz KI-Sig so perhaps that explains why it made no difference to the sound.
The DAC20 experience has put me off ever again being tempted to try another DAC. This may be a good thing as it seems necessary to spend £500+ to get a DAC that will improve my Marantz CDP to any extent.

 

Eltax Millenium series
Neat MF7- ok, but £8k? come on...sound like my Focals with a sub on!
RA Silencer- this is supposed to do something?
Akg K271 headphones- ok...they're ruining my music get the things off!!!
QED Silver Spiral i/c - dull dull, bland...lets have some detail please folks
QED XT400- lets turn the treble up to +10 and start suffering harshness!! no thank you!!

 

QED Silver Anniversary-thinner than a thin thing in thin town

another vote for the RA Silencer,at £30,you can only admire the very rich Mr Andrews

 

:lol: Not here it isn't. Not only not thin but indistinguishable from a somewhat more expensive speaker cable. Either they both happen to complement my system perfectly or they are both neutral (as is my system). Don't ask me which

 

bit like Alcoholics Anon ...

but disappointment is a function of expectation, and that in turn depends upon what one has already - all is relative I suppose.

hence:

a) audiolab 8000a was improvement over 1994 Yamaha AV receiver, and at
UKP200 was OK

b) audiolab 8000s was definite improvement over 8000a and was not
sufficiently bettered by sugdne 21a power to justify upgrade

I note that no one seems to have taken against Meridian, any
generation/component.