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Top Ten "Reasons I Don't Like This Component"

Many of us have had the short term experience of demoing or acquiring a piece of gear that, when we installed it in our systems, we soon realized that it wasn’t going to work.

An example I recently cited was after home demoing a CJ 17LS preamp years ago. I couldn’t stand the banging sound of the volume relays while adjusting. The unit sounded fine enough musically but this particular feature was intolerable.

What other features or quirks of components have you had similar experiences with over the short term? I’m not talking about chronic upgraditis, which most of us are afllicted with, just short term experiences that make us say, "this does not work for me."

No need to list ten reasons, just one or two. I'll keep a tab on them and summarize later.
stevecham
glupson
1,794 posts
 

viridian,

"...a quirk that dates back to their professional heritage."

I found a picture of Naim (Supernait, or something like that) on the Internet and it really looks that speaker cables would cross. However, I am curious why is that linked to the professional heritage. Is there any benefit to it?


viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Back in the day, pro amps were sited with what we call the back facing the front so as to make changing interconnects and speaker cables easier, without having to go behind the amp. Studio time was expensive even back then, so anything that made connections, and troubleshooting, easier was welcomed. Aesthetics, not so important.
glupson
1,794 posts
 

viridian,

Thanks, it makes sense now. I completely forgot that it might have been "power amps professional heritage" and not the button-infested faceplate integrateds.

flatblackround's avatar
flatblackround
32 posts
 
Viridian
As usual I  am wrong again.  That is a strange speaker plug orientation.  I understand your explanation, but like you I would find it mildly annoying whenever I looked at it!
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
LOL, thank you. Fortunately, most of my Naim gear is in the rack where I don’t have to see the back side, or in storage boxes where I don’t have to see any side!
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