Your most disappointing purchase or audition?

I guess synergy has everything (or at a lot) to do with it.
I've had several vpi tables, incl. 3 different types of TNT, Lenco mod rim drives, (some over $4K) Technics 10, yada, yada, yada, but the rim drive TT Gem has been stable, reliable and quiet and I've trusted Larry on motor/controller upgrade and newer platter and each did exactly what he said it would. It's the best table I've had in 40 years and I trade a lot.

I've also liked every Nelson Pass amp and design I've heard or owned. They would sound threadbare in some systems/with some listening bias unlike mine.

VAC 30/30, Rowland 301s, various digital amps (including Rowland), every Onyx amp I ever tried, even some ARC's just didn't work out at all, but some of those sounded good in some friends systems.

I don't work for TT Weights or have any relationship with their products, just hate to see a product that I've used and liked for several years, with fantastic customer service, singled out as a "bad piece" without some context or explanation.

Your mileage may differ/always trust your ears.

Kiddman, Is it the atmasphere amps you speak of being problematic or a particular model atmasphere amps problematic?

Tubes108, my apologies. I lost sight you were just participating in the thread.

I bought a pair of the now-discontinued B&W 703 speakers and ended up returning them. The pair were store demos and were well broken in. Really muddy sounding. I ended up getting a pair of terrific Triangle speakers.

As far as the "great review/disappointing sounding" syndrome mentioned by a few folks posting, I have learned to immediately discount any review where the reviewer writes about his long personal friendship with a manufacturer's owner. Also, any reviewer who combines his or her (although, it's always a him) vacations with a factory tour merits extra scrutiny.

Audiolabrynth, it was only that one particular pair I'm talking about, original Novachrons, guessing 15 years ago. No use beating a dead horse, old history, I only weighed in due to the unfair beating it looked like Tubes 108 was starting to get.