Your most embarrassing audio moments

[microstrip]

It takes a long time to weigh emotion, content and true quality before one can decide if the change is an improvement we can live with and enjoy over the long haul.

It is why I never part with the old equipment before a long time with the new one just bought. I always like to re-listen with the old equipment after some time with the new one. The major problem of this way of buying is that my storage room is now too full!
However there was a recent acquisition that really did not need to go through the re-listening phase - the Audio Research Anniversary preamplifier. It was better than the Ref5 in every aspect! Curiously the gap between the MB750s and other amplifiers playing in the Sound Lab´s enlarged with this preamplifier - they really match!

 

[The Smokester]

Just thought of another (great introduction to the group this). One evening, after a hard week at the office and a few well earned double burbons, I decided to listen to something on the turntable. I believe it was a fresh pressing of one of the Acoustic Sounds Blue Note 45 remasters. Qeued everything up and dropped the needle down only to watch the arm immediately skate across the surface of my new pristine, virgin vinyl!!! Only then did I realize that I'd neglected to remove the stylus protector on my Grado Reference cartridge. I nearly soiled my linen to say the least. I sheepishly removed the protector and nervously dropped stylus to slab and miraculously there was no ill effect. Dodged a bullet on that one for sure.

You're luckier than I. The one time I did this it ruined the record. I changed my routine in response.

 

[The Smokester]

John

isn't it easier to write CD rather than seedee

Yes, Steve. It is probably time to "let go".

 

[Steve williams]

I thought it was a Canadian thing

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I don't recall what the music was but there was one place in which the Adcom placed a note far right of the speakers. It didn't match in with the rest of the sound stage, instrument placing, anything. Just one note out of the blue.

Could a CDP be responsible for that? I can see how very poor channel separation (not usually even a cheap CDP weakness) could fail to place an instrument properly in the soundstage, but I'm not sure how a CDP could alter the panning of the recording to move an instrument, much less a note. Speakers? Possibly. Room acoustics? Definitely. But of course that would have the same affect on both players. This one is a bit baffling to me. I don't doubt what you heard, but I can't imagine how it happened. Can anyone clarify?

P

 

[silviajulieta]

Dear Amir: A few years ago an audio friend ask me to go at his home for I can help him to install his new LOMC cartridge because he was " newbie " on that times. Long history shorted: I broke the cantilever during the cartridge set up! and suppose that I was the " expert ".
I really felt bad for say the least.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

 

[amirm]

Those are the worst experiences Raul! I broke the neighbors TV when I was 16! Imagine the trouble his friend got into for letting a "kid" mess with their TV. Luckily I fixed it the next day. But didn't learn my lesson and proceed to break their phone! Managed to fix that one too after some struggle but it sure was close to getting in deep trouble with them calling my dad.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Those are the worst experiences Raul! I broke the neighbors TV when I was 16! Imagine the trouble his friend got into for letting a "kid" mess with their TV. Luckily I fixed it the next day. But didn't learn my lesson and proceed to break their phone! Managed to fix that one too after some struggle but it sure was close to getting in deep trouble with them calling my dad.

My, weren't you a destructive little one!

P

 

[Gregadd]

Forgot to put the dumbbells back on he transformers of my CLS knocked the speaker over that hit my copper statute of a man playing a sax. The speakers is okay but the statute broke off its pedestal. Frown.

 

[LesAuber]

I must have really lead a sheltered life. My stuff is downright dull in comparison to some of these.

 

[Mark (Basspig) Weiss]

Woofer Cone Dislocates Finger

I wrote this in my blog, 3 years ago:

As absurd as it sounds, I nearly broke an index finger on Thursday night. I got the "bright" idea to touch one of the midbass driver cones while it was in operation (an action I have done in the past with earlier 18" drivers with no ill effect). I was playing a Barry White tune from 1973, so the bass frequencies were pretty high, but the SPLs were in the 140dB range, so the driver was making close to 1/4" of excursion. And when my finger met up with it, it got dislocated. I didn't expect the amount of force and thought there would be sufficient elasticity in the cone to present no danger. WRONG! My finger will recover, but I feel like an idiot for not connecting the physics of modern driver technology with the awareness of velocity and kinetic energy and the logical deduction that something traveling at over 600mph, even if only for a 1/4" distance, is going to produce a severe impact.