Best/worst Audio moments/products of 2013

**the professor** · December 23, 2013, 09:06 PM

I was thinking. Every magazine, tv show, etc has a top 10 list or worst 10 list. Why not AS.

So . . . . .

What was your best and or worst audio experience in 2013. And by experience, I mean a bad sound experience, the biggest disappointment of a company. We'll you get the idea.

I'll start with my best audio experience: Finding and deciding to participate for once in Audio Shark. I spent my audio life (40 years) being a hermit and enjoying music by myself. But sharing and making friends here is and has been great. My hats off!

My worst: The Raidho D3s. They are the biggest flop of a product that I've experienced this year. I have yet to find a customer that doesn't have bass issues and doesn't need some kind of external device to fix it. Most just a slab of granite. Simple. But Raidho isn't supplying or helping, we have to do it on our own. So far all we have is the post that they will come next year to help. Maybe they want to get the best come back award for 2014. That being said they do sound wonderful if you play medium loud and spend ALOT of time w positioning.

Anyway, What's every bodies thoughts???

ADDITION: April 23, 2014. These comments were for the Version 1 of the D3 not the current version. The current version has eliminated all issues.

**Mike** · December 23, 2013, 09:26 PM

The best experience for me was meeting audio dealer, David Baskin. He's an inspiration.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1387847975.941776.jpg

The best audio (listening) experience for me was hearing the MBL 101 Xtremes. These speakers are surreal.

The worst audio experience was the Sonus Faber Aida's. In my room, they were a disaster. I tried everything to make them sing properly, but nothing worked.

**BlueFox** · December 23, 2013, 09:38 PM

My best audio experience was upgrading to a Pass Labs XP-20 preamp, and Pass Labs X600.5 amps a month later in July. The worst was getting the electric bill in August. It made me have solar installed in September.

**socfan12** · December 23, 2013, 09:41 PM

I have a few great experiences this year:
- Agree with Mike, meeting David Baskin. A class act, bar none.
- Agree with Jock, joining AS and meeting everyone at Bob's place. Hope to meet more of you in 2014!
- Building my dedicated listening room, a dream come true for me. On top of that, getting hours and hours of free construction advice from Jeff Whitlock (AV Solutions); Thank you again, Jeff!
- Going to my first audio show at NY
- Auditioning some top flight components, including the wonderful combo of Alexias + Dags! Musical bliss IMO!

**Petro85** · December 23, 2013, 10:04 PM

Nice thread !!!!
Good - joining this awesome forum and making some audio friends that don't ask about putting subs in my jeep.

Meeting Bob, Joe, Mike, Allen, Nelson, Barry at Rhapsody in NYC !!!

Spending the day with Doug in NYC walking around, record shopping, listening some more at Bobs.

Finding my snappers after an exhausting 6-8 months searching for the right amps at the right price.

The second I dropped the cadenza Black into a groove on the first record!!!!

As Allen mentioned hours of free advise and a great turntable from Jeff!!!

And knowing everybody on this forum. Thanks for having me guys . And have a great and happy and safe 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bad- nothing audio related!!!

**NorthStar** · December 23, 2013, 10:19 PM

Best Solid Sound moment of 2013: Joining this aquarium audio website.

Worst moment of 2013: The strong and demeaning pressure from that other audio forum.

________________

It's all about the music; and in 2013 it's been good all the way to heaven. ...Classical, Jazz, Blues, World, ....

And there were some great flicks too (in high definition picture and high resolution multichannel audio).

Have a very Merry one and the Happiest next!-

+ 2014

And God saves the Shark!

**MDP** · December 23, 2013, 11:11 PM

BEST, All the people I've met from AS in person. Trung,Mike,Jock,Mike (Ritmo). And of course my good friend David Baskin !!

WORST, THE Solution 710 amp with my Salon 2's................ugh !!!!!!!!

**Paul** · December 23, 2013, 11:25 PM

Best : Joining the AS meeting with all nice members or should I call our "AS family" members.

Worst : Joining the AS and talking with people who swap the gears like no tomorrow and influenced me to spend so much money . ( You know who you are ! )

**Mike** · December 23, 2013, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by BlueMcIntosh

Worst : Joining the AS and talking with people who swap the gears like no tomorrow and influenced me to spend so much money . ( You know who you are ! )

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1387855855.893802.jpg

http://youtu.be/Qw9oX-kZ_9k

**sharkmouth** · December 24, 2013, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by BlueMcIntosh

Best : Joining the AS meeting with all nice members or should I call our "AS family" members.

Worst : Joining the AS and talking with people who swap the gears like no tomorrow and influenced me to spend so much money . ( You know who you are ! )

Ha!.. yeah, those guys just don't get it...

Some absolutely great things/moments for me this year. The forum has given me the life through the screen, the gear that I've heard in friends systems & demoed too. For mine, the best has to be the Soulution 520 preamp, everything has come & gone in my system since it's introduction, the worst was the Lampizator dac.
This year I've had three systems that I could have lived with easily, what a ride.... & how lucky I am.

Merry x'sy people & all the best for the new season.

**Elberoth** · December 24, 2013, 07:24 AM

Best: finally getting the long lusted MSB DAC IV Diamond Plus
Worst: finding out only 6 weeks later, that the Trinity DAC beats it

**Elberoth** · December 24, 2013, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by BlueMcIntosh

Worst : Joining the AS and talking with people who swap the gears like no tomorrow and influenced me to spend so much money . ( You know who you are ! )

Must be Joe

**Rhapsody** · December 24, 2013, 07:34 AM

One of the best audio and personal experiences for me was discovering the AS and meeting both many people in person as well as through posts and through Shark/cyberspace. It really has been a real treat....thank you all.

**Mike** · December 24, 2013, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Must be Joe

Right! Has to be!

**microstrip** · December 24, 2013, 09:07 AM

Curiously my best audio moments of 2013 were listening to the Aida's sounding great and marvelous in my room. However the worst was finding that they did their best with borrowed equipment, and feeding them properly would be much more expensive than I could consider. Also changing all the equipment would be a financial disaster - as a good friend really wanted the Aidas's the choice was obvious.

New Year audio decision - rebuild the very large membrane bass traps, tuned specifically for the Aida's, and re-do the acoustical treatment of the front wall for the Alexia's.

**Raidho** · December 24, 2013, 09:45 AM

Dear Jock,

I am sorry you have problems in getting your D-3 sounding great.. I have for a while been following your " problems " to get the best out of your D-3...

We do have a some issues with some of our US Dealers.. who don't really support you the way that they should... We don't blame these guys.. we are more blaming ourselves not to teach and train them in setting up and support our products in the right way.

We don't find that our speakers are difficult at all, we play them in rooms on Shows, so bad you will not believe with very high volume... Yes, of cause you can bring a speaker to far.. that is the case for any other speaker. First of all we are very sorry about this, and that is why, we have made the decision to go to see not only our US dealers, but also owners of our products in the early spring.. and you are of cause one of them.,..

Please inform me your phone no. and I will contact you in the near future. You can send me your no. to my e-mail... : lk@raidho.dk

Take care a Happy Holidays to you

Kind regards
Lars
Raidho

**joeinid** · December 24, 2013, 09:57 AM

Getting to know you guys has been great. Here's to a wonderful 2014.

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Must be Joe

**LL21** · December 24, 2013, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by joeinid

Getting to know you guys has been great. Here's to a wonderful 2014.

+1 all the way Joe. In addition to that, I also heard the Genesis 1.1s in a super OTT system this year (Kondo Gaku-on, Scarlatti, Herzan active isolation), the stunning Altair 2s (all Constellation, DCS Vivaldi) and the mighty Gryphon Arrakis 2s driven by 2 sets of Siegfried II monos and a Clearaudio Statement Ref...the big floorstander...last year I heard the XLFs with Metronome Kalista Ref/C2A, D'Ag monos and ARC Ref5SE and Opus cables. I have put a marker down for next year to hear the Gryphon Pendragons and may someday find a way to hear the Q7s. That will be me done on SOTA speaker auditioning...

**veindoc** · December 24, 2013, 01:57 PM

Best was learning how AS & a few handful of dealers really understand their products best qualities and how to minimize their weaknesses. We all know there is no perfect audio product. But thru AS members I have learn how to tweak my room, accessories and equipment and still choose cutting edge equipment that still
Maintains it resale value and deliveries great sound that bettered my previous system. AS has also helped me avoid some major purchases that would of been greatly regretted. My mother in law always says ask people what errors they have made during a major home remodel. Don't ask what they love because u will learn much more from other peoples mistakes. I feel that way about AS. Especially some of the PMs I have sent and received truly candid responses but still did not embarrass any member or manufacturer. !!

Worst-how a true scarcity of local dealers in my area r happy to do in home demoes and r more pushy marketing based vs just being very knowledgable. I mean these r major purchases. Would any of u buy a car without test driving it or seeing if it fit you or your garage ?

Great new year wishes to all. Hope to meet some of u at CES

Nick

**MusicDirector** · December 24, 2013, 02:18 PM

Best audio moment for me was putting the first CD into my Marantz CD5004 thanks to Joe! Second best audio moment was hooking up my Phonomena II mounting my Ortofon 2M Bronze and dropping needle. Third: Discovering Goat hair brushes.
Worst audio product: anything Beats (which is true of any year)and worst moment was the announcement that my beloved MOG was sold and will now be Beats 2014.

**joeinid** · December 24, 2013, 03:24 PM

Goat hair brushes! Not baaaaaaaaaaaad.

**asindc** · December 24, 2013, 04:11 PM

Best moment: Hands down, upgrading from ML Vantages to ML Spires. Best upgrade I've made since getting the JC1s. Should have done this 2-3 years ago! Honorable mention- Berkeley Alpha USB. The hype is justified. It is like getting a new DAC. Honorable mention 2- Room treatments. If you haven't done it, do it. You will be glad you did.

**MusicDirector** · December 24, 2013, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by joeinid

Goat hair brushes! Not baaaaaaaaaaaad.

LOL! On a more serious note, they actually work better than a zero stat gun, believe it or not! I have a Zero stat as well with tons of miles left on it and it usually takes two trigger pulls and works 95% of the time. Whereas the Goat hair brush takes one swipe and works 100% of the time. I was even thinking of getting my own goat. "Come here Scruffy, I need you to rub against this record. No Scruffy! Don't bite the record"!

Eric

**joeinid** · December 24, 2013, 05:02 PM

Ha! Too funny Eric. I'll check them out. Thanks for the tip. I am glad you are loving the Marantz cd player.

I hope 2014 is happy and healthy for all.

**sharkmouth** · December 24, 2013, 05:19 PM

Joe???? You're not getting one are you, really, a goat?

**joeinid** · December 24, 2013, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by sharkmouth

Joe???? You're not getting one are you, really, a goat?

I think the goat will also stop early reflections and help absorb some of the high frequencies. I'll try anything

.

**sharkmouth** · December 24, 2013, 05:30 PM

Yes, it was your high frequencies that was my/goats concern!

**joeinid** · December 24, 2013, 05:35 PM

**dlb2** · December 24, 2013, 05:40 PM

Without a doubt the best audio present of the year was AudioShark. Every day I look forward to reading threads and talking to you guys about all things audio and beyond. Mike, a thank you doesn't begin to express it...

Next in line would be my visit to NYC to meet Steve and Bob and hang out for the day listening to good music on an incredible system with some top-notch speakers. Walking around NY visiting used record shops, stopping in at Katz for lunch and hanging out with Steve couldn't have been any better.

Lastly, reuniting with my long-lost love of vinyl has made me appreciate music even more.

2013 was a great year! I wish everyone all the best for 2014!

**Mike** · December 24, 2013, 05:53 PM

Great post Doug. You're very welcome.

**Paul** · December 24, 2013, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Must be Joe

Nope . It was Michael Jackson.

**Zero** · December 25, 2013, 01:29 PM

Edited out: Not relevant.

**KingRT10** · December 26, 2013, 12:08 AM

The best moment: Joining Audioshark! Getting my Audeze LCD-3 and Woo amp up and going.

The worst moment: Selling my intelligence out and not speaking up, in order to get a good deal on audio equipment at Forrest's "Go big or go home!" site.
(Me, thinking.): Double talk all you want. I won't call you on any of it, but tell me Forrest "What is my best price again?"
Meanwhile the guy on the right of me is pulling up the huge mortgage on the house.
The McIntosh rep to left, is telling me they brought the turntable that Forrest claimed to own for months and had actually pulled from his huge audio storage unit for this demo session.
All of it, was just painful...
PS
The Audeze LCD-3 cans, that Forrest claimed to have (one) left for sale, were dropped shipped from another company. Surprise!!

**Jimmyk70** · December 26, 2013, 12:50 AM

Hi guys merry christmas and a happy new year for everyone!

best moment- the Dcs Vivaldi full stack and the SF Aida together....unfortunately insanely pricey.
Worst moments - some auditions i did with Soulution and Magico. Will never understand all the hype...and price, altough the q7 and the s5 are great.

**Mike** · December 26, 2013, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by KingRT10

The worst moment: Selling my intelligence out and not speaking up, in order to get a good deal on audio equipment at Forrest's "Go big or go home!" site.
(Me, thinking.): Double talk all you want. I won't call you on any of it, but tell me Forrest "What is my best price again?"
Meanwhile the guy on the right of me is pulling up the huge mortgage on the house.
The McIntosh rep to left, is telling me they brought the turntable that Forrest claimed to own for months and had actually pulled from his huge audio storage unit for this demo session.
All of it, was just painful...
PS
The Audeze LCD-3 cans, that Forrest claimed to have (one) left for sale, were dropped shipped from another company. Surprise!!

Wow. Just wow. So sorry.

**Bobvin** · December 26, 2013, 02:32 PM

First, Merry Christmas to my friends here in the SharkTank...

For me, easily the best in 2013, was the addition of the AMG v12 table with Benz LP-S and MSR isolation rack. Some vinyl tracks just "appear" out of thin air, transporting me to a most joyful place.

And just as easily, the worst would be the highway robbery that has me temporarily without my Sashas and a few other pieces of gear.

Still, I am blessed beyond what I deserve. I have health, the love of a good woman, (and a couple of kitty cats!), and resources to smooth out the bumps in life. And my fellow sharks here in the tank. I am looking forward to rebuilding my system, dialing in the new room, and meeting a few of y'all should you wander to the Portland area.

Here's to a healthy and prosperous 2014.

**BobM** · December 26, 2013, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by Petro85

Nice thread !!!!
Meeting Bob, Joe, Mike, Allen, Nelson, Barry at Rhapsody in NYC !!!

Spending the day with Doug in NYC walking around, record shopping, listening some more at Bobs.

Some of you guys are in NYC? Well, on top of finding this forum and participating and reading discussions by some of the nicest guys on an audio forum as my "best of 2013" list, I have to say I am looking forward to meeting a few of you in person in 2014 and sharing some audio and music-related moments. Triode Pete and I are on Long Island, but could easily meet you guys one Saturday for some audio fun. Maybe you might even want to trek east a bit and visit us?

Worst audio moments? None that are truly memorable and I can't live with.

Happy New Year guys,
Bob

**JBLfan** · December 26, 2013, 04:47 PM

My best moment was likely purchasing and installing a new Lyra Delos on my VPI Classic 2. This was my first time doing a cart. install so between the VPI jig, stylus weight gauge and Fozgometer it was a long process but I am thrilled with the result and really like the Lyra over my former Benz Glider.

Worst moment was a new puppy (the puppy is great) however she chewed through $600 worth of speaker cable and I was forced to re-locate the speakers to a location where she cannot do the same again and the new location isn't as optimum as the old one.

**Dpod4** · December 27, 2013, 02:53 AM

Originally Posted by joeinid

Goat hair brushes! Not baaaaaaaaaaaad.

Love my goat hair brush !

**Penthouse-D** · December 27, 2013, 09:43 AM

I'd rather put my worst moment behind me and move on. The best moment(s) for me was selling all my Spectral gear and ALL my MIT cables to one nice person ,selling my Magico Q5s to a local person smoothly and taking the leap of faith and buying Vitus gear and Magico S5s. This put lots of $ into the mad money account to let me work on another passion. Vintage Italian motorcycles... Happy New Year!!!!

**Dpod4** · December 27, 2013, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by Penthouse-D

I'd rather put my worst moment behind me and move on. The best moment(s) for me was selling all my Spectral gear and ALL my MIT cables to one nice person ,selling my Magico Q5s to a local person smoothly and taking the leap of faith and buying Vitus gear and Magico S5s. This put lots of $ into the mad money account to let me work on another passion. Vintage Italian motorcycles... Happy New Year!!!!

Awesome post!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

**iamhifi** · December 27, 2013, 01:31 PM

The best Moment: My ARC gear, thanks Mike, and AudioShark and everyone in it.
Worst: Selling my 60th Anniversary Mcintosh Gear.
New Year’s resolution: My new audio room on the works and a sweet Cartridge for my AMG V12

**Ritmo** · December 27, 2013, 05:11 PM

No low moments for me. Joined AS, expanded friendships and made some system upgrades - Esoteric K-05, Bryston BDP-2, D'Agostino amp, Wilson Alexias and Shunyata PCs (Anaconda, Python and Alpha).

Thread: Best/worst Audio moments/products of 2013