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CD player (universal player).
We all pick a dud from time to time, waking up the next morning thinking "why did I buy that thing!" What audio product spent the least amount of time in your system?
My music server which was bought as part of a squeezebox system. In total over one month of tweeking, I got it to play for 1 hr, over countless attempts. If anybody need a cheap 1.5 GB server, please let me know. (and I thought was reasonable with computers being an engineer...)
The 'Made in Taiwan' award for shonky goods Apple's iPod. Although being quite expensive, the iPod is designed to spontaneously combust after a year. Apple describes this as a design feature and refuses to allow a free warranty. This is in breach of European and Australian consumer protection laws. Apple however refused to change its warranty and is currently in hot water with these various bodies.
The Marigo 3D Stabilizer mat. Supposed to address issues of vibration and stray magnetism on CDS. This mat was supposed to enhance the soundstage and the transparency of the music. I used it for about 30 minutes before I decided that it actually took the life out of the music on my system. Some people swear by it, but I returned it immediately to the retailer. It was the worst accessory tweak that I ever experienced and all for only a C-note. I Highly Unrecommend. Fortunately, I got my money back.
...a pair of Linn K400 Biwire Speaker Cables. I was shopping around for speakers cables, and I had already ordered a really nice set of Kimber Monocle Kables, but while waiting for them, I just couldn't stand my old Monster Cables anymore. So, I bought these, and I don't think I had them for more than a week before my Kimbers showed up. So, the Linns went to the "Little Bedroom System."
I bought a used Proceed preamp. It had an eerie black background to the sound which was very nice, but it was a sterile sound. I paired it with a solid state power amp and perhaps that was the problem. Maybe it needed a tube amp to breath a little life into the sound. I wish I still had it to play with, but I got rid of it within the week. :(
A pair of Audioquest Coral interconnects. Poor imaging, lacked bass definition - very "murky" sounding. Having the nice sounding Jaguars already in my system, I was disappointed in these. Tried them for about two months in various locations before removing them. Just didn't seem to fit anywhere.
Ha ha, fun question. I guess that would have been my Akai tape deck back in high school. That only lasted a few years. While not necessarily a dud because it allowed me to copy all my friends record collections, the CD quickly came along and made it sound like garbage.