Lets hear about the gear you parted with and regret letting it go
 

I'll start. One of the earliest components I sold, actually I traded them for a motorcycle, were a pair of McIntosh MC30 mono tube amplifiers. I let them go in 1969 and have always regretted letting those amps slip through my fingers. The same is true when I traded my McIntosh MA230 integrated amplifier in 1974 for a McIntosh MAC1900 receiver. The receiver was cool, but never sounded as sweet as the MA230. Big mistake.

There have been many other much loved audio components pass through my hands as the years rolled past, and I am sure I'll remember them as this thread progresses.

So lets hear it. There must be some audio gear, speakers, and other related hi-fi products that you still pine over and wish you kept. Tell us about them and how they came to go away.

Tannoy Eyris DC3 were my first 2ch speaker loves, 12 years ago. A compact floor-stander with a 7" dual-concentric mid + tweeter, 7" bass, and dome supertweeter; works great with just about any room. Very pretty in walnut. VERY musical. They absolutely, utterly annihilated the Polk LSi 15 I had before; I literally could never enjoy the LSi again after I first heard the Tannoys at Audio Atlanta.

I sold 'em to fund an "upgrade" to Legacy Signature III's that were somewhat of a disaster in my apartment at the time - of course, the III's had sounded great in my friend's dedicated room.

I've wished for the DC3's back at times, even just as a TV speaker, but they became harder to find over the years. Finally snagged a set 3 months ago for my girlfriend's system; they rock! Just as wonderful as I remember. This pair is in sycamore, also very nice, but I liked the walnut a bit better.

Audio Technica L3000 "Leatherhead" headphones (yes they are cherry wood cups wrapped/stitched in Connolly leather), and Sony Qualia 010 headphones
These sets have both become ridiculously unobtanium over the years, and continue going up in price given their rarity, legendary status in head-fi history, and "cool" factor. Neither Audio Technica nor Sony will ever make anything like these again. They sell, if you can ever find them, for much more than what I sold them for in 2009, and much much more than what I bought them for in 2004-2006. My 2009 sale was for funds towards a speaker upgrade: Tannoy Kensington SE. I bought back a set of L3000 in 2014 from a friend (a voracious headphone collector), paying dearly - but wish I still had another of my original sets. Man, I love that headphone, flawed as it is. Like the Qualia, a flawed gem, but in different ways. I know if I sell this last L3000 pair I'll never see one again.

https://i.imgur.com/ElfOKFq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/CcQMK2H.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/r2CtwuP.jpg

A Tandberg TR-2045 receiver I bought in the early ‘80s, my first venture into better quality amplification. It was a beauty (like this picture) and sounded pretty good driving my Baby Advents. I still look longingly when I come across one on the auction sites. At some point I traded it for a Carver integrated with a lot more power, but it wasn’t nearly as pretty.

The other piece I miss is the AR ES-1 turntable with Alphason Opal tonearm, Monster cabling, and Tiptoes feet. I bought it in 1985 at Goodwin’s in Harvard Square in Cambridge, my first “audiophile cheapskate” purchase, and it was another beautiful piece. I sold it when I bought a VPI Scoutmaster. The VPI was a big sonic improvement, but I never loved it like the AR, and it only lasted a couple of years. That was when I learned the valuable lesson that the visual and tactile appeal of the equipment are almost as important as the sound.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...c222febbb2.jpg

Lets hear about the gear you parted with and regret letting it go
 

I wish I still had my SAE 2600 power amp, a visually striking piece of gear. I upgraded to a Hafler DH 500, and it sounded better but I still miss that big bodacious SAE.

http://audio-database.com/SAE/amp/2600.jpg

I have re-purchased and restored a pair of Ohm F loudspeakers. I am listening to them now.
http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/...R/DSC_2631.jpg

I wore out my first B&O 4004 turntable to the point where I would have to have replacement gears custom made! I picked up a cherry used one a few years ago. It works fine but needs restoration and that will be a winter project.

http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/...ps77e566f3.jpg

Tom

I miss my IRS Betas just because they were so cool and could bring goose bumps and tears.


https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...7&d=1529412483







Attachment 55607

should have never let her go.... :cry:

https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/upl...ba25cf12b8.jpg

1. My original and highly modified Empire 398 turntable.
2. My Audio+Design tone arm.
3. My Stax ELS-f81 loudspeakers.
and, especially, 4. my home-made 4-way transmission-line loudspeakers

After regretting the sale of my original McIntosh MA230 integrated amplifier, and 40 years later, I was extremely fortunate that Audio Aficionado member GaryProtein read a post I made about wishing I had kept my MA230 that many years ago, and as luck would have it he had inherited his father's MA230 some 30 years earlier. He PM'd me and asked if I would like to have it. I said yes, and he gave it to me as a gift in 2014. I was, and still am thrilled. I shipped the MA230 to Terry DeWick in Tennessee to have it repaired and brought back to factory specs, and now have it driving a pair of JBL 4312A 3-way monitors in my vintage system. It sounds so sweet. After 40 years of regretting the sale of my original MA230 I could not be happier that Gary made it possible for me to have a second chance at enjoying one of my earliest McIntosh components.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1eEhFwApxE


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3922/...76818db5_b.jpg

I purchased an Onkyo M-504 2-channel amplifier used some years ago and really liked it.

Got upgraditis and foolishly let it go. Now I can't come across a picture of one without stopping and staring. :(

http://www.avsforum.com/content/type.../1000/flags/LL

My first high end preamp which was a Counterpoint SA-5000. The phono section in that was soooo nice!

George