Worst sounding stereo I ever heard ! Acoustic Linear speakers

bob412

Active Member
I'm a guy who can usually find good in any audio system . Hell , I've heard some vintage Sound Design systems that sounded really decent , especially when played at levels not beyond what they were meant for . Anyway an old high school pal invited me over to hear his new stereo system (aka vintage system ) . It's an all JVC system with a pair of huge Acoustic Linear loudspeakers . The JVC electronics appeared to be of very good quality but it's the speakers that sucked , and I mean BADLY ! Frankly I've never heard of the brand in my life . The speakers are about 40 inches tall and probably 14 inches deep and just as wide , with about 6 drivers on the front baffle alone. The cabinets feel like you could actually punch a hole in them with your fist . The speakers look good until you get up close to them and see what a mess they are . Some of the drivers look fake but he assured me they weren't . He kept saying , "Dude wait till you hear these babies crank " , I'm like hell yea ! bring on the sound . He places a Snap Case CD in the JVC player and from that point all sonic hell broke loose , and I mean in the worst possible way . Screeching , ear piercing highs , incoherent mids , super loud booming , muddy bass . It was a freaking sonic MESS . And loud as freaking HELL ! He kept yelling at the top of his lungs , " is this the best sound you ever heard or what " . I'm thinking if I don't come up with an excuse to get from under this sonic assault I'm going to leave with damaged hearing . So I did what any sane individual would do under similar circumstances . I reached into my pocket and press my cell phone button and made like I received an important call and had to leave immediately . Like I stated earlier , I can usually find good in any audio system but this is truly the worst sounding so called hi fi speakers I've ever heard in my life . On my way out I even lied to my friend and said the system sounds great and I'll be over again to listen more , NOT ! I just didn't have the heart to tell Rob the truth . He's such a great guy and he's so proud of his new system . Just proves that this human hearing thing is different in us all . Or is it ?? What's the absolute worst sounding audio system you've ever heard , friends included . LOL !
 
I think I saw them on an infomercial. If you called within 15 minutes, you got two speakers for the price of one!
 
bob214, you could bring over a real pair of speakers to show him what good sound is...
unfortunately you'd probably just wind up with blown speakers.
I knew someone years ago who had a decent Realistic system and managed very well to make it sound like total crap by cranking it beyond it's means,
always with a big 'isn't it just awesome!' grin on his face. Every few weeks he'd be returning his blown speakers for a new set.

Worst "system" I heard was an Emerson all in one, which had me convinced that Minimus 7's sucked.
Believe me, it wasn't the 7's fault. I realized that when I took a closer look and found an almost empty box with about 10$ worth of components that weighed in at 'a very hefty' maybe 3 lbs.
After hearing Minimus 7's on a decent system I actually felt sorry for those poor things.
 
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Doesn't sound like the friend has had much exposure to decent sound systems. Could be that high volume = good quality in his mind.

I sold home audio for a lot of years and many times the first thing a customer would do was crank the volume control then stand back and listen in apparent appreciation to what he (always a he) was hearing. When the distortion became too much to take, I would turn it down, attempting to explain that sustained listening like that was not good for the equipment. That generally resulted in a blank stare.

If the friend was a good one, I would not be hesitant in introducing the possibility of his listening habits demanding better speakers.
 
What's it matter if he is happy with them, just so long as he does not make you come listen to them again? :)

Has he heard your system?

He has heard it numerous times and actually commented that it sounds 'real good' for a low powered system . I think he was probably lying , especially since hearing his system .
 
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image.jpg Got the hit by the "white van speaker" scam here , mid 80's , got an awesome deal on these acoustic monitor db4's , still see them for sale now and then ( pic came from Craigslist ) sold mine off in yard sale long ago
 
Back when I was doing Pro audio we used to get junk once in a while that was nothing but dumpster filler. We did horrible, horrible things to speakers in "destruction tests" while our owner was gone prior to them ending up in the trash. We ran an extension cord out to the alley for the "tests" so the shop wouldn't reek of burnt wiring and other parts. Fond memories.
 
I'm ashamed to say that when I was very young I sold white van speakers for half a day.

Don't remember how I heard of the "interview", but I thought this was like a real job so I wore slacks and a tie, which must have been funny to the guys running the operation. This was in Portland, OR and the guys running the white van scam all had heavy Boston/NE accents. Their main concern was to know that I wasn't an employee but an independent contractor and had to sign a multi page agreement to that effect. Since I knew the area and these guys didn't I was like first pick, but nobody would tell me what we were actually doing until I was riding in a literal white van with a fast talking guy a few years older than me, who broke down the scam for me. I couldn't tell you what brand we were selling, although they looked pretty close to the ones in f4027's post with a flat equalization curve.

Soon it became apparent that the only value I was bringing to this operation was as navigator. This guy asked me to take us to an area of town that had money so we cruised around markets and shopping areas in the SW hills of Portland. This guys schtick might have worked wherever he was from, but in Portland all it did was make men frown and women clutch their purse and walk faster. The scam was he had an "invoice" for 2 sets of "studio monitors" but "They screwed up and loaded us up with 5 pairs", and the main thrust of his pitch was these weren't just everyday speakers, "they're STUDIO MONITORS. See? Right on the box! MONITORS!"

I was young and dumb but not so dumb that within a half hour I could see this was really scammy and something I didn't want any part of. I just sat in the van and refused to do anything except watch and keep asking for them to take me back to my truck. At lunchtime they finally did and left ASAP.
 
I also was a vacuum seller for 1/2 a day. Learn to lie and make lots of money. I was also almost a sucker for some white vans being sold at the local flea market. A good handful of sellers there were selling a really cool looking pair of column speakers called Theater Research. They were cool looking, but for $300+ for a pair, they were out of my league money wise, Thank God!!! Later on, when I found AK I got the word on those pieces of crap. Just one of the million things I have to thank AK for.
 
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