Equipment that has made you 'stop' looking?

I would have to say that my Blue Circle BC3 preamp, which has been with me for over 5 years, has been one of the few audiophile components that lived up to and even exceeded my expectations. I find it hard to find a really good preamp and I think Blue Circle has done a really fine job with preamps in their line.

Other than the VS VR4jr, I'd have to say the AKG K1000 - I can't imagine sound getting better than this as far as headphones go.

Galibier Stelvio turntable. IMHO, Galibier's product belongs to the rarest superlative class of audio equipment.

Naim CDX2 with the XPSII Power supply, I am done with my fron end. Period. No more. I am complete.

John

Intuitive Design Summit loudspeakers (model PSL 624). I wrote an unsolicited review back in November, 2005, and it's posted on Audiogon. The review sounds over the top, but every word is true. These speakers are just magical.

Absolutely ... Cain & Cain SuperAbbys w/Bailey sub ... with tube amplification ... the most thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying speakers I've ever owned in my 44 years of audio ...

Silversmith Audio for all of your cable needs. I'm wired up with Jeffrey Smith's silver interconnects and speaker cable and am off the cable merry-go-round. Done searching, done wanting. Jeffrey's customer service rivals no one's. He's approachable, answeres the phone, and calls you back if he's not in.

DarTZeel amp and preamp- simply the best combo I have ever owned or heard. Build quality and pride of ownership if off the charts.

The Thiel CS7.2 have put a complete stop of looking, and also have removed any envy I might had for any other speakers.
Also once I started adding BAT gear to my system I have not even considered using any other electronics.(except better BAT gear of course)

Merlin VMX-MX, battery-modded SCD-1, & ditto Tom Hankin's comment re BAT gear.

Another vote for top of the line BAT tube gear! Plain and simple, in record time they have shown themselves to be one of the top electronic manufactures in hi-end today. They deserve all the success that comes their way.

The Eidolon Diamonds have that certain "magic". These speakers never fail to pull me in on all levels. What can I say, I love them. Just pure music!

Nordost Valhalla cabling IMO is certainly the most neutral cabling and P.C.'s I've heard and probably will be for a long time to come. This stuff took my system over the top and brought the performance to a whole new level I would not have believed. I'm so glad I tried them and they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

The EMM Signature duo, DAC6 and CDSD transport has for me proved itself to be by far the most transparent and musically detailed digital playback system my money can buy.

All the best!
Tom

The Walker Audio Proscenium Turntable has been a journey's end for me. Just a superb component that allows one to hear every nuance of what's been encoding on the vinyl. Complete ease of set-up and rock solid reliability. No turntable and arm combination I've listened to has allowed me to hear so completely what is going on with the music, and none has been able to approach the Walker's ability to deliver the presentation of a full orchestra without the slightest congestion. [And, Lloyd's not done with improving this marvelous turntable. Yesterday I was able to hear the new ceramic tonearm and spindle in Lloyd's personal system (with which I am very familar). The new tonearm makes an improvement in resolution and image solidity I had not imagined possible before hearing this. Easily upfittable on existing turntables to the new "Walker Audio Proscenium Black Diamond Turntable." The journey continues... ;-) ]

And the Atma-Sphere MA-2 Mk.III OTL monoblock amplifiers: 220 watts of outstanding musicality and faithful sonic reproduction. Ralph Karsten is another designer who has created a phenomenal product and whose inventive inquisitiveness never stops. The MA-2 has been in production for a decade or more, and Ralph has continually improved it in many subtle and not so subtle ways over its production life. The most recent Mk.III upgrade delivered improvements bass authority, imaging, and overall smoothness that surprised me given how good the Mk. II sounded.

So, both of these marvelous pieces of gear have made me stop looking for something better, but both are created by incredibly talented and inquisitive designers who are continually exploring ways to make them even better. If either Ralph or Lloyd tell me they've found a way to do something better, I pay attention.
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1) Well Tempered Reference TT and arm;
2) Tidal Contriva speakers (unless Joern Janczak has another - affordable - ace up the sleeve)

Nick Doshi's Alaap Audio pre and phono stage, plus Nick's modified Lectron LH-50 amplifier. No more merry-go-round for me!

Agree with the Dartzeel amp and pre. Most beatiful sound and there is NO TUBES! sorry tube lovers

"Kerry":

The equipment that has made me stop looking are the following:

(01). Adcom GFP-750 Active/Passive Line Stage Control Amplifier.

(02). Adcom GFA-545 MkII Power Amplifier (until it died last year...... Replaced with the Adcom GFA-5400, my system hasn't sounded the same ever since..... I may go on the hunt and see if I can locate another GFA-545 MkII sometime soon).

(03). Magnum Dynalab FT-101 FM Tuner.

(04). MITerminator 2 Interconnects and Speaker Cables.

Damn..... That's half of my system right there.... That being said, I guess I am halfway off the "merry-go-round", right????

--Charles--

P.S. Oh yes, you can add my Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures to the mix as well.....

When I got some nice Sylvania 6SN7 tubes for my Rogue 99
amd my Sophia 300B, that was the end of road. I don't know if my system could sound any better, using the current equipment. Audio Bliss.

Maggie 3.6r driven by manley 250 tube power amp and Audible Illusions pre- amp and Super Njoe Tjoeb Cd player

gaku-on amp: beautiful, natural, effortless sound

Martin Logan CLS. It comes as know surprise that I vote the Martin Logan CLS.

Physically beautiful. Sonically stunning. Reasonbly priced. When the dust settled most (if not all)of its' shortcomings could be attributed to associated gear. It is the tweakers dream because it reveals almost every change upstream.

It remains the star of my system and everything else is the supporting cast.

Gayle Sanders should enjoy his retirement because he has left quite a legacy.

B&W 800D driven by Krell 300i.
Quad 988 driven by MC12 + LX-5 + RT-10 + Marantz 720p DLP.

Joseph Chow from Audio Horizons power cords. Very neutral, and just the most natural sounding cord. So I screwed it up and added Oyaide plugs, this has been a huge improvement, along with his amazing Dimension interconnect. This interconnect beat out the Acoustic Zen Silver Matrix for my cd player to pre-amp. I could not get Joseph to sell me another dimension interconnect as they are still in design stage....but WOW!! I kept the Zen Matrix Reference ll for the amp/pre-amp connection. Also my AR Classic 30 loudspeakers, I still love my BAT cd player, but I would buy Joseph's tube DAC in a second!

Theta Citadel monos and Aerial 20T speakers. An awesome combo!

Intuitive Design Delta Summits
Intuitive Design Coordinate amps
Granite Audio 657 CDP

Spectral & MIT.

For me it would be my transport/DAC combo. It is a CEC TL51x with a Wadia 12 DAC. It may not be the worlds best and not the most expensive. But I think for me it is the best I will ever be able to afford.

Dynaudio sapphires!

Running them with the Sim audio I-7 integrated and Supernova CD player. Will not upgrade the Supernova, however the I-7 may turn into a P-8 and W-7 amp later down the road...

Nothing ever stops me from looking.

Buying, yes. Looking no!

Art Audio carissa SET amp. I actually want to get another one for my studio.

given most of the equipment listed isn't exactly as old as the family dog, i think its safe to say not many in this hobby have been married to anything.

Gain skill in TT building and design made me stop looking at any turntables out there.

Dodd audio made me stop looking at preamps.

Consonance Cyber 800 modify by Bob Backert stop me from searching for new tube power amp.

AAD 2001 monitors end the search for small speakers for second system. As well as RWA amp to go with it.

I am still looking for better speakers (for the $$$$) then Vandersteen Quatro. No luck so far.

The Von Schweikert MK4jrs. They should take me all the way for my sons going into and than out of college.

Sunglasses........but they have to come off sometimes. That is when the light hit you in the face, Then you are blinded for a while and trip over your new huge amps or cables.

Sansui sp-5500's!.....Crystal Clear contact enhancer from The Cable Pro!

Sometimes I read these older posts I've made and they just make me laugh. I've changed my entire system since the last time I posted, which was over 3 yrs. ago.

I guess as long as there's gear out there to try, I'll keep trying it. For me, that's part of the hobby, so I'll change my story to still looking!

The weak US dollar has stopped me from looking for anything but US or Chinese made.

Yep, there is significant growth and demand for American products for that very reason. My latest purchases are 100% made in USA.....and most from smaller companies, which are easier to deal with, more flexible, very helpful and offer excellent quality products at very attractive prices.

You can stop buying indefinitely but should never stop looking/listening.

The Mighty Klipschorn... I never stop 'looking'...I look just for fun...but if I ever hear a speaker that I like better overall than a Khorn, I will purchase it immediately!

Conrad johnson.

my Esoteric P3 transport and D5 dac. I am going to use these until they stop working (hopefully many many moons from now).

Museatex Bitstream DAC upgraded by John Wright (including PS upgrades). I really don't care how much better digital can get because I am totally satisfied.

When I put on Tekline power reference power cables on myy system nmy search for power cables which seemed to be nonending hadactually ended. Upon listening to the Tekline reference cable on akll components including my Hydra I no longer get the itch to try new power cables. I am a power cord junkie self acclaimed and although iève lost the itch to find better power cables in a sense i feel let down as i no longer have the powere cables to fuss about, get obseessed with and sometimes get a fever over. Two days after putting tekline Cables , the reference series on my system my power cable search had ended. I sold cords that were 4 times the price of the Teklines but as far as getting the best sound out of my gear.b The Tekline have given me a completely different outlook on power cables. There is a point where there is good enough and it isnèt at the expense of some of the cables out there. You do not need spoend $3500 per cable to acheive good sound as far as power cables are concerned. The tekline took my Ècomponent of choiceÈ to obsess about away and for the past few momnths Iève been enjoying the music. I forgot it was about the nmusoic when i got tyo obbssessed with power cables. Teklines Reference cables lead me back to the music. Thanks again Scott. You the man!!

Thank God, I never reached this conclusion. I was satisfied for five years with ARC and Infinity ServoStats and for three years with Beauhorns. Most stuff, however, has a shorter life-span.

Fantastically transparent, extremely silent, both XLR and RCA equipped.

Love its funkiness, retro style and the fact that theres nothing to break!

Does this still count if I'm curious about the silver-wired version???

Frank 115, we're having a contest to try to figure out what piece you're talking about!! Funky, retro styling, can't break transparent--any more clues? :~) Sounds like a passive pre?

Sorry Rcprince...you're right it is a passive pre-amp. I'm new here and I had put a subject header on my post naming the Music First Audio TVC (Copper). I'll know to keep all my text in the 'Your response' box from now on!!!

I have been content for 4 or more years with my mid 90's Krell/B&W nautilus system. I stopped looking on the web or stores for upgrades in that time. I am currently revamping my audio/video "theater" room right now only to incorporate a 106" screen and projector. I am still very happy with the audio portion and that makes the video upgrade more affordable. I recently went to a local store and they were using a similar system in their $100K custom theater so I knew then all I needed was the big screen. I will only tweak here and there for possible improvements. It's been a very long journey to get these results but well worth it.