Your greatest high end audio purchase!!!

Having done the same in a recording studio environment I agree with rick_n, the best purchase any of us can make is proper room treatment. When done right, the difference is staggering.

That said, my audiophile room is pretty darn good but NOT properly treated so for gear I'm going with ATC SCM50's.

I have a well broken in TJN Lenco Reference MkII turntable going very soon. It will have been refinished by Jean Nantais with a couple of additions on it. Looks wise, it is spectacular with a mostly natural finish with a couple coats of lacquer on it. I have been doing most of Jean’s Home Depot upgrades and mods over the years with a couple even Jean doesn’t have. The sound has been very good when all is operating such as now. I think I’ve done about all I could do with my DIY build. I’d like to experience what one of Jean’s best designs can do with the music. His Reference TT will be on another level and when combined with my Origin Live Illustrious Mk3 and Charisma Reference Two cartridge with Andy Kim’s upgraded retip of a microridge stylus and boron cantilever, along with my newly upgraded Whest 30se Pro, should provide some extreme listening pleasure to all my albums. We shall see in about a week or two. It will most likely be a keeper for the rest of my life if the sound mirrors the looks and takes my analog up a notch or two, maybe more.  This could be right up there with my other best buys.

HeathKit aa-15 integrated amp.  Yes, I built it at 13 years old on the kitchen table.  It did not initially work.  I sent it back with a check to cover their set repair charge plus return shipping.  It was stunningly good.  I was king!
 

Turntable was Dual 1229 with Shure V 15 baby!  I took it to school, slotted it into the band room stereo which ran a high end SS Marantz and the HeathKit crushed it! Just rolled!  I was quite surprised….and happy.  That started my journey.

My memory romanticizes any old speaker amp combo's I enjoyed. My first love and biggest regret for moving on from were my bose 901 VI connected to a realistic sta-235b receiver. I played around with placement for months trying to fill in the bottom 2-3 octaves b4 finally flipping the tulip stands over and lag screwing them into the ceiling 2' x 2' in from the corners  Suddenly full range exciting, dynamic sound was pulsing in my room. My butthole neighbor considered himself an audiophile convinced I had room to improve and at the expense of a, well somewhere in the lower 6 figures I clearly have a better sounding system. I truly can't say I appreciate my system more tho', more like I let my jealous neighbor get in my head when I was young and quote foolish.

It would have to be one of the sources. I am going to say it’s my Klimax LP12 for making a spectacular comeback last year.

I’d previously owned one that I sold six years ago. The replacement bought last year was pretty much the same specification as the old one had been. Buying second hand ensured that it cost little more than what I’d got for the one I’d sold.

However, there was one detail that made all the difference in the world. It had the Urika II digital phono stage, which wouldn’t please analogue purists. Together with the improved clock of the new Klimax DSM, that took vinyl sound quality to a higher level than I’d ever experienced before. This improvement was consolidated by bringing the turntable up to the then current Klimax spec with a couple of upgrades, the Karousel bearing and Radikal 2 power supply.

I am loving vinyl again more than ever and don’t feel a need to buy any of the newer upgrades like Bedrok that have appeared since. As a friend said recently, upgrading is like travelling by bus - you can get on or off at any stop you wish.