What punches much higher than it's price point?


Just bought a Townshend Audio reference preamp in part, because an owner posted how it performed better than preamps he owned that were more than twice the price !  I concur wholeheartedly.  This makes me wonder what other audio diamonds are hiding out there ?  What component have you purchased new that so impressed you at its price point ?

greenngoldcheesehead

For me, this is easy.  The Holbo Mk2 airbearing turntable system, which is now sold direct from the manufacturer.  It was already an absolute bargain, now its price has almost halved.

For the record (pun intended) this is a tangential tracking system where the arm floats on a friction free air bearing.  Vertical Tracking Angle can be adjusted while a record is playing, while the equally important Horizontal Tracking Angle, which cannot be corrected on most pivoting arm systems, is always correct once the cartridge is mounted.

The platter also runs on an air bearing.  The air and power supply are in a separate box which is virtually inaudible.

The money you save on the Holbo deck can go into very expensive cartridges - much more than the cost of the deck itself!  Highly recommended

I bought my pair of PSB Image 1B speakers over 15 years ago for $200 used!!! They are KILLER LOUDSPEAKERS and punch waaaay above what I paid for them!!!

I'm going to dive in here with a software solution for the Roon Bridge. The Diretta link. Roon Bridge on the Diretta host and  Diretta USB Bridge on the Target out to the DAC. Replaces 5K+ Streamers. Outstanding. Just my experience.