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VTL deLUXE preamp. Had it for almost 20 years and counting...

Bryston BP 25 preamp—everything else has been updated since I bought this, but there's been no reason to change. I've never had the feeling that anything happens that distorts the signal in the preamp. Electrons go in, a few more come out, but the bigger signal is a copy of the little one, and it sounds good.

A Rega Planar 3. Bought it in '87, sold it last autumn. 19 years. Replaced with a SOTA Sapphire from '86...

VPI 19 MkIV turntable

The Magnepan SMGc speakers.I don't even remember how long ago they were purchased...sometime in the mid nineties,I think.These little guys still amaze me and others every time the music goes round.I really think you'd have to spend a good deal more to seriously better the sound,at least in my listening room.

Linn LP12 (actually the outer case, I think every inside part has been upgraded since 1988).

My Thorens TD-124 turntable. 40+ years 'old' now and still going strong...

I had my Klipsch Forte II speakers for 14 years before I replaced them two years ago with Triangle Celius ES. Sold the Fortes about three months ago. Hard to let them go, but at least they will make someone else happy!

That would be the dust cover to my VPI HW-19 Mk III turntable, bought as a demo so long ago. Of course I enjoy the whole table, but every other part of it has been modified or upgraded.

Yes, just like the picture! My Oracle Delphi mk3.

My 1983 Nak BX2 bought it new in '83 and it has been in the circuit ever since. No hassles.

A Nakamichi cassette deck.

My Systemdek IV Electronic turntable with Manticore arm has been in my system since I bought it in '89. It originally was fitted with Ortofon x5 mc cartridge and then several Sumiko BPSes and finally an Ortofon Kontrapunkt a. I'm now looking to replace it, but as of now it still sings everyday!

Not long after I bought four "The New" Advent Loudspeakers in 1977, I got married and had kids. I didn't buy any more main speakers or much else serious big boy toys until my kids got most of the way through college. I detoured briefly through a pair of Bose 901s (I didn't know any better!!), but held onto the Advents. Sold the 901s on eBay only a year after I got them, and I finally gave the Advents to my oldest daughter in April this year, so they're still in the family 30 years on. Oh, and I love the Vandersteens I bought to replace the Advents.

That would be the Onkyo turntable that I bought in college almost 30 years ago. It still sees regular service despite its sonic limitations.

Theta DSPro GEN II DAC

Yamaha NS-1000M speakers. B&W 802 Nautilus came close. Wilson Watt/Puppy fell on its face. running all Audio Research Corporation head-end equipment with satisfaction, but the speakers I feel will never go. I'll still listen to new speakers, but in the 22 years or so I've run them, their berylium mids and tweets are still magic!

GyroDec and FR-64fx, never felt the need to change them, although the Gyro has been heavily upgraded.

NAD 3020. A loyal friend for 22 years!

Tice Power Conditioner.

My ARC SP-6B preamp. Bought as a demo in 1980, still going strong for the front two channels of my 5.0 system. Runner up was a Linn Valhalla/Syrinx PU-2 combo bought at the same time...which was retired just two years ago.

Amp, cd player and speaker

NAD 6100 cassette deck, purchased at Catania Sound in Santa Rosa, California, circa 1991 for about $500, and still in my system today for the very rare cassette moment.

ARC SP-10

Conrad-Johnson Premier 11A amp

My Audio Research LS-3 line stage preamp. It's been in my system since 1996.

A Kenwood integrated amp that I purchased in 1974 when I was 14. Part of my very first system. I now use it as an extra amp to power my outdoor speakers.

Velodyne ULD-15. I bought it in 1989. Once I replaced the existing crossover resistors and amp caps with better quality ones, the noise went away and the sub now mates very well with my M-L Ascent i's. It surprises even my most critical audiophile friends.

A Primare D30.2 cd player. A real world beater, it sounds fantastic. I recently bought a very expenseive Marantz "Reference" SACD player (SA-7S1), which has given me some problems from the outset. The Primare I've had for years - works like a dream, and kills my much more expensive Marantz. Oh well, I guess I learned that expensive really isn't always better.

speakers