What has been your favorite of all the components you've ever owned? Why?

Some components simply endear themselves to audiophiles

What has been your favorite of all the components you've ever owned? Why?
Here it is
94% (101 votes)
Never had a favorite
6% (6 votes)
Total votes: 107

COMMENTS
Jeffrey's picture

My favourite are my Monitor Audio Studio 6 rosewood laquer finished speakers, which I still have (and always will). Beautiful to look at, and they sound like a million bucks!!!!

Steve J.  Martin's picture

ProAc Response 2 loudspeakers. They're simple, sound great, and don't require a large room.

DALE SMITH's picture

MUSIC REFERENCE RM-9

Stephen Sweigart's picture

Linn LP-12 Lingo

Robert Jones's picture

Bryston 2B amp. I've had Naim, Linn, Rotel, and two larger Brystons (3B ST and 4B SST)and the one I miss the most is the 2B. Something about it moved me, whether its the purity of tone, the complete lack of harshness I don't know. I've been thinking about getting a tubed pre-amp and two 2Bs. But, my friend says its surpassed and dated, but I know that its the best sounding Bryston and it looks cool. This is the original 2B, now called the pro.

Chris Kantack's picture

I can't single out any individual component as being my favorite. I mean, that's like asking someone "Which do you like better, your left arm or right leg?" A component is just that. One part of a complete system.

DAB, Pacific Palisades, CA's picture

A good 'ol duster....self explanatory.

Paul J.  Stiles, Mtn.  View, CA's picture

My Acoustat speakers, a pair of 2+2s and a pair of 1+1s. I have had the 2+2s for about 20 years and have no desire to replace them.

Clay White's picture

My first serious turntable: the cheaper Empire with a Shure V15 Type 2. It didn't have an armlift in the conventional sense. You had to set the stylus down manually, but at the end of play, a magnet lifted the arm. It had a massive platter (relative to anything I'd seen), an external belt drive, and an oak base. It looked great and sounded better than anything I'd ever heard. How was I to know that it was just the first step?

H.  Haft's picture

BIC 35W amp & slope preamp. Mono, of course, and my first hi-fi—back in the '50s, of course.

Adam's picture

KEF K120 Bookshelf speakers. They were part of the first "serious" system I owned, and for the first time in my life I was able to "see" the music out there in front of me! They were hard to get rid of; they were only slightly out-performed by their replacement, but I guess that is the price of progress!

Harold B.  Roberts's picture

Weathers Mono FM Czrtridge

Carlos E.Bauza's picture

It's the Hafler DH-110 preamp. It is silent, has Hafler's best-ever phono section, it is durable, flexible, user-friendly, and bug-free. Oh, and the sound is eminently natural.

Anonymous's picture

Conrad Johnson MV45 Amplifier

Michael Chernay's picture

The first set of speakers i ever bought, Polk RT-55, they dont sound great, but they were the first component i ever bought. I just passed them down to my younger cousin. Hope to keep this audio tradition going.

Dimitris Gogas's picture

My first Tannoy speakers. Very good sounding, elegant and, most importantly, bought with my own money. That was way back in last century.

Jose Freire's picture

Musical Fidelity MVX/A370 pream/power amp for 15 years. Because their are reliable, powerfull (the amp drives anything) and sound quality beats some modern designs like Plinius SA250, or Krell KAV400xi, or VTL450MB. At least it's my experience and point of view.

jack sims's picture

apogee full range biamped with krell on bottom -roland on top. great wagner

David Craft's picture

My Infinity RS3Bs with original EMIT tweeter, polypropolene mid, and dual 10" woofers. Played through my Hafler DH500 amp, which was tweaked by a recording engineer. I've never heard anything close to sounding nearly so sweet top to bottom. I've always had a thing for the EMIT tweeter and early Hafler amps, but could never afford them until recently. It's a dream come true for me and as much as I like my Paradigm Ref 60's v2, they are just no match. Yes I go to the stores around and here the latest greatest hoo haas, but they just don't come through as together as this combo. I will say very expensive B&W's come close, but ...

John Mallon's picture

Sony CDP101, because it was my introduction to digital audio and I loved it!

Derek's picture

Magnepan MG1.6s. I bought them shortly after they came out in 1998, and have not looked back. Their sound is so natural, coherent, and transparent, I don't think I'll every replace them (unless they break).

Gerald Clifton's picture

The Triangle "Volante 260" loudspeaker retains all the strong points of the original "Celius" and adds an octave of bass. Good, clearly defined bass, not blob. At around 6 grand, it is not cheap, but I just went all-out in my second residence with the Dynaudio Evidence: at 1/10 the price, the Volante actually makes more of my 3000 CD/2000 LP collection sound better than they ever have before; the Dynaudio is simply transcendent, but with only about half my collection. This is important to me, as I love a great variety of music, some of which is badly recorded. The Triangle is true to middle C, thus bringing a sense of immediacy to all my recordings. In my smaller apartment, I actually liked it better than the top-of-the-line Magellan. The Volante is 93db sensitive and will play just as well with 30 good watts as it will with 300. I wish I could wax nostalgic and recall my old Klipsch's, Altec A-7's, or KLH 9's, but today's technology puts anything I used to listen to into the "good riddance" category. By the way, anyone who says speakers are not the most important consideration for building a system is full of it. The Celius (which I reluctantly sold), Volante, and Dynaudios will all reveal subtle differences in electronics, cables, etc., but retain their basic "character" no matter what you drive 'em with: you'd better like the speakers you buy first and foremost, or you'll never be satisfied, no matter how much time you spend tweaking and fussing with the details.

Dino Proctor's picture

Sonus Faber Concerto speakers. They have not a hint of the "glassiness" that every other stand mount speaker I've heard imparts to gentle piano notes. Also, their low frequencies are so clear and rich.

Michael Collette's picture

Harmon/Kardon Citation II because it just sounds more like music should than any other piece of equipment I have owned. I have sold the CII in favor of other amps through the years, but end up finding another one after the novelty wears off.

David L.  Wyatt jr.'s picture

My old Kevek ES-8 loudspeakers. Yes, my current speakers are better. But from 1987 through 2003 they rocked my home, and even convinced a couple friends that good audio equipment was worth it.

RxDentist@aol.com's picture

My B&W800s They were great speakers, especially at their price. Then the genius of Dan D'Agostino, of Krell, redesigned the internal crossover to work with his electronic crossover to make it one of "the best speakers on the planet."

Kerem Icelli's picture

B&W DM 303 Speakers. I paid 300 euros for the pair. They are killers with respect to their price. But, on the other hand, every single equipment I own is my favorite. Otherwise I would not buy them.

David Gray's picture

Theta Generation VIII. It is magical. The only expensive component I have never had one moment of buyer regret over.

Alain Tounquet's picture

The Audio-Aero Capitol MKII CD : a superb combination of CD player, external DAC, and preamplifier in just one unit.

duane bo's picture

My Apple iPod. This is my absolute favorite of all my components. That says a lot since I own a Linn LP12 and a Jeff Rowland amp.

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