Amazing ''Overachieving'' products...your pick?


I have owned both expensive gear (and I do mean expensive) and ''budget'' gear. Many components are mind-boggling on a price-paid versus performance ratio. Three of my favorites are:

1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.

2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.

3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.

What are YOUR picks ?
sonicbeauty
Vincent 331 hybrid amplifier. It does everything and more than its "low" $1000 price would lead you to believe.
Without ANY hesitation, I would nominate Ultrabit Platinum, as one of the best bang-for-the-buck improvements you can make to any 5" silver disc. Check out his warranty - no BS here. You'll thank me later.
hey i got one- DELUXE JUSTARACKS by Michael Green-
if you don't mind the cheap look or denting and scraping the finish much too
easily, these preceded the Salamander racks that are made today (which look much nicer but...)
ANYWAY, the deluxe shelves were deeper and two inches thick MDF with the
usual threaded posts and (big) nuts above and below the 4 corners. they came
in black or a grey mottled look. i bought two of them, 4 shelves each, from Audio Advisor years ago and went through the laborious set-up procedure.
they cost $450 each. the only other product i know of that is in the same ball park are the SAMSON racks from Mapleshade, which are of course much nicer looking with real oak shelves and much nicer hardware as well.
but whether it's source components or even a turntable (as long as it's no bigger than my VPI Aries-1)- ESPECIALLY a turntable, these racks are as solid as they are plain-jane. and i don't know how many times i have adjusted the
shelves to accomodate new components.
i have always tried my best not to scrape them up too much when moving components around, because i will probably never get the motivation to take my system apart and get something "prettier"-not with all the advantages of leaving well enough alone.
Monarchy NM24 tube dac/preamp. A great sounding piece of gear for the money. The SM70 pro amps are good bang for buck too, with plenty of slam and a tube-like airiness.