List your breakthrough products that you’ve discovered on this audiophile Journey.

That is an easy answer:
#1-AGD Audions
#2-Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables
#3-Shunyata Omega qr power cord

The ON button.. That was a biggie for sure..

Regards

Rootman,

Subs coming soon, Rel S812. My dealer says NO, but I say yes. 🗣🎼🎶🎵

8Note,

$25K for dac, preamp and music server. One box that does real 3D. Without dac, $20K. Folks spend that much for a pair of shoes and socks these days. A bargain in audio world.

Puritan PSM-156
Isolation springs

**waiting for my Fidelium cables to be dropped off by USPS, taking them to Washington State to hear against Townshend F1 speaker cables with millercarbon**

$25K for dac, preamp and music server. One box that does real 3D. Without dac, $20K. Folks spend that much for a pair of shoes and socks these days. A bargain in audio world.

Yeah, not the blokes that live on my street mate. $500-800 buys some pretty sweet cowboy boots down where I live, am I supposed to drop a Y'all in there somewhere? I tell the Texans that I'm from the deep South, Downunder.

This thread makes me want to attend a " Breakthroughs for Tweakers"
show somewhere. 

I have recently become very curious about bass array breakthroughs.

Perhaps Tony1954 could start a thread on his experience
with others contributing what they learned.

I used to think a full range speaker (eg Legacy ) was always going to sound better than one that stops at say 40k and employs subs.

Okay so as not to DB Cooper this fellow's question-

1. Addition of multiple sound absorbing panels. Tears were close.
2. To be determined once the new XOs are assembled, installed
    and burned in.

Glory, thanks for a legitimate thread some of us are learning from.

Perfect Path Technology "The Gate."

Moving coil phono cartridges and SUTs!

Quad 57's and KLH Nines driven by Futterman OTL amps! Still in use!

High Fidelity products, specifically signal cables and power conditioner modules.

Papa,

I saw a Gate for sale on AM and passed. Is it still a powerhouse in your system as many products start off with a bang and then fizzle out. It’s gone now 🙈

Do you have an Add Powr  X2/X4?

All crap...you do not need any of it, especially fuses, well unless they blow....

Keith Monk Prodigy

This ones easy for me. The TacT 2.2X and advanced digital signal processing. It took most of the guess work out of this hobby. It made subwoofer integration a breeze, allows me to make the system sound exactly the way I want, and offers a level of performance, particularly imaging that can only be achieved otherwise on a rare basis.

One word. Many of us are digital phobic for whatever reason. Are there downsides? At high resolutions none that I can think of other than psychological one. Going in and out of 24/192 is invisible with good DACs and ADC's. Most program material starts out digital. As long as it stays there, there is no added distortion. You can keep it digital from the original ADC all the way to your DAC. In the mean while you can do pretty much anything you want to the signal without added distortion. You could triamp your speakers and get rid of all your passive crossovers! You could buy K Horns and correct the group delays. You could add passive subs and get rid electronics in the subwoofers. You can correct the frequency response of your room without having to hang so much stuff on your walls. You can give your left and right speakers the exact same frequency response curve so they sound exactly the same at all frequencies.
Any detriment is far outweighed by the benefits. It is not that difficult to master and makes this hobby even more fun. You also learn from experience like what adding 2 dB at 2000 Hz over 1/2 octave will do to the sound. The benefits are so large that I digitize my phono stage to take advantage of them. 

Love posts like this! For me when my journey really began (after I discovered there was an entire galaxy beyond Bose) 20+ years ago I have to say to this day the one time where I was truly awestruck (I've had several joyous moments of discovery along the way and continue to)  was when I heard Dynaudio speakers. I had listened to and owned quite a few but once I brought the Danes home I had finally gotten "there". And you just know it when it happens...Dynaudio Audience 82 and 52 to be specific...

+1 @ricmci the Monks Prodigy is wonderful especially after coming from a VPI. Quiet, easy to use and most importantly does what it's supposed to do clean records

LM6172 op-amps.

mijostyn,
I was really interested to read that you felt so strongly about the Tact since I respect your opinion, and your system is far better than mine. It will be on my upgrade shortlist right near the top.
Thanks, John

My OHM Walsh 5000s speakers I bought in 2012. My sister had a smaller pair in the mid eighties. The ones I got in 2012 can play louder and with more realism.

AGD Audion amps-Searched for amps that sound like these for decades.
REL Carbon Limited Subwoofers
RAAL Requisite SR 1a Ear Field Speakers
I have never been into headphones. They made my ears hot. The RAAL Requisite’s sound fabulous and do not touch my ears. They also can be used with my Audion amps with no headphone amp needed. I can wear these for hours with no discomfort.

Phonocable Audioquest Leopard

Rdoc 

REL Carbon Limited Subwoofers 

Looking at the special version, 1000watt or the S826

@syntax with your caliber of system can you say a bit more about the Leopard cable ?

Symposium vibration products (shelves and rollerblocks).

Upgrading from Basil Hayden to Michter's.
It was as though a veil had been lifted!

Wide-rand Real-time Transmission Cable. It will subvert your perception of audio cables.
http://www.chenaudiolab.com/id48.html

Transimpedance phono stage (Sutherland Engineering Big Loco)Koetsu Jade Platinum Cartridge
Allnic Speaker CablesZenwave Audio D4 Interconnects
Zenwave PSR14 Power Cables

Hi,

Gramophon preamp Henley MC 200 ! After that I jump for preamp over 3000 USD. 

@Glory    

I am curious about your definition of a "bottom feeder".
Is it anyone without the financial ability to buy the very pretentious sounding Theoretica Applied Physics Bacch-SP Adio 3D Sound Processer or is it merely everyone that doesn't share your opinion?    

Or maybe you were referring to catfish or the very tasty, halibut.

Vintage direct drive turntables. 

After trying a few fidgety, simple, modern belt drive “midfi” tables I came to the conclusion that within my budget, a reconditioned 40 year old TT just makes me happy. 

That, and upgraded power cables have been the biggest surprise along my journey.

dcs Bartok DAC 

PI Audio UberBuss power conditioner. Moneoone power cables. Townshend Seismic isolation products and F-1 Fractal speaker cables and interconnects. Loricraft PRC-4.

Dynavector 20x2 L phono cartridge was the first item I owned that really change my view on how much things can improve.

Nothing has been night and day for me since. Just incremental improvements.

Breakthrough? I’ve been at this for 46 years. If there was one I’ve forgotten all about it. But I’ve been a Martin Logan owner/fan since 1980. That’s over 40 years of different ML’s. And I’m still enjoying the ride. If you can’t find one thing to enjoy it’s time to take up crocheting. 

ROXY54 You think that ad is badly translated?  My first motorcycle, a 1968 350 Yamaha Big Bear had an amusing section in the owner's manual:   When describing what rpm to maintain to keep from fouling the two stroke plugs, it claimed that following the recommendation "...would keep the sparking plugs happy".

Chord M Scaler....

In sell my stuff threads like this I never see what I think is the most amazing single device for sound quality which is a Xilica XP 4080 or equivalent. To take control of all the variables and bring your components up to the highest level they are capable of and correct for room problems too. Of course it requires time to learn and program and software to use with your calibrated mike so you can assess what is really going on. Beats the heck out of try this and try that expensive gizmo until you stumble on something you really like.
  I see Mr OP that your listed personal system reflects all that nice tasty expensive gear you are loving on heh heh.

Easy one--- AGD Vivace  !!!!!!

Trinnov Altitude 16

It doesn’t go as far as the Theoretica regarding stereo separation in that it doesn’t do cross-talk elimination, but uses the same idea of adding digital filters to the output to correct for measured problems caused by walls and speakers, it doesn’t need a camera to track you and it works for multiple listeners. This has a startlingly large effect on the immersive effect of the audio - like spooky holographic cohesive sound field, most pronounced on well-recorded material. It was such a large upgrade to my system, I can’t even remember why I used to care about cables, etc.

I might be curious to hear the Theoretica one day just for kicks, but I don't want one because I think its focus on a 3D soundstage (and my need to stay within it) would reverse all the progress I made with the Trinnov in terms of being able to relax and forget about the equipment and just enjoy listening to the music.

Roy Mottram’s SP14 preamp by Vacuum Tube Audio. 

Streaming and streamers. Period. Discovered (for me) in 2021 after being away from HIFI since the early 90’s. This is the only thing I see as something that did not exist only a couple of decades ago yet has become as important and diverse as those core components I already knew about like power amp's, pre amp's, speakers, cables, turntables, CD players, R2R, tape decks etc. Ya, I’d say breakthrough technology.

Vandersteen M7 high pass liquid cooled hybrid tube / SS power amps - purpose designed to the speaker they drive…

countless hours of fatigue free listening…

blessed

I have tried upgraded power cords, cables, fuses, tube swapping, PPT products, isolation platforms, power conditioners and noting changed my musical experience until I added a Lucas Audio LDMS Music Server to my Lampi Pacific.  I would put this Music Server against the Taiko Extreme half the cost and unbelievable customer service.  It just took my Music to another level.  Next up is QSA yellow fuses and room acoustics.

the earliest automated declickers made by KLH/Burwen. same for dynamic noise reducers by the same firms. then CEDAR. Thiel loudspeakers which one-up the Maggies i also have by dint of their superior bass. 

Granny Ring,
You list-
Innuos new Sense 2.04 software absolutely trouncing the sound quality of Roon on my Zenith 3 server - what a revelation!

I see nothing on the Innuos Site referring to this. I have the same streamer. What is the product and where did you buy it?

Thank you.

@chorus it’s a free upgrade / revision for owners, mini currently excepted but coming…

there is a thread in digital on it

My feeling is in line with Tunehead.  Streaming and a good streamer transformed my appreciation for music and my system.  I get so much more out of my dac with my lumin sbooster setup with Roon than I ever could with some really good or great transports over the years.  And my music library is nearly limitless.  Through this developed a more nuanced appreciation of more aspects of the sound and music, I’ve been able to change a few components and really find what I enjoy most now, no real breakthrough.  Just access to a more vast and for me better quality source of music.

For me, it was 3 major things:

1. CDs. When they first came out, my friend called to his house, threw one against the wall and said, “look, their digital and they don’t break.” We spent so much money on CrO2 tapes seeking the perfect recording and looking for ultimate vinyl before then. 
2. HDMI - yes, even in the early days, it created simplicity. 
3. Hsu Tubes: I still have my original pair from none other than Dr. Hsu himself who I talked to directly about them when he invented them together with the outboard amp that is still going strong. They are nearly 5’ tall, have no WAF and sound unbelievable. I think they go down to 16-17HZ. Came with multiple spikes, a box of crossovers and circuit pullers. Just fabulous. Before the tubes, subs were just not that good to me. Now two big SVSs or whatever you like are great, but much more money and not any better than the tubes, in fact none blend as well to thins day IMHO.