your most memorable component


what component, other than a speaker, has contributed to the greatest change in the sound of your stereo system ?

what was the nature of the change ?
mrtennis
Linn Universal 1.1 player. Gave my CDs incredibly more detail, clarity, and air. A great piece of equipment.
Looking into my crystal ball, they will be the George Wright AU-15 2A3 15W push/pull triode amps we just heard. George is on a run through CA, visiting dealers who sell his products, and was kind enough to stop by and let us hear his new 15W EL84 integrated, which is plays far beyond its $1600 retail price would imply. We then heard his AU-15s, which were unquestionably in the top-3 amplifiers my wife and I have ever heard. I'm talking an hour of non-stop goose bumps. Incredible.
This may show my age, but when I was a senior in high school, I worked all summer and bought my first component, a PE turntable. I didn't have any other components then and spent several months admiring the turntable before I could buy the rest of the system. This was my introduction to "HI-FI". My other memorable component was a Hafler integrated amp. I bought a kit and put the thing together working feverishly every night. To my amazement, when I hooked it up and plugged it in, it didn't blow up and sounded so fantastic compared to my previous receiver. I guess I am getting nostolgic.