Which components knocked you out on first listen?


I've been listening to stereos since 1973 and I am still waiting to be truly knocked out by the sound of a component. I have sat in showrooms across the country and have been pleased by what I have heard but never truly blown away.
The closest I came was when I listened to a Meitner str-55 amp and VTL preamp a few years ago, sourced by a Linn Ikemi and Revel loudspeakers. However, I also have been moved by a
Apple computer cd drive, circa 1994 through a Creek 4040 and RA Lab speakers, estimated cost about $1,200; maybe more so than the Linn,Revel 10K system. How about you?
cody
Quad ESL 63's, properly set up and powered with tubes, in a large room - Jazz at the Pawn Shop on a Linn 12 and a Grace F9E. Talk about dimensional with the "you are there" feeling! Been trying to duplicate that sound for years, got all the gear, but I never got the right room.
I recall my first exposure to the Ohm F as well (at tech Hi Fi in Boston)...incredibly powerful.

Koss ESP-9 electrostatic headphones.

Magnapan Tympani 1Ds, driven by Audio Research electronics....one of the first true high end systems I ever heard (many thanks to Lyric in White Plains for indulging a poor college student!)

The first time I heard Thiels (can't recall the model, unfortunately), I was blown away by the imaging and coherency. That launched a long obsession with soundstaging....although my speakers at the time, Dahlquist DQ-10s, were no slouch, they were no match for those Thiels. Today I own both 1.5s and 2.3s.
Unsound: A Mobie is G&D's model name for their cable burner, which is no longer produced. Sean
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Apogee Divas driven by a Classe DR3-VHC. I heard an LP of Liszt's "Via Crucis" through these turn the far end of a showroom into a cathedral. Utter magic.

A KR-18 integrated amp - it was the first time I "got" what SET was all about, and bought it on the spot.

My Coincident Total Victories and Audio Note 4.1x DAC