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Best Hobby related purchase of 2010

I did a lot of horse trading in 2010, since my job sucked, and I didn't have a lot else to do, and I was wondering what the best deal I made, audio-wise was in 2010.

At first I thought buying Bryston BDA-1 after trying a ton of other DAC's, but since I eventually sold the Bryston due to lack of use, that was out.

Then I thought the modded PS Audio GCPH after trying so many great phono stages, but I after considering the surprise when I got the first of 2 expected Def Tech Supercube 1 subs (ended up with only one since it sounded so good). But that made me think maybe I should look at software purchases, and that's where I am for the year.

I got some great Japanese pressings of favorite alums, and a sublime (which is playing right now) pressing of Pink Floyd-The Wall (Radio station copy), and I realized I had a great software year.

So, the best audio hobby purchase of 2010: The Beatles MFSL Box for $600. Albums where pristine, and had the GeoDisc and booklet. A bit yellow on the covers et all but I didn't care. I love this set, and I know many collectors think there are not the best of the Beatles albums, but they are the pinnacle to me.

So anyone want to share their best 2010 audio deal?
macdadtexas
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
Although it wasn't cheap , the money best spent was without a doubt the Ayre KXR preamp .
onemug
784 posts
 
My "hybrid" Altec Valencias.

I have a couple of vintage Marantz receivers and always wanted a vintage speaker to go with them to complete the nostalgia but couldn't find any to suit my taste until now. I call them "hybrid" because the insides have a JBL woofer, a dome midrange and tweeter while the outside is the original 846a cabinet in walnut and the lattice grills are perfect. I love listening to them. The growl I get from the JBL alnico woofers is way fun to listen to and I can hear the breaths singers take. Very easy to listen to.

The enjoyment this system gives me for around a grand makes it the best bang for the buck purchase I ever made.
soundsbeyondspecs
132 posts
 
Van Den Hul Optilink II glass cables with a Behringer DEQ 2496 ARC connected between my OPPO transport and Proceed processor to help smooth out poorly recorded digital recordings and correct speaker/room deficiencies. This was surprisingly effective when playing poorly recorded redbook CD's.
raks
468 posts
 
Without question, Audioprism Ground Controls.

Blindjim... stay strong... my wife and I quite in late 2009.
musicpod
192 posts
 
I'd say it was a toss up between 2 purchases.

1. An EAR 834P phone stage. Replaced an onboard phono stage that I had been using and it made a difference. I bought it partly because I knew that if I didn't do something to improve the audio experience when listening to vinyl that my records were heading back to storage along with the TT.

2. Professional calibration for the audio portion of my system. On this item I'm nerdy enough and curious enough to have spent enough time to get the individual components set. What the calibrator provided was more knowledge than I had to get the individual components working together as a system. This is what I immediately noticed after his calibration--that the components seemed integrated and working together as a system.
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