Any piece of equipment you currently dream of ?

My reach is rather limited right now, so no.  But out of reach?  Plenty!

Out of reach..well, maybe Kharma top speakers and tube electronics to match them.

Accuphase A-48......man, those cheap class D  amps are making the dreaming more and more difficult....

I'd love a large listening room. 50 X 30 would be a good start (12 foot high ceiling).

I would love the MBL Extreme speakers.  

SL1 Legend Black Path Extreme

McIntosh power amp.  Want it for the blue meters I’ve liked since I was young.  Don’t need it or have room for it.   That’s why it’s a dream. 

If I could acquire a Backert Pre for 1800 I would be happy: can't justify 5K ... my hearing just isn't worth it!!

Oh, we are talking some serious equipment here.

McIntosh MA352 is what I'm drooling for at the moment.. 🙏 Hopefully I will pull the trigger soon..  

I’d love to get a good moving coil cartridge and SUT to compare to my high output devices.

Never mind, the $3000 quarterly property tax bill just got paid.

I have been dreaming about having what I have. So I just gave it all to goodwill and I will start from scratch.

McIntosh C22 or perhaps the consolation PrimaLuna Evo 400. 

I have been dreaming about having what I have. So I just gave it all to goodwill and I will start from scratch.

There are times I am not sure whether you are serious, @grislybutter .

A good one - dreaming about what you already have.

@immatthewj that should be ALL the time as I am in doubt myself. I wish I had a clue what I am talking about

Would love to have Philharmonic HT Towers as my up-front speakers.   Someday, maybe...

Westminster REI amps

I don’t dream of anything, I make it happen.

@kenny you have heard these somewhere and now you are dreaming about it? Seems some Hong Kong’s dude overpriced gear at $34K:

Either way, it doesn’t seem that much out of the question so stop dreaming and make it happen 

Ayre KX-R preamp. It’s coming on Tuesday!!!

@riie you also shoot Chuck Norris in the face if he cuts you off in the grocery line

Recently auditioned a Simaudio Moon 791 preamp /DAC/Phono. Absolutely amazing. Would love to upgrade my Moon 390 to this state of the art  component. This is a big jump in sound…and in price.

Esoteric Grandioso.

In about 2008 I purchased an Esoteric X-03SE, and was amazed at the improved SQ by every measure compared to the Sonic Frontiers DAC. 

In 2021 I switched to the K-01XS with another quantum leap in SQ.

Perhaps the Grandioso would do the same!

For me, in the not so distant future, a man-cave that isn’t your typical man-cave. It would be a stand-alone small cabin-esque structure that has a largish (20x20) room with shelving for my books, a writing/drawing desk, a few comfortable lounge chairs and my hi--fi system set up front and center, along with shelving for my vinyl and CD collect. Attached to this would be a workshop that I use to fiddle around in working on my bikes and doing woodworking projects.

As for the hif-fi gear - a modest upgrade for a modest me to some Vandersteen 2ce Signature III or Dynaudio Evoke 50 speakers and an upgrade of my mid-fi integrated amp to a much better integrated amp or pre/amp set-up. I haven’t decided on the integrated upgrade yet. But I have shortlisted the following: Heaven Eleven Billie Mk3, Rega Elicit Mk 5, Musical Fidelity M5Si, or Hegel 190.

@bipod72

I love your description of your workshop.

However, wouldn’t woodworking be dusty affecting the hifi?

I am curious how you decided to add the Billie and the Hegel 190 to your list. I am interested in both and I wonder if I could pick your brain. (They are outside of my budget so whenever they hit the used market)

I imagine the Hegel and the Billie to be very different. I too have Evokes and a pair of Vandersteens. (courtesy of Mr, @tomic601 )

@grislybutter Well, I plan to have the two independent of each other but under one roof and the workshop would have its own dust collection and mini-split. I primarily use hand tools (because they're more affordable than tons of power tools) but also I enjoy the manual labor aspect. 

As for the Billie and Hegel, I'm intrigued by the Billie's typology of the tube pre-amp while the Hegel is certainly more neutral. I've seen a few used Hegel 190s and they sound great. I haven't heard the Billie so that would be a true leap of faith. 

Of the Evokes and Vandersteens, do you have a preference between the two? 

@bipod72

I love your description of your cabin retreat too.

You need music in the shop :)

Probably about 40 pieces I’d love to have, but I haven’t hit a lottery yet!

A new house with room for a new listening room to support Rockport Lyras and all the flagship Boulder gear to go with it. 

@bipod72 

I haven’t plugged in my Evoke 20s in months. I also have a pair of Celestions. ($60 on Goodwill)

The Evokes are great speakers. Until you hear better speakers. To be fair, my Evokes beat a lot of speakers in my tests, Klipsch, Wharfedale, Sonus Faber, Totems, very musical and sweet, lively in the high frequencies decent bass but not the greatest resolution, detail and soundstage. My Celestions have a stunning soundstage and effortless mids, as they are more sensitive. The Vandersteens is good at everything, maybe not as robust and involving as the Celestions, but just very high quality.

I was very interested in the Mk3 but the price hike is brutal and may be worse with the tariffs. Do you know how the Hegel 190 copmpares to to the 90 or 95?

@grislybutter no need, he does my groceries.

@devinplombier I plan to have some wireless speakers for the shop I can stream to. As it stands, my wife graciously accepts my hi-fi and music collection to inhabit the house. for now. Which is why I want a little place for my stuff that my kids won't mess with and the wife won't complain about having to look at!

@grislybutter I was also thinking about some Monitor Audio Silver 300 5Gs but the Vandersteens have been on my list for a while. I just don't have the proper space or setup to do them justice yet which is why I haven't pulled the trigger.

Yes the Billie Mk3 certainly went up in price. I would hazard a guess that's due to elevating the features and components including the modular design and being made in Canada carries some price premium for sure. The tariffs won't help in the matter, but hey, you get free shipping according to their website!  

Aside from the increase in power, I've read the component upgrades and internal design on the H190 are marked improvements giving a "cleaner" Hegel sound.  If I were staying with bookshelf speakers and a small room setup, the H90 or H120 would be my choice. 

@bipod72 

For some reason, your description of your new space evoked in my mind the warm glow of tubes.

@devinplombier I could go with an old English gentleman's club theme complete with a snooker table and one of those large globes showing the extent of the British empire that holds a secret liquor bar inside. And *waves hand* over here is my all-tube setup. We'll sit by the warm glow of the tubes and enjoy this box set I just picked up. 

I don’t think Chuck’s best use of time and skills is grocery shopping but we all gotta adopt in this big changing world. 

@bipod72 I would think Hegel has synergy with Dynaudio and the Billie with the Vandies. I know nothing about amp design but the Billie has so many functions for a one man show that I have a hard time believing that it can compete with products made by 100s of years of combined experience and 10s of patents.

My third preference would be Simaudio. Sweet dreams :)

Dr. Feickert Woodpecker, Clearaudio DC Wood or Ovation, Pure Fidelity, or even a low end AMG turntable. I’ve got a pretty decent tonearm and MC cart. Just dream about 

I am very happy with my system... but give additional funds I would upgrade my Sonus Fabter Amati Traditional speakers for Sonus Faber Lilium or Strats. 

I agree with @ronboco about Rockport Lyras, but I would stay with Gryphon power as I currently have driving my Rockports currently. 

@bipod72 I was an indentured servant in a high end cabinet and machine shop… The boss aka Dad… always said… “ power tools are just a faster road to scrap “…

Of course, i could do climb milling at the age of 12, so my listening skills… are… questionable 

@drrsutliff Good doctor - Which Rockports ?…. those are on my listen to more deeply list this year….

Interestingly, some people would simply gradually upgrade the sound they already have, while others would seem to go after a completely different higher level.

I think, I belong to the "evolution " camp.

@tomic601 Currently I have an pair of Rockport Mira 2 speakers. These were a few generations ago but sound amazing.  Only way I am replacing them is by moving up the Rockport line.  

I am happy with my system.  I dream of a domicile large enough to have a dedicated, treated room with more dedicated mains that my system deserves.  

@tomic601 

Depending on which of your rooms they will go in I strongly recommend looking at the Avior ii. Incredible speakers and that second woofer gives me amazing bass in my room. 

Audio Note CDT2, or CDT3 Transport. Audio Note M3 Preamp and P2SE Signature amp.

@jsalerno277

You know that is a really great dream... I wouldn’t have thought of it. It is so easy to think of the next component. 

I was very lucky. I was changing jobs / moving twenty years ago and moved into this house, with a large, really good listening area... and it probably was the largest single step up my system ever made.

@ghdprentice 

Thank you.  I aspire to your room and attention to detail you have described in both your forum and system posts regarding your room and setup to maximize your system SQ.  While we have both made distinct equipment design choices we made those choices to achieve a similar goal - to reach our perspective of a musical system of accurate timbre, sweet treble, and natural dynamics and staging,  I am bound by a small, dual purpose living room/listening room.  When my wife retires I hope to move from the overpriced NYC tristate suburbs up the line further where the real value and tax proposition will permit a lagger domicile with a dedicated room.  

Yes, but I always forget what it was as soon as I wake up.