Biggest bucks = Satifaction? Hmmmmm...


With a self-classification as "rookie", "newbie", or, best yet, "audio ignoramus", I ponder the signifigant satisfaction fellow members have enjoyed (or failed such) with their highest dollar acquisitions.

Before "The Fever" got me, my biggest buy was a $1k Kenwood rack system bought from Circuit City (jeez, I hated that salesman...but it was Circuit City or Sears, can you blame me?) 10 years ago. That system was fine until I heard a MacIntosh at the local high end shop (just by chance - I buy my CDs there). I was blown away, not just by the sound, but by the cost factor as well. I knew I had to start upgrading, so over the past two years I have, in my humble opinion, built a fine beginner system. My highest dollar buy has been a pair of B&W CDM9NTs, and even though I paid full retail for them, they have rewarded my expenditure twenty-fold, delight to the point that they rank very low on my near-future upgrade list.

How about you? What single audio component most severely damaged your pocketbook, and was it worth it?

Cheers, Steve...
zootallures
My speakers are my largest expenditure and my most rewarding investment as well. They will be very difficult to upgrade. I do look every year at CES for candidates, but have yet to be tempted. Mine are the Soundlab Ultimate Ones, currently retail for $29,700.00.
Speakers for me, too. I've got Talon Audio Khorus'. I bought them used at a good price, but they still set me back quite a bit.

I'd love to hear Albert's Soundlabs. We've got to plan an Audiogon BBQ at his place one of these weekends. ;-)
I think speakers are going to take the cake here. Hands down. My upgrade from Paradigm Studio Monitors (yeah... the "Originals", not the newer, "Reference" crap! What a waste of R&D) to NHT 3.3's. That was a nice step up. Demo's for $2K. Not a megabucks upgrade, but definitely the most pleasurable.