Tact 2.2x room correctiion preamp. First heard it at a friend's house and it blew me away--opened up and separated the performers in a much more lifelike way, and added layering to the stage and fleshed out and added body to the vocals--was like listening to a different (and much better) system.
After experimenting with a dozen cables and half-dozen amps in my ($25,000+)system , but still not completely satisfied, I wondered if the Tact could do the same for me.
Well, it did even more. Not as much a difference with soundstage, but cleaned up the whole presentation. My best description is that a blanket was removed from over the speakers.
Everything opens up and the natural decay and detail just hangs there. I erroneously thought my 10'x16'x24' dedicated room was decent. Not anymore. Made all the amp and cable changes seem quite subtle and unremarkable.
I'll also second the Apogees. 12 years ago I heard the Duetta Sigs at a dealer with top-of-line Mark Levinson gear and was enthralled. I bought them, but unfortunately was never able to get them to sound as good in my room/system and eventually sold them--which pleased my wife ;-)
