Equipment that has made you 'stop' looking?


OK we all know what a merry-go-round audio can be. For those of us who are incessant upgraders, what components have you found that either have stopped or seriously curtailed your search for better?

For me its my Audio Tekne Cables and my vintage Classe DR3 amps (25 wpc high current class A design designed by Dave Reisch in the early days of the company). My Green Mountain Audio Continuum 3s would probably fall into this category, but I would probably buy the next statement models that Roy Johnson builds sight unheard.

Kerry
Ag insider logo xs@2xmusicfirst
The Walker Audio Proscenium Turntable has been a journey's end for me. Just a superb component that allows one to hear every nuance of what's been encoding on the vinyl. Complete ease of set-up and rock solid reliability. No turntable and arm combination I've listened to has allowed me to hear so completely what is going on with the music, and none has been able to approach the Walker's ability to deliver the presentation of a full orchestra without the slightest congestion. [And, Lloyd's not done with improving this marvelous turntable. Yesterday I was able to hear the new ceramic tonearm and spindle in Lloyd's personal system (with which I am very familar). The new tonearm makes an improvement in resolution and image solidity I had not imagined possible before hearing this. Easily upfittable on existing turntables to the new "Walker Audio Proscenium Black Diamond Turntable." The journey continues... ;-) ]

And the Atma-Sphere MA-2 Mk.III OTL monoblock amplifiers: 220 watts of outstanding musicality and faithful sonic reproduction. Ralph Karsten is another designer who has created a phenomenal product and whose inventive inquisitiveness never stops. The MA-2 has been in production for a decade or more, and Ralph has continually improved it in many subtle and not so subtle ways over its production life. The most recent Mk.III upgrade delivered improvements bass authority, imaging, and overall smoothness that surprised me given how good the Mk. II sounded.

So, both of these marvelous pieces of gear have made me stop looking for something better, but both are created by incredibly talented and inquisitive designers who are continually exploring ways to make them even better. If either Ralph or Lloyd tell me they've found a way to do something better, I pay attention.
.
1) Well Tempered Reference TT and arm;
2) Tidal Contriva speakers (unless Joern Janczak has another - affordable - ace up the sleeve)
Nick Doshi's Alaap Audio pre and phono stage, plus Nick's modified Lectron LH-50 amplifier. No more merry-go-round for me!
Agree with the Dartzeel amp and pre. Most beatiful sound and there is NO TUBES! sorry tube lovers
"Kerry":

The equipment that has made me stop looking are the following:

(01). Adcom GFP-750 Active/Passive Line Stage Control Amplifier.

(02). Adcom GFA-545 MkII Power Amplifier (until it died last year...... Replaced with the Adcom GFA-5400, my system hasn't sounded the same ever since..... I may go on the hunt and see if I can locate another GFA-545 MkII sometime soon).

(03). Magnum Dynalab FT-101 FM Tuner.

(04). MITerminator 2 Interconnects and Speaker Cables.

Damn..... That's half of my system right there.... That being said, I guess I am halfway off the "merry-go-round", right????

--Charles--

P.S. Oh yes, you can add my Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures to the mix as well.....