Which components knocked you out on first listen?


I've been listening to stereos since 1973 and I am still waiting to be truly knocked out by the sound of a component. I have sat in showrooms across the country and have been pleased by what I have heard but never truly blown away.
The closest I came was when I listened to a Meitner str-55 amp and VTL preamp a few years ago, sourced by a Linn Ikemi and Revel loudspeakers. However, I also have been moved by a
Apple computer cd drive, circa 1994 through a Creek 4040 and RA Lab speakers, estimated cost about $1,200; maybe more so than the Linn,Revel 10K system. How about you?
cody
Coincident Pure Referance Extremes doubled up
4 Pure Mini Monitors and 4 pure subs
All powered by an 8 watt set no less.
Absolutely blew me away!
For me, knockout power is correlated to the difference of actual performance over anticipated performance. The EMM Labs CDSA knocked me out.
i got shocked by a tube amp once. It didn't really knock me out, but it did feel like a baseball bat hit me in the arm !
Went over to a colleague from work's house for dinner. Unknown to me he had an amazing system. He was kind enough to audition a few cd's after dinner and I was awestruck.

JM lab / Focal Grand Utopia Be speakers, no idea what the other components were. I'd never heard music like that before, it changed my life.