What was the best (most impactful) piece of new equipment to hit the market in 2023?

For me it wasn't a piece of equipment but rather software. I have been interested in the BACCH system for some time but I had no interest in inserting a MAC computer into my system. Their introduction of u-BACCH software for Windows corrected that. Running it through J. River l got exactly what I was looking for at a lower price to boot.

For value as well as sound quality The T+A 200 dac+ very good  active preamp 

galvanic isolation throughout .at our audio-get togethers this retails for  $7200

but can get a bit less ,stacked up vs dacs even at $15 k  bettered them 

as far as overall detail musicality and balance ,even vs dacs like Mola Mola ,Latest Denafrips terminator + 12 th, Holo springs May dac 

Chord David,Lampizator Golden gate , even vied the $18k  DCS which may have a bit more razor sharp leading edge precision , the dac 200 even has HQ player built in and several dithering settings ,Roon has HQ player built in , and even Innuos let’s you use it ,it’s a great program to Taylor your sound even more if you choose to ,but the dac 200 has that you are there natural presentation ,and it’s not just me , 8 others now that heard it bought it just in the north east that I have corresponded with ,I will be #9 i after the holidays , I am still saving ,check out the reviews ,and some places will allow a demo . Happy Holidays 🤶 🎄 🎅. 

Thanks for the precision...

It will be useful for some here and me if i win lotery ...

I will stay anyway with the minimal BACCH filters for my headphone eventually... This will be enough for me ... I am too old now for a complex and costly system because i will never had the dedicated room i  once had  in my actual smaller house...😁

Merry christmas to you and to your family ...🎄

For the Trinnov Waveforming technology you need the Altitude 16 which is even more expensive than the Amethyst. And you need no less than 4 matching subwoofers. If I go for it I’m looking at the Perlisten D 15s. The total cost will be $42,000.00 not including custom stands for the subs.

It’s a lot of coin. It will depend on how much bass control the room rebuild will give me. We shall see…

This will be exactly my next  and last move ...

Elaborate  please a bit about your impression and what you did wait for ?

For me it wasn't a piece of equipment but rather software. I have been interested in the BACCH system for some time but I had no interest in inserting a MAC computer into my system. Their introduction of u-BACCH software for Windows corrected that. Running it through J. River l got exactly what I was looking for at a lower price to boot.

@mahgister I was interested in the BACCH system since it’s introduction but not only is it expensive it is MAC based. I did not want to take a backwards step in my system and go back to a laptop. I have a Windows based Wolf Audio streamer/server feeding a PS Audio MK II DAC. The u-BACCH for Windows allows me to have my cake and eat it too. For all music it adds a nice you are there presentation component to it; like moving a couple of rows closer to the soundstage.

The interest for most users however is the 3 dimensional effects that it creates. I have found this to to be very song dependent. On some songs it is simply spectacular and on others not so much. It responds very positively to recordings with echo and reverb and it is a backup singers best friend especially choruses. Just about all songs get some movement beyond the plane of the speakers. 

The only drawback is that it that it has a small sweet spot.If you are familiar with the Carver Sonic Hologram ,it is somewhat similar but the sweet spot is larger allowing one listener to sit behind another and get pretty much the same presentation. When I have company I prefer to sit side by side. In this case , I will adjust the u- BACCH slider to around the 50 setting.This allows me to still get the liveliness that u- BACCH adds to the presentation. I would pay the software fee for just the added you are there playback. The 3D effects are a bonus. 

One of my audiophile buddies visited for a couple of days this week. He was quite enthusiastic about the results when I had him sit in the sweet spot. When we were sitting side by side, I moved the slider adjustment to 50. He had me engage and disengage the u- BACCH software. After going back and forth several times he liked when it was engaged better stating that the music sounded closer to being live.