Your greatest high end audio purchase!!!

No doubt Vandersteen 7 mk 2 with 7 high pass amplifiers…. been doing this since Dad’s stereo arrived in 1965 ( Dual / Grado / Mac / Bozak )….. 

Lots of memories including MX-110Z, Concert Grands, SOTA Sapphire, Dynavector Ruby, Souther , CJ Premier 3, stacked Quad ESL, etc…. best bang for $ = Audioquest AQ-404…. i still have a heavily modified ( Mike Samra - thank you !!!! ) MC-240…. magical….

Enjoy the music

After years of listening pleasure, I would rank my vintage Pioneer SA-1000 integrated amplifier as my favorite component.  I use it as a solid state stereo amp, and as a preamplifier for my Alan Eaton 45 tube mono amp and Reisong A10.  Bought it at a neighborhood garage sale for $10.  When tested by the previous owner, it did not power up.  So later I bought fuses at Frye's Electronics in Burbank...problem solved.

Marantz 1060 Integrated Amp, Philips GA-212/B&O SP-12 and Large Advents. My college system. Had to have a TT with auto-stop. Put lots of miles on that system. Would own any of those pieces again.

Marantz 3250170DC/2110 Stack. Gorgeous to look at and to listen to. Plus the tuner had an oscilloscope! Should never have sold it.

JVC QL-7 Turntable. Better than any equivalent Technics, then or now. Should never have sold it.

My Apt Holman Preamp. Bought in 1981, rebuilt/upgraded in 2021. Will never sell it.

McIntosh MC-240 Amp. Customer trade-in for $100 credit on an Onkyo receiver. Retubed it kept it 20 years sold it for $1200 to buy my first home theater. Miss it.

Adcom 5400 (Nelson Pass design 100W/ch MOSFET) When all else fails, my 5400 comes to the rescue. Currently driving my in-wall subs in my theater. Might reunite it with my Apt for dedicated vinyl system.

VPI Super Prime Scout /JMW Memorial 10.5" Printed Arm/Hana SH. My retirement present to myself. A thing of beauty to look at and listen to, and nowhere near as cantankerous as VPI detractors would have you believe. Keeper.

Monitor Audio Silver 300 7G. Absurdly good speakers for the money. British refinement plus the dynamics of a JBL, all in a package that's intended to be placed closer to the rear walls than most, which is what my living room requires. 

There are lots of other pieces I've owned enjoyed, and sold or traded for various reasons, but these are the ones that that remain my 'greatest high end audio purchase(s)'

Great question and what fun to read everyone's comments! I owned a pair of original Snell Type-E's around 1981. I replaced the woofers a couple of times as the foam gave out. After Peter Snell passed on the company evolved away from my personal sound preference. My beloved Type E's wore out as well. Today I have one of the two spiritual descendants, the DeVore O/93's. (The other being the Audio Note AN-E's) In my room space the O/93's are wonderful. Paired with my Cary CAD 300SEI Integrated I drive them with 15 watts of SET goodness. Happy times.

Enjoying this post everyone. I don’t cycle gear much, tending to get gear that sounds good to me on a limited budget and listen to it for a long time. But sticking with the “greatest hi-end purchase”  question, it was buying a pair of Quad ESL 63s a few years ago. I joined AGon in order to buy them and got them from a great seller for a good price. Turning up the volume on these was a revelation. I never knew recorded music could sound that real. 
 

That purchase sent me down the electrostatic road to a pair of Sound Lab M1s and a pair of MC2500s bridged for 1000 watts. (The SLs are hungry.) All bought used. My wife, a singer, after listening for an afternoon, thanked me for buying them.