What were your favorite gear additions in 2024?

My best addition was a pair of Klipsch Heresy one speakers that I picked up used and which turned out to be perfect mates for my Firstwatt F6 amp. Second was the discovery of Raspberry Pi Zero 2W small board computers, which can be configured with Ropieee software and made to serve as extraordinarily good Roon end points. In the wings, but not ready for judgment yet is the Elekit TU 8900 300 B/2A3 amp which I built this year and has opened the world of 300 B tubes to me. It is good but I have not decided if it betters my Firstwatt F6 yet. However, it does seem like an excellent mate for my Lii audio F-15 open baffle speakers.

Borrensen x1 monitor speakers, tsakadiris Alexander tube preamp upgraded with mullard tubes.Puron tweak.

Big rig didn’t change at all; it’s exactly where it needs to be and at this point I’m more likely to mess it up than anything.

Small rig (office system) continued to be my "sanbox" for a 2nd year, and I went through a TON of stuff. It’s setlling down now, and has ended up with a couple old favorites from past iterations of the big rig.

1. Ortofon SPU was my favorite "new find" and a good daily driver for focusing on the "passion" of music rather than the "details". Carries some of the aspects I love about Koetsu. Nothing fancy, just basic Classic models. Their combination with Hagerman Piccolo Zero head-amp (cheap at $270) is a revalation!
2. Re-bought my old Tannoy Canterbury SE speakers (I run GR in the main rig). Surprisingly, they work wonderfully in a smaller room!
3. Meridian digital (500 CD transport, 808, UltraDAC). I really like these for digital playback; they are not as sterile sounding as most DACs, and can hang with good vinyl.
4. VAC Statement 450S amp (older version, before "iQ" auto-bias). This was definitely a splurge pickup. Decidedly an improvement over the VAC 200iQ monos.
5. Rogue Hera II preamp. Re-bought this. Used to be my preamp in prior iterations of the big rig. I really missed it, and it hits the spot here. It’s got its faws for sure, but in some ways I like its sound better than $20K - 30K preamps.
6. SOTA Cosmos. The small rig poses significant energy-management issues for turntables. Finally had to give up on various Clearaudios and VPIs; they just won’t work here. The SOTA works beautifully!

I made two big changes in 2023, streamer and amp, and none in 2024. Pretty much just bought tubes this year so will say biggest upgrade the NOS RCA 2a3s in my Wirght amps right now.

Canton Reference 7 speakers..... McIntosh MC 1502....Chord Symphonic Phono Pre Amp