Best Component Ever, for the money

I used to have a pair of B&W DM302s. At $250/pair, they're able to hold their own against speakers that cost several times what they do. The low end is non-existent, but everything else about them is great.

The best improvement I've ever gotten per dollar, though, was $9 worth of acoustic ceiling tile screwed to the wall in the primary reflection point.

I paid $250 for a brand new pair of floor standing Whatmough from Audiolabs.
These have a very nice slender shape and very good sound quality. They are as good as my B&W 604-S4 speakers and they look better!

Trends Audio 10.1 integrated amp. I have had other integrated amps like the Rega Brio 3, Krell KAV-300i, and Cambridge Audio 540C V.2, and this tiny thing keeps up very well with them all. I would not say that it sounds better, but it sounds very close at a fraction of the cost.

JBL Paragon, a design classic

Oppo upconverting universal DVD/SACD/CD/DVD-A player for under $200.