Of all your gear, what piece impresses you most?


I like all my gear, yet the single piece that blows me away the most is my phono preamp.
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My speakers which are a one-of-a-kind 2-way using a 15" paper cone woofer designed in the 1940's, an aluminum horn also designed in the same era, and an Altec compression driver from the 1970's. Any combination of these drivers would probably sound pretty decent, but what ties it all together is the crossover which uses some equalization to tweak the response. In my admittedly biased opinion, this speaker combines some of the best qualities of vintage speakers such as Western Electrics (musical tonal balance with sometimes startling dynamics) with modern audiophile qualities (high frequency extension, detail, imaging). This speaker also has a wonderful coherency---despite the very different drivers it sounds like a single driver. The roughly 98 db sensitivity also allows use of low-powered amps.

If I had to, I could live contentedly with other turntables, other electronics, other cables, etc. but these speakers are a necessity!
I'm most impressed by my Grace F8 cart by a bit over the NSM sub. The Grace presents my vinyl in musical ways that surpasses previous carts, from Grado wood-bodies to ZYX. When I read about the setup and integration issues folks have with their subs, I feel lucky to have a sub and manufacturer support that was so easy to place and have a seamless sound with Fostex driven main speakers.
Bel Canto ref1000m monoblock amps because they are everything I could ask for in an amp in a very small and non-obtrusive package. Modern technical innovation applied to home audio at its best.

Also the latest addition, a Pangea power cord, just because of the build quality and heft plus it looks awesome (as power cords tend to go).
My tube amp, because it appears to be alive. Otherwise my modest (priced...bought stuff cheap or used here and there) system doesn't seem to lack anything it might need for musical enjoyment at this point, so I'll change things only out of boredom, curiosity (would a different TT sound better?...hmm), esthetics (I like striped ebony...I want some speakers with striped ebony veneer), failure (a component, not my personal failure, although deafness or sudden death could have an impact and shall be avoided if possible), or everything (except me) falling down a sinkhole...hate those sinkholes.
It's a toss up between my Artisan Fidelity Garrard 401 with upgraded platter and inverted bearing, and my Jeff Rowland Continuum S2 integrated amplifier.