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What were your upgrades of 2021?

Harbeth P3ESR to Kef LS50 Meta to ProAc Tablette 10 Signature

Bluesound Node2i with Fidelity Audio LPSU (instead of streaming from the TV)

Bel Canto Evo 2 to Bel Canto Ref 1000M
 
ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 to DALI Opticon 1 Mk 2
PS Audio Sprout100 to Rega io & Schiit Audio Modi 3+
iMac/Audirvana 3.5 to Bluesound NODE (2021)

Is this your main system? Did you ever sell the Sprout? I'd be interested if it ever comes up!
 
Built a new music room.
Otherwise upgraded a Shunyata Venom UK6 to a Shunyata Hydra Alpha UK10.
So not a lot really.
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Apart from purchasing a couple of Puritan Mains Classic Cables for my NDAC and TeddyPardo's PSU, I ended the with this major purchase.
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It is a Bigbottle Ultime – Premier Dual Mono Phonostage. Based on a "Triple stack" ramped up BB3, very good indeed and getting better as it runs in.
 
Rotel RCD 965BX to use as a transport into my nDac with 555ps, it replaced a Marantz CD63 KI signature, both bought well used. The marantz to replace a Micromega stage 4 that I'd had from new. The CD 63 was a disappointment after the failed Micromega, the Rotel, a bit of a revelation after the Marantz, can't compare to the Micromega, sadly.

Audirvana studio (from 3.5), I was pleasantly surprised how much better the free trial sounded so I subscribed, it's brilliant.

Had my 135s serviced by Darran at Class A, just 10 years since the last service (at Naim) but the improvement is enough to call it an upgrade.

So, not spent much last year but well pleased with the results.
 
Rotel RCD 965BX to use as a transport into my nDac with 555ps, it replaced a Marantz CD63 KI signature, both bought well used. The marantz to replace a Micromega stage 4 that I'd had from new. The CD 63 was a disappointment after the failed Micromega, the Rotel, a bit of a revelation after the Marantz, can't compare to the Micromega, sadly.

Audirvana studio (from 3.5), I was pleasantly surprised how much better the free trial sounded so I subscribed, it's brilliant.

Had my 135s serviced by Darran at Class A, just 10 years since the last service (at Naim) but the improvement is enough to call it an upgrade.

So, not spent much last year but well pleased with the results.

The Rotel RCD 965BX is highly regarded and has trounched many a CDP costing much more when I last heard mine (in the loft or garage). Never heard it as a transport though but it showed my Marantz 67SE the door.
 
Is this your main system? Did you ever sell the Sprout? I'd be interested if it ever comes up!
Yep, this is my attempt to assemble the ultimate minimalist, bang-for-the-buck system. It’s my main setup and I’m very pleased with it, it meshes beautifully with my small listening room and need to position the speakers close to the wall. I sold the Sprout100 last summer, it’s a nice product if you’re looking for a simple all-in-one desktop amp, but in terms of sound quality it’s a bit sterile and clinical, the Rega io is streets better.

I’m also disappointed that PS Audio doesn’t make it clear the every analog input on the Sprout is digitized and routed through the internal ESS DAC (because the Sprout utilizes the DAC’s built-in volume control). People who connect a turntable or want to experiment with different external DACs need to understand that their signals are ultimately run through the Sprout’s ESS 9016 DAC.
 
Yep, this is my attempt to assemble the ultimate minimalist, bang-for-the-buck system. It’s my main setup and I’m very pleased with it, it meshes beautifully with my small listening room and need to position the speakers close to the wall. I sold the Sprout100 last summer, it’s a nice product if you’re looking for a simple all-in-one desktop amp, but in terms of sound quality it’s a bit sterile and clinical, the Rega io is streets better.

I’m also disappointed that PS Audio doesn’t make it clear the every analog input on the Sprout is digitized and routed through the internal ESS DAC (because the Sprout utilizes the DAC’s built-in volume control). People who connect a turntable or want to experiment with different external DACs need to understand that their signals are ultimately run through the Sprout’s ESS 9016 DAC.

Eek. I don't like the sound of an analogue to digital conversion.
 
Added a 2nd 555PS and a Roon Core to the ND555, a Karousel to the LP12 and replaced my old CD5 with a CDX2.2 to use as a transport. All added nicely to my musical journey. This year I’m considering a Chris Harben plinth and an XV1t.
 
I'm well jealous! Hope you're enjoying it!

We are. The wife chose the speakers (Wilson Sabrina) and most of the decor, the hifi is largely hidden away, so it is a relatively small reading and music room, also nice for drinks with friends. There is no TV screen and only a soft chair between the speakers.

The hifi was moved from a larger family room. I did not really appreciate the benefit of using a smaller room and much more near-field listening. The speakers are 7 feet apart and I listen from about 8 feet off the centre line. A very pleasant surprise and generally more enjoyable.

The walls, ceiling and windows were acoustically treated with various specialist building materials and there is also a wireless 6-speaker system in the ceiling that should soon be configurable for multi-channel Dolby Atmos.
 
I must admit, that I am struggling with the shared room, because the music never gets a look in over the TV, so I mostly have to resort to listening on the system in my upstairs office/study. If we move, a separate music room will certainly be a priority!
 
We are. The wife chose the speakers (Wilson Sabrina) and most of the decor, the hifi is largely hidden away, so it is a relatively small reading and music room, also nice for drinks with friends. There is no TV screen and only a soft chair between the speakers.

The hifi was moved from a larger family room. I did not really appreciate the benefit of using a smaller room and much more near-field listening. The speakers are 7 feet apart and I listen from about 8 feet off the centre line. A very pleasant surprise and generally more enjoyable.

The walls, ceiling and windows were acoustically treated with various specialist building materials and there is also a wireless 6-speaker system in the ceiling that should soon be configurable for multi-channel Dolby Atmos.
Those Sabrinas are really good, when we were demoing for new speakers they were the only ones we thought hard about buying instead of the Martin Logan 11a, in the end the Mrs and I plumped for the Logans.
 
We are. The wife chose the speakers (Wilson Sabrina) and most of the decor, the hifi is largely hidden away, so it is a relatively small reading and music room, also nice for drinks with friends. There is no TV screen and only a soft chair between the speakers.

The hifi was moved from a larger family room. I did not really appreciate the benefit of using a smaller room and much more near-field listening. The speakers are 7 feet apart and I listen from about 8 feet off the centre line. A very pleasant surprise and generally more enjoyable.

The walls, ceiling and windows were acoustically treated with various specialist building materials and there is also a wireless 6-speaker system in the ceiling that should soon be configurable for multi-channel Dolby Atmos.

What are the wireless atmos speakers? I'm mulling over options!
 
Buying a RCM (Loricraft in my case), was a deal breaker for me, because even though it cost me a lot of money, and the cleaning process so time consuming, the advantages of playing clean records make it all worth while.

A Loricraft was probably the best investment I ever made.
 
Those Sabrinas are really good, when we were demoing for new speakers they were the only ones we thought hard about buying instead of the Martin Logan 11a, in the end the Mrs and I plumped for the Logans.

My wife, who generally considers hifi an invasion of her personal space, just loved a pair of Dark Titanium Wilson Sabrina. She still loves then. I had a friend round and for his tastes they are lacking in bass, which I understand, but they suit my musical tastes perfectly. They are the second pair of floor standing speakers I've ever owned (40 years owning hifi) and not obtrusive. The first pair was a pair of ESL63, which the wife booted out within a month.

My dealer stocks Martin Logan, but after the ESL experience we didn't go there. I think she made a passing comment about them, not repeatable! They have a lot more bass and would probably need some room correction.
 
What are the wireless atmos speakers? I'm mulling over options!

We put this product in the house, so a 2021 sound upgrade as well, a total of seven rooms, including for spatial sound, cinema and decluttered my office of a stereo system. It has multiple services built in, including Amazon HD and Apple Music, which are the two Dolby Atmos platforms. It is currently only operating as stereo, but sooner or later Dolby Atmos should broadcast in multi-channel and this system should accommodate it. Each unit has its own IP address, so in theory a different stream can go to each unit. Dolby Atmos from Amazon HD certainly sounds different even in stereo.

These units were flush mounted, others are surface mounted. Can retro-fit from standard lighting in minutes. The sound and light can be controlled by Alexa, but then everything can these days.

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