Ok, I'm editing this becuase Mr Pig said it was boring to just list things you like. He isn't always right, but on this occasion he is. So I'm adding details:
Audionote Dac1
Peter Q wrote a little essay when he produced his first DACs. One of the things he said was that all CD players (of the time) make CD's sound as though they were all recorded in the same studio - this struck a chord with me. I thought he was absolutely right. So I bought this DAC brand new. I was physically very large...... but I loved it. It had fantastic tonal colour, it was detailed but it was also so damn inviting to listen to. CD followed CD with no dissatisfaction. PS when it was hot it also had a nice smell that I liked. I upgraded to a more expensive solid state DAC and all the magic evaporated. Duh!
Amphion Xenon
Large three way speakers with side firing woofers and an all metal drive unit array. These turned me on to having a full (virtually) bandwidth sound at home. They did great 3d stereo, they had extended treble, they went loud effortlessly..... they were the absolute opposite of the little shitty British stand mounts I had always used. The dedicated midrange driver was ace. They opened my eyes.
Conrad Johnson Pre and power amps
Gosh,,,, I loved these guys. They were champagne finished, they appeared to extend the bass response of my speakers. I enjoyed the look, the sound, the feel.They were sweet but not rolled off, effortless but not strident, dynamic but not in your face.
Krell KSA80
These are everything you always read about the Krell sound, limitlessly powerful (it felt like it anyway), dynamic with fab bass and extended treble. Lovely class A sound. Gosh it looked a mess in my lounge.... even I could see that.
Magneplanar SMGb.
The first pair of Maggies I owned and my first pair of dipoles. I could not believe the way these filled my room in a way no box loudspeaker had done and their sound..... I could hear quite quickly that a layer of something I didnt need had gone.... The box was no longer singing along with the music. Extra weird looking, extra special. Not very efficient but boy did they sing.
'Upgraded' all of these things only to miss them endlessly.......