What were your upgrades of 2021?

To many really. LP12 got a Karousel and a Hana ML.
Changed amps from a vintage Bryston 12 B - 2B to a Rega Aethos and got a Aria phonostage
Biggest upgrade though was some Magneplaner 1.7 i. Wish I had got into panels earlier on my audio journey.Just so enjoyable listening to them what ever source - vinyl - cd - radio.Even TV on 2 channel is great.
Just can't stop buying vinyl and cd's ...I blame the upgrades !

 

Chord Dave dac replaced QB76HD, Chord Prima preamp replaced by Chord CPA 5000.

 

I’m losing track of time…. Was my Karousel upgrade this year? I too blame it for my vinyl overspending habit

 

My upgrade to EWA LS-80 speaker cable was pretty spectacular.

 

An RME ADI-2 FS (not the fancy one with the display)

A veritable swiss knife AD/DA converter with pre and headphone out.
Replaced a (good but much more limited) Fostex HPA4

The headphone output is pure joy into my Senn HD600s

 

I've got an Sugden A21SE Signature, I love the sound but found that I needed a little too much subjective volume to bring my PMC speakers to life.

I've ended up with some Falcon Q7s for late-night nearfield listening and Tannoy Devons for occasional Opera and other "bigger" music that the Falcons can't manage. Early days with these but my immediate impression is that both can provide a satisfying sound at significantly lower volumes. That equates to a big upgrade in domestic harmony.

 

Musical Fidelity M6 PRX power amp and the first thing I have bought brand new in ages.

It has elevated my speakers to a capability I had no idea existed. Enjoyment - off the scale. As Von Karajan might have said, "all else is gaslight".

 

Agreed. I had the 600’s briefly as I really wanted to get into headphones. But I’ve mostly not liked phones, but they were good enough to make me splash serious cash on some Ether2 blind that have actually got me happy with to live with them as an equal to my speaker system. That’s a huge plus for the RME as they aren’t an easy load. Darko reviewed them and reckoned they needed a dedicated headphone amp after the RME. I have one but I haven’t tried it yet.
I actually prefer an ‘ancient’ DACmagic100 with a LPSU, but that’s personal preference.

 

Yeah - I used to run the Fostex output into a (modified) Musical Fidelity HA and that gave it some welly and improved the SQ a few notches but so far I've not been tempted at all to do that with the RME.
Might try it sometime just for a giggle - you never know

 

RME say no LPSU needed but I have just the job in the wings I think it is a standard item to test others against it’s just so flexible and competent. It’s telling a professional equipment provider dips it’s toe in the hobby market and makes a huge splash…

 

Swapped the Avondale Grad 1 / APX2 and M1 Monos for Sugden Masterclass AA pre and stereo power amp - not even close. The pre is the secret sauce. Also, like others, I got an RME dac on the computer system

 

Scratched an itch, a return to speakers from headphones. Out went Sennheiser HD800's driven by a Lehmann Linear and in came the new Rega Kytes driven by the new Io. It's a whole new ball game and early days yet.

 

As long as you like it, that's all that matters.

 

Karousel and Radikal2. I have a feeling I’m being softened up for the OrganiK upgrade to my KDS3 next year.

 

Moving from Mytek Brooklyn and Cambridge CXC to Denafrips Venus II and Jay’s Audio CDT2 mk3. Big upgrade.

Also adding IsoAcoustics Gaias under speakers and Oreas under components.

 

Topping D50S external DAC for the Chromecast Audio. Then upgraded Chromecast to a Raspberry Pi4.

 

Pulled out some long mothballed JPW Gold Monitors & replaced a faulty driver. Although cheap & ugly in appearance, I’ve found them astonishing performers that punch far beyond their station.

Also bought the first amplifier I owned from the 80s: a Technics SU-V3, purchased for its elegant appearance that I’ve always loved. However, more than 30 years later I’ve been pleasantly surprised by its performance.

The previous owner had upgraded the op-amp in the phono stage. I remember always liking my first V3’s phono stage but here records sound phenomenally, astoundingly good. Huge, open soundstage; detailed & effortless. The stalwart A60 hasn’t had a turn since.

Exactly two new record purchases made! Damned expensive, these things are now.

 

Buying a Project RCM finally… brilliant.

then taking the plunge and getting a Technics SL1500C bought from a lovely chap on the ‘Wam. Seriously impressed at the quality of the deck for the money, it’s revitalised my vinyl interest again along with the aforementioned RCM…

 

A pair of Kef Reference 3.2s ousted my Celestion A3s. Save for a little bit of low-end (where the A3s just felt effortless and dig really deep) the 3.2s are better in every other area.

I also went on an inadvertent DAC journey; my M-DAC shat its caps everywhere and I bought a Topping D50 from Whaleblue as a temporary replacement whilst the M-DAC was being repaired. I was so impressed with the Topping that the M-DAC never really went back in the system and Black Friday offered a highly tempting deal on a Topping D90SE which arrived a couple of weeks ago.

I'm actually also toying with the idea of another PFM member's amp currently in the classifieds but it's a big ol' chunk of cash to drop without knowing whether it'll be a significant upgrade over my existing XTZ - it should be, however the XTZ really does punch quite a long way above its weight. Decisions, decisions...!

 

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.