gordon
self-righteous, but never right
Most of my upgrades, fortunately, have exceeded my expectations. By default, my expectation is different by not necessarily better, so maybe a low bar. The 3 that stand out the most:
1) Exposure 4DR and later 16's. I found a demo 4DR at 25% retail, and bought it on a whim. Huge improvement over Linn LK280/Spark (again, probably a low bar to clear). The 16's were a similar improvement over 4DR.
2) Dynavector XV-1s. I was skeptical that expensive cartridges where worth it, especially given their limited lifespan. Other upgrades would've been considerable more expensive, so I went for. I'm on my 4th one today.
3) SME 20/2. I had had my LP12 for 22 years. The Keel was just released. I demoed the LP12/Keel vs. SME20/2, and much preferred the SME. The Keel upgrade cost about 50% of a new SME, with trade in, about 2/3 the cost.
1) Exposure 4DR and later 16's. I found a demo 4DR at 25% retail, and bought it on a whim. Huge improvement over Linn LK280/Spark (again, probably a low bar to clear). The 16's were a similar improvement over 4DR.
2) Dynavector XV-1s. I was skeptical that expensive cartridges where worth it, especially given their limited lifespan. Other upgrades would've been considerable more expensive, so I went for. I'm on my 4th one today.
3) SME 20/2. I had had my LP12 for 22 years. The Keel was just released. I demoed the LP12/Keel vs. SME20/2, and much preferred the SME. The Keel upgrade cost about 50% of a new SME, with trade in, about 2/3 the cost.