Which components are "stupid good"?


Which components, known to be outstanding in their category, have a performance to price differential such that they can truly be called "stupid good?"
pmboyd
I think we have covered the stupid good stuff. Now lets focus on the stupid bad stuff.
Stupid bad stuff? hmmmmmm

OK, I'll play.

Clever clocks, brilliant pebbles, transportation tweaks, and hot stampers.
A great front speaker and a great sub will have you playing your whole music collection. Sounds stupid but worth looking at.
1. Huge multi driver speakers that resemble a PA System but don't quite sound that good.

2. Interconnects that are air/water insulated..

3. Hemp drivers. Smoke um if you got um.

4. Wireless speakers

5. ???????
hi all ! I guess I have a few nominations...Tekton Lore loudspeaker at $1000 per pair . These things are closer to live than about anything I have ever heard . Belles A150 amp...got used on ebay for $450 , thats adcom territory pricewise , soundwise your gonna have to spend a lot more that that to better the a150.
With it's DACs, power supply and fully balaced outs, I think the Oppo BDP-95 is a great CD player for the price, but when you add the fact that it plays blu-rays and just about everything else...it's stupid good.
First Sound pre amps are the most musical I've tried. Upgrade the pot resistors to Vishays, upgrade the capacitors and power supply when finances allow and you get pure magic.
eXemplar eXception SE-Line

can make a $100k sound system sound twice as good.
Vh audio cuTf VCaps ARE stupid good though not stupid cheap however possibly the greatest observable "improvement" I've experienced for dollars spent.
My choices are: Oppo 105D (probably all Oppo players); Stax headphones, and Nakamichi cassette decks (mostly the higher end models).
Anti-cables ain't too shabby. 

Had a lot of gear in and out of my system this year from cables to components and I keep returning to these for my loudspeakers. (Thiel CS 3.5) 



For the money, or any money, Klipsch Epic CF-4 speakers. Yes, stupid good.
For me it would be the Hagerman Cornet 3, especially when it was offered as a kit.
I had to think about this for a minute because some of my gear should sound stupid good given their price, but keeping in context with the OPs question I would say my new OPPO 103D IS stupid good....   It can decode virtually anything, has incredible picture quality plus it sounds pretty good through its analog outputs.  It can pull any media from my network or hard drives and the ability to control it via a tablet allows me to see the Playlist and album art really makes it stupid good.
Very surprised by the performance of a pair of Silverline Prelude Pluses.  Bought new for under $2K.  Wasn't expecting them to sound as good as they do.  I think they deliver performance comparable to speakers 2-3x their price.    If not "stupid good", then at least "crazy good".  
Raidho, Magico, Aurender, Air Tight, DCS, Clear Audio, Nordost.

Stupid Good.



Matt
Speaking of the Linkwitz speaker, there is a related product that is uniquely good---the GR Research/Rythmik OB/Dipole Subwoofer. The bass in the Linkwitz is produced by a similar design---two 12" woofers facing in opposite directions and wired in opposite polarity. You may remember an also similar product from the 1980's, the Gradient sub made specifically for the QUAD ESL63. But the Rythmik A370 plate amp contains the patented Direct Servo Feedback circuitry that, in conjunction with the co-designed woofers, produces the cleanest, tightest, most articulate bass you have ever heard. The sub is available only as a DIY kit, which contains the two woofers and amp. Plans for both a W-frame and H-frame into which the woofers are mounted are available on the GR Research website. The OB/Dipole sub produces bass voted "Best Bass At The Show" at multiple RMAF's. 
I went to Best Buy to check out the new B&W D3 804 speakers . They sounded  very nice  "BEST" on the floor , I did listen to there other brands , Sonus Faber , M.L., few other brands put the D 3 804 on last was not even close .I could only find one thing wrong with these speakers ,
the price !!! I almost fainted  lucky for them I had a empty stomach .So down payment on a new car or walk to work ??? and it was 2 below 0 outside not to mention dangerous drivers . The 804 speakers gave off little heat , So I went with car. ""BUT"" when the salesman showed me he was running them thew the new Rotel RA-12 amp using the built in dac as a source . I bought the amp , Its very good well made w/lots of options and turn table hook up. Clean and well define . The price is reasonable , I just have butter a few more million bagels to make the $$$ to pick up the speakers . Best Buy gives options on a no interest loan plus no Bull Shit fees . And you can bring anything back if you don"t like the product , No any dealers do that ???
I had mentioned Magnepan MMGs and I still keep them on my list... but I add
The Parasound A21 power amp and
The Bluesound Node 2
The Node 2 can Stream music to multiple Bluesound Players all over the home.
It can access and connect to internet radio stations like Pandora, Spotify, Tidal or Roon so it is a Hi-Fi streaming device.
It can access cloud music services and your own local music library.
It will unfold and Play MQA files (which sound spectacular)
It controls music wirelessly with an intuitive Controller App for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and Windows & Mac OS X desktops or mobile device like an Ipad, Iphone or Anroid phone or tablet.
Simple to setup, easy to expand. It also has a great DAC!
JW Audio speaker cables.  10 bucks a stereo foot, so I spent $70 on my cables, and they have bested or equaled cables costing up to $3000 (my system, my ears, etc.)  I no longer audition speaker cables because I'm completely satisfied with the JW Audio cables.  
Clear Day Double Shotgun Speaker Cables. Ingress Engineering RollerBlocks.