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Amazing ''Overachieving'' products...your pick?

I have owned both expensive gear (and I do mean expensive) and ''budget'' gear. Many components are mind-boggling on a price-paid versus performance ratio. Three of my favorites are:

1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.

2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.

3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.

What are YOUR picks ?
sonicbeauty

Showing 4 responses by nsgarch

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nsgarch
2,517 posts
 
Purist Audio Design Venustas cables -- the performance far exceeds the cost, and though they are expensive, they are still just this side of outrageous! If you can only affortd one, buy the phono cable :~)
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,517 posts
 
Mrdecibel: Both your picks certainly should be included. However, the single ended "shotgun"--type interconnect which put Monster on the map (if that's what you are referring to), was actually invented by Bruce Brisson, who parted ways with Noel early on and started MIT, which he still owns today.

In fact Bruce is the one who first put arrows on the Monster single ended cable. Not to indicate the direction of signal flow as many think, but to indicate which end of the (at the time) patented "floating shield" was connected to ground!

After that, it became fashionable to put (otherwise meaningless) arrows on every kind of audio/speaker/power cable made ;--))
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nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,517 posts
 
MrdB, are you referring to the big fat transparent zip-cord, but with the coarse and fine wires inside? That too was a Brisson design (time aligned.)
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,517 posts
 
MrdB, I was just trying to figure out (from what you said)if there was a Monster speaker cable before Bruce's design, because I don't recall one. I certainly agree with the "marketing genius" part (as opposed to technical genius ;--)
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