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

Bottle Head pre amps.

Johnk -
Thanks for the Jango recommendation. I was not aware of that site. Why do you say it is better than Pandora? Pandora offers free access but with a very affordable subscription provides better sonics over the free version. I visited the Jango site. Noted that the default "artiste" in the search window was Madonna. Entered a few that I like: Stars of the Lid, Kelly Joe Phelps, Chris Whitley. Got "No matches for [artist name]. Please try again". Hmmm...I find these easily on Pandora and in fact that's how I first became aware of 2 of the 3 named here (hearing them on Pandora, that is). In all fairness, I did get hits for others such as Ben Harper, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Massive Attack. Never the less, what do see as Jango's advantage over Pandora?

Sorry, that should be, "Never the less, what do YOU see as Jango's advantage over Pandora?"

Pioneer PD-65 CDP. Bought it in 1991, now with a friend, still playing beautiful music.

Anti-Cables IC's - scarily closer to my Valhallas.

The challenge with any audio system is synergy. However, the second challenge is to maximize the "weakest" portion of your systm. Considering the cost the following candidates meet the criteria in my little rig.

1. Jolida 302B Highly modded by Underwood HiFi. Never heard one without the mods but with them -- oh my! The challenge is tube selection. I find that REAL Svetlanas (yes the old ones) are magic in this amp. Couple that with an entire Mullard NOS front end (ECC83s and the 12AT7 equivalents) and boy houwdy do you get bang for the buck.

2. The now nearly antique Audio Alchemy DTI Pro32 -- a jitter filter between your transport and whatever DAC you use. Now, because of age they can be had very reasonably. There is nothing in my system that I wouldn't replace -- except for this.

3. Pretty much ANY digital cable from Chris Sommovigio. I am currently using an Stereovox HDXV and a Stereolab XV2. Bang for the buck is defined here. Actually considering getting his new cable (remarkably less expensive new than the two I currently own) that is reported to be superior to these older products.

4. This one is a very narrow audience achiever. I have a Muse Model 2+ DAC. It manages HDCD output (as does the Audio Alchemy piece) and renders it what it was intended to be -- amazingly musical.

My next quest is to identify the weakest link in my current system and upgrade it. In the meantime -- the synergy of each of these pieces -- along with the other stuff not mentioned -- is wonderful.