What is that one thing you own that suprised you the most.

Little 2-way Bowers and Wilkins DM 302. Amazing sound for the price and size. Made in 1998, they are a steal in the used market now IMO.
 
My ESS amt 1 speakers put a smile on my face everytime I hear them. Need to get them back to original cosmetic condition and back into a system.
 
The one thing I own that's surprised me the most is the Pioneer SA-5800 amp I picked up for chump change on eBay. It's not one of the TOTL units by any stretch but it sounds surprisingly good with any set of speakers I pair with it.
 
I was thinking the other day what is the one thing I own that I got and it surprised me how much I like it and use it. For me it is the Music Hall PH 25.2 headphone amp. I use it all the time and it sounds so good I would not want to be without one. I was not really into headphone listening that much until I got it and now it is one of my favorite ways to listen. It is for me the item I got and now would not want to be without one.
Would have to be my first DAC. It was the NAD wireless. Blew me away about much it improved the sound quality. Then I bought a Sanskrit and it sounded even better. I have to peak sooner or later.
 
Dynaco (by Panor) PAS-4 preamp. I purchased a Marantz CD player from a guy and he offered to throw in the PAS-4 for something like $100. This was back in the late 1990s. It was only a few years old but was non-functional. Turned out that the only problem was a bad solder joint on a 6DJ8 socket. Fixed it and installed Amperex USN-CEP 6922s. It has been a wonderful addition to my system for 20 years now. I had a couple of $2K'ish preamps in for trial and didn't buy because I liked the PAS-4 better. I've seen them selling recently in the $1200-$1400 range.
 
When I came back to vinyl in 2011. Thanks to AK, vinylengine, and the internet I learned how to select a cartridge that properly matched my tonearm, how to align the stylus tip to reduce tracking errors, how to set VTA, azimuth, and anti skate ... So I bought a Denon DL 110 on line and put it on a Yamaha P751 that had been in its box for 20 years and I was totally blown away. Listening to vinyl sounded better than ever before.
 
Phono amp.
Was convinced that an expensive phono amp could not possibly be 'that much' better than my Dynavector P75 Mk1 which cost only 15% as much.
Ignorance may well have been bliss but I ended up accepting offer to try the one I was casting doubt over at home for a week.

Expensive decision.
 
The first time I sat in front of my Magnepan SMG's after restoring them. I had never heard a pair of maggies until that moment. My jaw dropped!
 
My engineer friend in Charlotte sold highly modded playstations on A'gon for awhile and when I gifted him a tube tester he passed this SCPH-5501 on to me. I had played around with stock SCPH-1001's and thought they sounded pretty good but this modded unit was a real surprise. It has all the "Dogbreath" mods and I can't say what other mods but it weighs twice as much as a stock unit. It has a built in remote and the Apple logo is only there to cover up the PS badge.

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My 30+ year old Yamaha cassette decks that I purchased used a few years ago. I'm amazed how well they record and playback.
 
Some things that have amazed me a bit:

1) How good vinyl playback can be if good parts are in place throughout the source chain. In my early twenties/thirties went budget almost exclusively, now not so budget and I know how to set up a TT. Astonishingly good sounding now, no comparison to how I listened when younger and dumber!

2) That electronic crossover choice and modifications made to stock unit can impact the overall SQ so much. Biggest impact to overall SQ in system development to date for me I would estimate would be this item.

3) AE speaker drivers are the Schnitzel!
 
My Realistic Nova 6 speakers. They have no right to sound as good as they do. I have other units that sound better, but not for the size.
 
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