Your one piece of gear that provided the biggest improvement?

[127Riot]

Originally Posted by Gibson

Simple answer.... Getting OTB and mixing on a good desk. Has nothing to do with moving real faders or turning knobs its all about the sound quality that matters..Music just sounds real.

That's exactly right. I have mixed a song completely ITB and thought wow that sounds great! Then just for the hell of it a little time later I mixed the same song OTB and BOOM! Just when you think it could not get any better. Plus with literally 1/3rd the plug ins.

[Swurveman]

API 2500 followed by UBK Clariphonic.

[spectrasound]

Barefoot MM27s

[jono]

retro sta-level. don't track with it on, but always slap it on vox coming back thru monitor section - like heroin for the client... makes vox sound sooooo much better with zero work and they love it.

[arjunchawda]

hd800's + spl phonitor.

[rogerbrain]

room treatment +better speakers ..did both at the same time and W O W I would rather use a mackie and sm57's in a good room with good monitors than anything in a wacked acoustic room with bad monitors ...just saying

[pongmaster]

boring answer i know...
u47 & m49

[Vintageidiot]

Tabfunkenwerk U47 mic ....WOW.

[Mikewoffordmusic]

Stereo pair of neve 1073's

[paintitblack]

Digi 003 to lynx aurora

[amarshism]

ns10s, distressors, c2

[tridelica]

Originally Posted by Bodoc

Steinberg MR816csx--transformed my workflow and the happiness/hassle ratio.

I have had the MR816x fo a couple of years, but just recently I have started using its pres, after i found how good my acoustic guitar sounded through them.

This unit has opened my ears to the advantages of clean-sounding equipment, with their lower noise, and seemingly better instrument separation and 3D sound. I often think that my next pre purchase will be a high-end, clean-sounding unit, as opposed to a more colored sound.

If one's source has color, then one's pres can be clean .
And, by the way, Cubase 6.5 is beauty for workflow. Finally, comping takes is almost fun!

[Herc]

it's tempting to cite many items that enhance workflow or provide a sound .... but I have to go with the mid-field monitors; 30+ years later and they're still my reference monitors (ok they're 2 pieces of gear really)

[slaphappygarry]

PMC speakers.

[cinealta]

Room treatment.

[waldie wave]

Apogee Symphony i/o

[laddie.music2]

Fat bustard. has the tone...

[nzl62]

Controversial? - Pro Tools. Total game changer been using it since 1991 as Sound Tools.
Terrible in the wrong hands, sublime in the right ones, Im prob somewhere in between lol