Your year in HiFi and Music – 2012
Because of the most recent Sonos update I've decided to swap the Airplay speaker in my bedroom with a Play 3 can do some audition in stereo too.
It's been quite an interesting year for me hi-fi wise. I sold my marantz pm6002 amp and the Logitech Transporter and bought the Naim Unitique instead. Kind of miss the features that squeezebox server had. But I love how simple the n-stream App is and the Naim sound... Very musical. The best discovery this year music wise must be radio paradise streamed over the unitiqute at 320kb AAC. Its soo good I'd swear it was CD quality. I have also been buying albums on CD. amazon has a great selection of used CDs, Some as low as 0.01p . Also waiting for iTunes to finally give us the option to download lossless music... Not sure if that will ever happen 
Auditioned some speakers this year to replace my KEF iQ10s. But not found anything suitable for under £800 yet. And when I get home to my KEFs they always impress me with how good they sound for a speaker that only cost me £200 4 years ago.
Giving up on loveFilm. Poor selection and the streaming quality was very poor.
Native,
I'm not sure I understand your comment given that the OP invites us to write about OUR OWN year of HiFi and music.
AVI ADMs are, as you rightly point out, superb speakers and then are even better when taking VFM into account.
My previous experience of speakers [over 40 years] was always as passives so I am perfectly able to tell when something is hugely better than my previous experiences. I also point people in the direction of "actives", not just AVI ADMs.
There are other speakers that I am sure are good at what they do, within their own limits. However, MY YEAR{2012} of HiFi and Music was all about AVI ADMs.
Congratulations on the new active speakers.
I think that for many of the er, 'older' 
members who were around when Linn and Naim were in their heyday, the fully active two or four pack re say Naim 250's x 2 or 135's x 4 coupled to something like SBL's or Isobariks etc was a system that was hideously expensive, but pretty much sat at the top of the respective brands performance tree - and still does - albeit they're still using separate add on outboard amps instead of being built into the speaker at the outset - arguably a much better way to engineer actives and keep costs to sensible levels.
So I think it fair to say that most experienced HiFi owners are aware of the advantages of active, and it's not a new or unique concept.
Personally, I've owned a pair of SBL's from new, and if it hadn't been for AV coming along, would almost certainly have ended up spending the money to go active - it's that good.
Speaking as a new member here, my impression garnered from reading, is that the only time AVI gets any flack, is when there are unsubstantiated claims about them being the best speaker bar none, being thrown about.
As one who lived through the whole flat earth/PRaT mantra, where as the advert went - "your'e nobody without a Naim" - that sort of marketing hype that the Linn Naim marketing machine indulged in used to grate with and offend a great many people - hence the flack that AVI attracts when it seems to indulge in similar marketing tactics IMHO.
However, the marketing and the products are two completely different things, and I'm sure they're a superb product, so again congratulations and enjoy!
JMac 
Thanks very much JMac.
It is a strange thing this alleged 'hype' with AVI speakers. As far as I know AVI do not do any advertising but obviously the manufacturers do speak of and praise their own product on their own website. To not do so would be bizarre in the extreme. Therefore the 'hype' is overwhelmingly from owners of AVI speakers. People who have spent their hard earned on something that they are so pleased with and so amazed by that they take the time to advise others of their good fortune and to, maybe, let others know about something they could well never come across.[ Despite your knowledge of Linn/Naim actives this all passed me by, now doubt due due to my dismissal of Linn because of the IMO con of their LP12]
I don't know what you have read with regard to AVI being regarded as THE BEST speakers, I only know that I have never read that on here. I have read that people regard them as THE BEST VFM speakers, indeed I believe that WHF asked whether the AVI ADM 9Ts were not the best vfm speakers available. [I haven't checked but that is my recollection].
AVI owners do not get the kicking they used to get when I first started viewing here and then joined. Some well regarded 'passive' and 'tweaking' members have gone over to AVI this year and their posting here has soothed the bile of some contributors who are anti-active and anti-AVI.
My pair of AVI ADM 9Ts cost £1075 and are the best thing in hifi that I have EVER purchased and I have gone through some gear[ and experienced much more] in 40 years. I have never listened to music more than I do now and miles of cabling, boxes etc are consigned to the attic or given away to friends etc. I have also stopped tweaking and listening more to the system than to the music.
We AVI owners do rub some people up the wrong way for reasons best known to themselves but what we say only comes from experience and not malice.
Whatever you own and use I trust that your system pleases you and yours as much as mine does me and mine.
Great post and thanks for the kind comments. I agree totally about the active concept - it really is the antidote to those who love music, want a very high quality playback system that in reproduction terms gets as close to the original source as possible, but don't want to become caught up obsessing with the kit.
It should hopefully also be a way for people to stop arguing over 'brands', and various types of 'foo' that is atypically the passive audiophile scene where people are often changing this and that to try and 'tune' the sound to a 'flavour' that they like. With actives, everythings matched and tuned out of the box, and the results speak for themselves.
Enjoy!
Cheers
JMac
As far as the equipment is concerned there have been no changes this year for me. Same computer, same hifi, same head-fi.
My 2012 music discoveries include Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Eric Bibb, John Lee Hooker, The Commodores, Pearl Jam, Rodrigo y Gabriela and The XX.
Taking delivery of an audiolab M-DAC back in Feb was a high point as was listening to a borrowed Primare class D power amp for a week. More recently, discovering bands such as Animal Collective, Wax Tailor & The Red Guitars. As for rediscovery: Jo Jo Gunn. Attending the Bristol show after a long break was good fun.
Other actives are indeed available 'record', which is probably why I wrote, "If you have never tried actives give them a go".
When on earth, are you [and others] going to get over this 'hyped' thing? AVI owners writing about the satisfaction of owning and listening to AVI ADM speakers is not 'hyping'. I really thought that contributors on here had made a major move forward in sensible debate and being grown up. Sadly there are always exceptions that serve those people badly.
Enjoy your system and music. Tannoys were my greatest love [15" Berkeleys] before AVI ADM 9Ts. 
They "hyped" comment was tongue-in-cheek, and I've no more interest in whether AVI owners like their gear than I do anyone else with whichever equipment they own. It's a non-issue for me.
Actives were known to me for some time before AVI's turned up. Have a look over at the AVI forum and see threads like the recent one slagging off audiophiles and the regular bashing this forum takes and you'll get a pretty good idea of why some AVI owners get a kicking on here. The products are excellent, I have no issue with those.
I have issue with people with a small amount of knowledge coming on here with whatever they've picked up off Google, then telling me that human hearing isn't as great as some paint it out to be (I'm 48, lost part of my hearing following a heavy cold, and have been to many a Motorhead concert over the years, and am reasonably well informed in general), why ABX testing is the be-all and end-all and that we're all phooling ourselves. Oh and telling us all that their OCD is now much better thanks to all the clutter they've been able to get rid of by buying a box that holds an amp and a tiny DAC as well as a speaker. Typically, those people are ADM owners, spouting off what they've picked up over time and laying it on thick here while being completely two-faced in the other place and slating this forum and many of the people on it. I have zero time for that.
I enjoy my system thanks, have done for years and will continue to do so.
I should point out, as no doubt this thread's been watched and commented on by Our Friends Across the Web (thanks Old Firm), that I've heard plenty of actives, don't rate them any better or worse than passives (while acknowledging the benefits of the underlying aims of the design principles behind them) and have found that while I've not heard the most recent ADM9RSs, Genelec, Yamaha, Roland, KRK, Mackie and one or two others made nice noises. Genelec especially so. The other thing is that I don't any interest in "controlling" the discussion, which was one of the more bizarre accusations sent my way.
Enjoy your ADMs; as stated, I'm sure they're excellent.
Despite starting the year with the intention of replacing my Audiolab amp, I haven't bought any Hi-Fi gear this year - unless you count the Nexus 7 I'm using to control my Sonos. I've only bought about half a dozen CDs too.
I wondered why my bank account actually has some money left in it for a change! 
I wondered why my bank account actually has some money left in it for a change!
I was thinking exactly the opposite and have already made my new years resolution....No more hifi - just enjoy what I've got as it sounds great.
Started the year swapping my Cyrus 8VS2 amp for a DAC XP+.
This was meant to be an upgrade for my CD player, but since I now had a DAC
I then purchased a squeezebox touch going cheap from Logitech - only £135
Slight problem as I had nowhere to store audio files, to be precise I had no audio files as all my music was on CDs.
Next up was a Vortexbox apliance, great piece of kit but took ages ripping 500 CDs, FLAC for the house, MP3 for the car (I now have my full music collection on a USB stick in the car - amazing that this can be done, but not easily skipping through it on the motorway!)
Chuffed to bits that I could now listen to CD quality music but without changing CDs, so to enjoy my new found music freedom of staying put in the armchair I upgraded my headphones to HifiMan HE-500s. They're not cheap but worth every penny.
And to finish it all off I've just upgraded my speakers to some great sounding handbuilt speakers that use SEAS drivers.
This does sound rather lavish, but I've also sold a few bits on the way to help fund it all!
Music wise, I've bought a few CDs, but I have to be honest, nothing really stands out this year. Only been to one gig, Guns N Roses, been meaning to see them for 20 years and they were worth the wait even it if was just axle and friends. Also had a day pass to Download and saw a few bands inc Metalica.
Next year the plan is to sit back and enjoy what I have. But I do have an inclination to sell my CD player as its not been used, this would then free up a space on the rack 
I wondered why my bank account actually has some money left in it for a change!
I was thinking exactly the opposite and have already made my new years resolution....No more hifi - just enjoy what I've got as it sounds great.
Started the year swapping my Cyrus 8VS2 amp for a DAC XP+.
This was meant to be an upgrade for my CD player, but since I now had a DAC
I then purchased a squeezebox touch going cheap from Logitech - only £135
Slight problem as I had nowhere to store audio files, to be precise I had no audio files as all my music was on CDs.
Next up was a Vortexbox apliance, great piece of kit but took ages ripping 500 CDs, FLAC for the house, MP3 for the car (I now have my full music collection on a USB stick in the car - amazing that this can be done, but not easily skipping through it on the motorway!)
Chuffed to bits that I could now listen to CD quality music but without changing CDs, so to enjoy my new found music freedom of staying put in the armchair I upgraded my headphones to HifiMan HE-500s. They're not cheap but worth every penny.
And to finish it all off I've just upgraded my speakers to some great sounding handbuilt speakers that use SEAS drivers.
This does sound rather lavish, but I've also sold a few bits on the way to help fund it all!
Music wise, I've bought a few CDs, but I have to be honest, nothing really stands out this year. Only been to one gig, Guns N Roses, been meaning to see them for 20 years and they were worth the wait even it if was just axle and friends. Also had a day pass to Download and saw a few bands inc Metalica.
Next year the plan is to sit back and enjoy what I have. But I do have an inclination to sell my CD player as its not been used, this would then free up a space on the rack
For me the highlite at download was Sabbath 
:)
Maybe we could talk about a topic linked directly to th OP's topic?
Discovered some great new music this year, which has served to broaden my horizons, which is always a good thing. Spotify and sonos has helped me there, I am still not listening to enough music though and thats what I would like to improve upon next year. Having introduced a pair of B&W CM8's to the party, I had initially enjoyed the presentation, however between them, the roksan L3 and the cyrus cd8se, I think there is something lacking, Im not feeling the love. The cyrus was an impulse buy from ebay, where do i go now.
The best buy of the year was Celebration Day by Led Zep, but it brought to the surface the annoyance that I missed out on the gig after submitting 51 emails for a ticket.
Looking forward to 2013 and the remastered Zep albums.
Musical fidelity M6i Roksan caspian M2 cdp Atc scm 40s Tellurium Q black speaker cable chord chamelian xlr graham slee novo sennheiser hd598