Yes i probably spend those 4k this way too.
Those recommendations are ESSENTIALS and so underestimated
But at some points i prefer to pair with a good sound engineer who know perfectly what i want and go in my artistic direction.
WIN : TIME and MONEY = Much more money as TIME is invaluable
Acoustic treatment! And then more acoustic treatment.
Then get one of those programs or whatever they are that will measure the acoustic properties of your room and work on that some more!
Then get an appropriate set of monitors for that room.
Then learn how your room sounds!
Then work with what you got, and donate some of the money you saved to the UNHCR or WWF or some food bank!
But seriously, sort out your āworkplaceā before buying stuff!
Ah I missed that before my first response! Mea culpa!
@Bwax The interviews I find from Deepchord say he now relies on software exclusively.
āWhat does your live setup look like, and what do you bring with you when you travel for an extensive tour?
Iāve really embraced the computer in recent years. Most of the old hardware that I used in the past is either stored in the closet, or sold. My studio is more empty than itās been in 20 years. And honestly, I like it better. Itās basically a bright room with a big table, and on the table is a mixing console, computer, and stack or 3Ā4 old samplers. I still use an Eventide Orville and Lexicon PCMĀ-80, but those are about toā
https://reviews.headphonecommute.com/2015/12/29/in-the-studio-with-rod-modell/
Mark Ernestus from Rythm and Sound agrees with Monolake (Robert Henke) that compressors are trumped by drawing in envelopes. Itās somewhere in in interview with Henke about them A:B testing drawn envelopes vs compressors and them agreeing that there was no difference. Re mastering on of Henkeās recent releases. Iām not going to put in the legwork to find it.
"Itās the abundance paradox. Which software sounds best? Which compressor do I need to use? Which plugins do I need for mastering housy dub music with a hint of pop and some acoustic guitar? Having the choice between 5000 compressor plugins whilst not understanding what makes a compressor really sound the way it does, it pretty much my idea of hell. " Henke
"Between 1996 and 1998 I worked as mastering engineer and vinyl cutter at Dubplates & Mastering, a company founded by Basic Channel in 1995. " http://www.monolake.de/interviews/mastering.html
Pole would probably suggest a hybrid approach. (My understanding is that he also worked at Dubplates & Mastering)
Pole interview on Slices.
So an option for me if I was invested in that specific sound would be to get someone who previously worked at Dubplates and Mastering to master one of my tracks. Iād also ask for feedback.
Nice finds. Thanks!
I think sometimes people see threads like this and feel guilty about GASāing for this type of gear, or admonish others for doing so. I can only speak for myself, but Iām not looking for an instamatic-hit-song-box that replaces things like knowledge, experience, room treatment, etc.
I think I just like to daydream about beautifully-designed & functional machines. I also like looking at (but not actually buying 
) nice espresso makers, motorcycles, typewriters, hi-fi components, etc. I truly appreciate solid industrial design. Of course no one needs any of those things to drink coffee, get across town, write a letter, or listen to a song. Itās nice to think about them, look at them, and discuss them though. Same for higher-end music gear. Iām thinking of what 1-3 things Iād want to buy if I could, that were beautifully-designed, functional, and āworthā the money.
In reality Iām quite frugal, anti-consumerist, and a minimalist compared to most people I know. I probably would chicken out and not spend the money. Hence, itās fun to see what other people would dream of buying as well, and how they think it would help their productions.
Thinking out loud: I wonder if room-treatment threads have many disclaimers about actually having to write a good song first, because otherwise whatās the point of treating a room? Sorry to be a smart-ass. 
@VDB
No worries. Itās all just for fun and learning. Butā¦ the charity thingā¦ where should we draw the line? Should we sell our Elektron gear and donate the proceeds to charity? After all, I could approximate my style of beats with samples and free plugins. But this might be a guilt-inducing, albeit very interesting, discussion for another time.
@tsutek
Good ideas and good points for sure. What I assume is common knowledge is often not. I certainly donāt want anyone finding a thread and being influenced towards spending $$$ without covering the basics. I tried to state things more clearly in my follow-up post.
Good description. Flavor, mojo, warmth, color, secret-weapon. These are terms I think of when I daydream about gear.
Go for the chandler zener limiter in that case? mojo, industrial designā¦ itās all there 
http://chandlerlimited.com/zener-limiter/
Although with an investment like that, you do want to demo things firstā¦ not exactly impulse-buy stuff!
Iād probably get a nice digital mixer like the Qu-16 then add the AH.
I will say that the things that have helped my overall sound quality the most, when working in my mix room are:
In such an environment, the hardware (or software) used for creation is inconsequential.
If only that were true
i had a similar question here in the board. after that i orderd this 2 elysia hardware:
xpressor:
xfilter:
this post gives me GAS 
I seriously need to buy some more traps this year
Fun answer: A good quality R2R
Realistic answer: Absolutely nothing
That xfilter demo is quite impressive.
Looking back on things a few days later, I probably should have just boiled my original post down to something more to the point:
Assuming you have basics taken care of like monitoring and room treatment, is there any hardware you think that would be worth the money to put on your stereo master buss? 1-2 pieces, something in the $2-4k range.
ā¦In the spirit of the following passage from a Sound on Sound article by Matt Houghton - Hardware in the Software Studio. Great article by the way!
these are my two pieces on my master (i did have an xfilter, but sold it for an AR84 to route individual outputs of the AR to QuPac)
RMS755 - Stereo Compressor
DA3000 - DSD / ADDA Converter
Sounds like an interesting setup you have there.
I like the looks of that RMS755! That kind of thing interests me. Simple, rugged. Does one thing and does it well. Iāll have to search out some audio examples now.
Do you use the DA3000 to record your tunes like some people use the Zoom H4, etc? In other words, do you just record on this instead of going into a DAW?
Another article with some decent ideas.
eMusician - Mix Bus: Using Analog Gear with DAW Mixdowns - by Craig Anderton
āAlthough there are some amazing plug-ins that really can augment your recordings, many would still argue that nothing adds the warmth and color obtained by sending your digital signal through an analog device. But then thereās the issue of budget, as you canāt necessarily afford every piece of outboard gear you want. Fortunately, thereās a compromise between remaining 100% digital and using tons of analog gear: Using digital plug-ins in conjunction with some carefully-selected analog equipment.ā
I guess this wouldnāt be a unheard of approach to anyone. Especially since this is how some people intend to use the Analog Heat, as a way to inject some analog mojo into the DAW, using OverBridge. There are also some threads with people asking how it sounds on the master buss.
Depends, Iāve done a lot of recordings where the only / final copy of a track is done through the DA3000, but Iāve been trying to, since getting a new audio interface that has multiple inputs for all my gear, record individual outs into my DAW.
So I still may record directly to the DA3000, but getting into the habit of recording individual outs so that I have access to my individual tracks for further tinkering in case I want to build a live set around that track etc.