Wow-- I did not know what to expect with my cry for therapeutic sympathy, and I got just that. Community keeps us sane, indeed.
Rockvirgo, you nailed two things square-on: (1) Something very special WAS happening in the late seventies, aside from my transition from adolescence to college freshman. The world was still analogue, not only in its consumer technology but also in its social habits. My friends, male and female, gathered around a two-channel system and spun LP records. Nobody was texting or checking e-mail; people actually had attention spans. The next great used vinyl find, played over whomever's system was better set up, was occasion for communal celebration. None of us could afford the TOTL stuff, but we all drooled over it when buying our HK integrated amp or Sansui DC receiver or Baby Infinitys. Personally, I alternate two Kenwood systems that I would have bought back then if not surviving week-to-week: a KD650/KT8300/KA8300 system ca.1976 and a 1978-vintage KD750/KT7500/KA8100, each with a KX1030 deck, through JBL L166 Horizons or Snell Type E's, all rebuilt. Bedroom system is a Denon DP60L and Tandberg TR2025 running a quartet of JBL Aquarius IVs (one in each corner). (2) You are absoultely correct-- I enjoy listening to them but also admire them when they're off!
Metralla, your first name would not be Bultaco, would it? Talk about a beautiful piece of machinery... I've still got the upgrade bug, and fully support the wonderful people producing great products indirectly by buying year-old stuff from the inveterate upgraders, and have talked with several of the small company owners/engineers while maintaining and upgrading these. Since I tend to keep my stuff, I need to wait a year or two before purchase to make sure the gear gains wide acceptance to insure long-term support and parts.
Elizabeth, I've nearly done the same thing for the same reasons at numerous times, and I still have the Planar 3 even though I've got better Regas!
Dan, the speakers... I love my 35-pound turntables and my VU-meter-equipped gear and big volume knobs with stepped attenuators, but it's all about getting juice to the speakers. The more imposing and objectionable to my lovely wife, the better. I can't pass up an Ohm Walsh 4 within driving distance, and I'd love to retrofit 2000 drivers into some F cabinets. My HK 700 series and bridged NAD Monitor Series systems exist solely to take T60 and TD2001 suspension table signals and supply period-correct power to the Ohms or Ic Maggies. However, the lowest WAF scores go to the Spica Angelus(es?), which demand placement over decor-- She hates them so much that she has to show "those things" to all of our visitors, but has to admit that the midrange imaging with choral music is sublime. I am still blessed with very sensitive hearing, but I figure my midrange will be the last to go... and I can at least still feel the bass from the 15" Klipsches (Quicksilver gear), which are too heavy for her to move...
