When I was 14, I saved up all the money I made working in the back room of my uncles liquor store sorting return bottles and bought a Panasonic compact stereo system with a built in cassette recorder, BSR turntable, am/fm tuner and speakers for around $200.00. When I turned 16 and started working at Burger Chef and was making better money, I sold my Panasonic to a co-worker and bought my first real stereo system. It was a 20wpc Sansui receiver, Sony Dolby Cassette Deck, Garrard turntable with a Shure M91ED cartridge and a pair of Bozak bookshelf speakers. 2 years later I started working in that store that would last another 15 years. I was constantly buying better equipment. The disease never left me.
As A Youngster, What Unit Puqued Your Interest In All This?
I figure a lot of us here started hearing music through stand-up furniture stereos and/or composite units (mine was a Craig tt, receiver, 8-track). Then, one day I saw and listened to my cousin’s Pioneer Spec amps (with equalizer and oscilloscope) supporting a Beogram 4004. He also had a Teac R2-D2, but it was the 4004 that had the ever-lasting magnetic effect. What piece of equipment got you?