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Memories........What made you catch the Audio Bug?

I remember back in high school, my ''industrial arts'' teacher was an avid audiophile and music lover. We are going back to '73 now. I remember one day being very different from any other. Upon entering class for our usual 40 minutes of the usual wood-cutting and bird-cage building routine,(some of us were luckier, getting ,'design' classes instead) we found our teacher,Ed, busy at setting up an LP on a Thorens turntable. Alongside, some strange, industrial-looking brown and orange boxes (QUAD) and a cloth-wrapped box with the initals B&W on them. He informed us that, today, we would discover something new, ''high-Fidelity'' as he called it.

We all sat in awe as our teacher put the SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts on full blast, to the amazement of everyone in the room. Wow! What was THAT? The equipment, the sound, the MUSIC was unlike anything most of us had ever seen or heard. I remember thinking to myself, now this is how the Beatles really sound like? I just could not beleive it.

I remember that we had no quality music equipement in our home back then, as with most other kids.

It was just amazing. Word got around that 'something special was happening, in industrial art's class. Turned out the topic of the week was 'high-fidelity' discovery I guess, as every other class in turn got the same treatment all week long.

The Following year, our teacher somehow managed to get the school board to approve a special ''equipement'' expenditure, officially probably a vacuum system, or new circular saw, or band saw, whatever. The class built a special wooden closet complete with locks, to accept the new ''equipement''. When it finally arrived, holy smokes, a McIntosh amplifier and preamp, with Thorens turntable !

We ended up ''founding'' an audiophile club at school, and would have students spend their lunch hour seating in a closed room in complete darkness, listening to a complete album...against a 10 cent fee that we would keep to buy records !

If you are reading this ED, these 30 years old memories are as fresh in my mind as yesterday. Thank you so very much for sharing your passion with us, and opening our eyes to so many horizons, music being just one of them.

Just wondering how others in this forum got the audio bug also?
sonicbeauty
brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
As most my age, I grew up with some sort of radio, but we also had a 'hi-fi" in the basement and as kids we could spin all the discs we wanted, my Dad had quite a few, I never thought until now where these LP's are today. Furthermore, my Dad purchased a Jukebox that was adapted to not need money and us kids spent many hours playing records and shooting pool in the basement.

In high school a good friend had a stereo and this also played a part in my audiophile adventure.

(I just called my Dad and asked about those LP's, he said they are sitting in his barn. I will be interested to see what is there.)
islandear
208 posts
 
My dad had a Telefunken hi-fi set and a fairly decent collection of LPs...we listened to Brubeck, Miles, Pete Fountain, Chet Baker, Satchmo, Ellington, and even lesser names like Acker Bilk and Bert Kaempfert. My sisters got portable record players early on and I inherited an old Silvertone upright console when I was about thirteen. The first LP I ever bought, about 1958, was a Christmas gift for my folks called 'Cool Swedish Jazz'. I'm sure they were surprised (and hopefully pleased) by the gift but I don't remember the recording at all. The earliest record I can remember buying for myself was Dave 'Baby' Cortez' 45, Happy Organ...I was hooked.
mfc28412
15 posts
 
back in 74 in college got an antec lancing receiver that cradled a garrard turntable on top-as one piece--along with braun speakers (soon to be ads) this was coming up from the zenith flip top record player so i would turn that thing up!! it had tons of distortion but i did not know it then---i also did not know that i would upgrade every two to three years one or two pieces for the next 30 years---going from braun to ads 810 to fried to metronone 7 and sub woofer to linn to vandersteen 1s then to 2ci then finally vandy 3siga
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
When I was really little during the early '60's my Dad allowed me too play records on his big console turntable. Some were those party tune albums with little kids wearing fun hats and eating ice cream on the album cover, but that's also when I also discovered Chet Atkins' In Hollywood LP.

Around 1969-70 my Dad brought home and unboxed a Sansui receiver, BSR Turntable, KLH speakers, an 8-track, and a Sony reel-to-reel. I would say this is when my love of good sounding music was born.

But it wasn't until four years ago when I truly started to assemble a system worthy of Audiogon notice. Thanks to an inherent pack rat gene, and the generosity of A'Gon member Sherod, we still have this system sans the BSR. I should post it some time in my virtual system.
chams_uk
159 posts
 
Neat thread, and GREAT stories. Mine dates to around 1983. I was working in a mall in Massachusetts, making money through college. This mall had a Nantucket Sound store in it (anyone remember these?).

I was already into music, but had no concept of the finer systems. I used to like to visit this store to see what i couldn't afford.

On the third or fourth visit, I walk into this glassed room, JUST as a climax from Stravinsky's 'Rite Of Spring' is being reached. This is the part where there is a buildup of some brass, then a brief pause. I literally opened the door during this pause.

Then, out of these massive speakers (Snell A's), comes a long series of Tympani shots that literally caused my hair to blow a bit. Then the back-and-forth tumult of strings and brass, as the "storms" of spring set in.

I don't remember if I vocalized anything, or if I was too dumfounded to even talk. But from that day forward, I paid good attention to the equipment, as well as the music.

It's been downhill for the wallet ever since :-)
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