My first "audiophile awakening" was around age 16.
My parents had an old "all-in-one" Phillips stereo with a receiver, TT, and flimsy speakers that came with the set.
I don’t think it even had a Cassette deck, maybe an 8-track, but I don’t really remember.
I was extremely happy with it, until one day one of my classmates invited me over to his house to listen to some albums.
They had a the top-of-the-line luxman component setup, with a dbx dynamic range expander, and a pair of huge 15" Altec Lansings with horn tweeters, I never even knew what model they were. They were similar to the ones with the huge vertical "slider style" switches they now try to "retro" with their newer models.
I will never forget the first time I saw the PD-444 (i found out the model much later, but there was no mistaking that TT) with dual arms, and the first time he played the same album that I listened to the day before on my crappy Phillips system.
It was Zenyatta Mondatta by The Police.
On the first few bass notes of "Don’t stand so close to me" my jaw dropped to the floor, and I knew I will never listen the same way to that crappy Phillips system.
Amazing that 35 years later, I still have the image of their system fresh in my memory.
what a round-trip !
My parents had an old "all-in-one" Phillips stereo with a receiver, TT, and flimsy speakers that came with the set.
I don’t think it even had a Cassette deck, maybe an 8-track, but I don’t really remember.
I was extremely happy with it, until one day one of my classmates invited me over to his house to listen to some albums.
They had a the top-of-the-line luxman component setup, with a dbx dynamic range expander, and a pair of huge 15" Altec Lansings with horn tweeters, I never even knew what model they were. They were similar to the ones with the huge vertical "slider style" switches they now try to "retro" with their newer models.
I will never forget the first time I saw the PD-444 (i found out the model much later, but there was no mistaking that TT) with dual arms, and the first time he played the same album that I listened to the day before on my crappy Phillips system.
It was Zenyatta Mondatta by The Police.
On the first few bass notes of "Don’t stand so close to me" my jaw dropped to the floor, and I knew I will never listen the same way to that crappy Phillips system.
Amazing that 35 years later, I still have the image of their system fresh in my memory.
what a round-trip !