The first system you had that was "high end/audiophile", by you standards


I did have some others before, but the first system that hooked me on this passion/hobby and would still be pretty good today was:

Stacked Large Walnut Advents, with the top ones upside down so the tweeters were close together,
Yamaha CA-1000 integrated (usually run in the class A mode)
Yamaha top end direct drive turntable (YP-800?) with ADC XLM II cartridge 
Yamaha CT-7000 tuner
Early Monster interconnects and speaker cables 
Advent cassette deck
Teac reel to reel with 10" reels (model ?)

The first thing(s) that were replaced was the Large Advents that gave way to a pair of 
Dahlquist DQ-10.

From that system I have gone on to several others that I have enjoyed, but I do remember that first one.







jusam
Circa back in my university dorm days (1974) ….. around the same era as General George Washington was hunkered down with the Colonial troops in Valley Forge…

MARANTZ 2270 receiver
JBL L-100 studio monitor speakers with their characteristic “California sound” and orange foam cube grills, 
ELAC MIRACORD turntable with a SHURE V-15 cartridge.

It was considered top-end rig back in the Jurassic era of hi-fi, but this “vintage” gear gets completely smoked by even modest components today. 
@daledee1- Back in the '70s, we were all pretty much in the same boat as far as wire was concerned. You could find bigger gauge for speaker wire, and perhaps put together some home made interconnects, but it was Fulton, followed by the mass marketing of Noel Lee that got the whole cable thing going. Some of my early systems used molded plugs and zip cord. 
Late 1970s through early 1990s (assembled in high school):
Thorens TD166 MKII turntable with a Signet cartridge; Kenwood KA-3500 integrated amplifier; Polk Audio Monitor 10 speakers.

I still have and use the turntable (with an Ortofon 2M Bronze Verso cartridge).  
Circa 1974 Bloomington, In.
Pioneer SA-9100 receiver
Advent speakers
PE turntable
Harmon Kardon tuner

I burnt the crossovers in the Advents, which were replaced by the dealer.
The Hardon Karman was the best performer of the bunch.  I was in south-central In. and rocked to stations 60 miles away.  Old school streaming!  FM stereo, no charge.
@whart i remember visiting Music Unlimited in Cleveland with my Dad, date uncertain… the bread and butter was Mac and Bozak, but they had a high end room - including Dayton Wrights, which I heard briefly… but wow… planted a seed for sure…