My love for audio equipment started in the late 1968 when my father upgraded from his Motorola tube console to separates (Large Advents, Pioneer SX 828, Thorens 161, and Stanton 681). Soon after, with money saved from my gardening route of four neighbors on my block, I had my bedroom version (Small Advents, Pioneer SX 628, Pioneer direct drive TT, Stanton 681, and Advent tape deck). This accompanied me through college. However, the revelation came after receiving my MS with new affluence from a real job. I was intending to drop my budget at the large discount box stores on Brooklyn and Long Island NY, Crazy Eddies or PC Richard’s. Across the street and down the Boulevard I chanced on a store called Audio Breakthroughs. The sales staff sat me down in front of equipment brands never heard by me (B&W DM7s, PS Audio Separates, SOTA, Gram, Dynavector). I could not believe the timbre, dynamics, staging and imaging. I was hooked and frequented another LI store American Audiophile (Vandersteen 2s, Counterpoint separates, similar TT setup). I ended up with my first low end/hi end system (DCM Time Windows 3, Amber Preamp, Amber Series 70 Amp, Nakamichi 680ZX, Walker TT, Dynavector Ruby). I was addicted.
PS My father’s Pioneer SX 828 and my DCM Time Windows are still producing music and retro sound enjoyment in a Vermont vacation home after 40+ years.