the gateway product that turned you into an audiophile

I have been into music listening since an early age starting with a transistor radio in grade school.

My first real audio component journey began in 1980. I don’t remember whether the  speakers or amp and preamp came first. I’ll start with the amp and preamp. Luxman c-120 preamp, and m-120a amp. Then DCM Time Window speakers. All of those were with me until 2015 or so. Added a Mitsubishi LT-5 turntable a year later. Don’t remember the cartridge - I think an ADC MM. Unfortunately that turntable was stolen around 1987. Replaced with a Thorens 160 MkII. The Luxman m-120a is still with me and has ben refreshed recently. The DCM Time Windows are now with my son. They just didn’t work well in my present apartment in spite of working well in 6 other environments of various sizes and shapes.

There is something about that Luxman M-120a amp that is just hard to replace. It can compete with most modern amps very well. I am surprised at what it can do to the sound even with cheap speakers. I guess it just hits the spots of what I expect in music presentation. 

My Gateway product was the ADS L810 speakers in 1978. They were so good, I eventual had two pairs used. By this time I had the the other components of my system, Phillips GA-212 turntable (with Ortofon cartridge) purchased in 1974, SAE MK30 Preamp, Mk31B amplified, and my fantastic Sansui TU-9900 Tuner purchased in 1976!

I still have my originals ADS L810s (in storage) and my Sansui TU-9900 (in use). Up until I purchased the ADSs, I had mass produced Jensen speaker, but decent Superex studio headphones.

Maybe my true gateway product was the Phillips GA-212, I knew early on, the first thing I wanted to do was to be kind to my vinyl!

I bought a "used" Linn LP-12 on March 30th 1995.  Still have the receipt.  Still have the table.  Many upgrades,  Bass got better, background got darker, detail improved but it never lost that musicality and pace that I fell for the 1st time I heard it.  

Great thread!

I took a class at Colorado State University in 1980 called something like "Audio Physics." It focused on teaching physics through the practical application of science through a stereo system. Shortly after the class ended I purchased my first stereo system which included a entry level Luxman 2040 integrated receiver, a Phillips 777 turntable, with a shibata type stylus, a Sony tape deck, and a pair of big speakers.

The speakers actually bugged me and I sold them and purchased a Three D Acoustics pair of satellites with a subwoofer. I knew something was up when a year later I had a local guy (Harms Labs in Fort Collings) build a custom sub for me. (I ran into Steve Harms a few years ago and he was still building and repairing speakers.)

Ten years later, I purchased a used pair of Acoustat 1+1 speakers for $350 from a friend who was disappointed with the bass. I added a Vandersteen sub and the friend couldn't believe how much better they sounded than his expensive new B&W speakers.

The original Three D satellites are part of my 7 point surround system in our small TV room, with a B&W center and four B&W surround and rear speakers built in, plus a small SVS sub. Great for TV.

The Acoustats are thirty plus years and I am researching completing a rebuild on them. They still sound better than almost anything out I have listened too. It helps to have good electronics sending the signal to them. It has been a fun journey.

I had a hand-me-down Onkyo rack system I got from my dad when I went to college. It was good but then my roomate and I discovered separates when visiting Second Sound in Boulder way back in the early 90s. I found a used Adcom GFA-2 amp and pre-amp there. I traded in the Onkyo system for that set-up. It was a "step up" for me in sound quality. Then I bought an affordable Sony 5-disc changer. My speakers were some Advents (can’t recall the model). I had a great sounding system for what it was back in my ramen-eating college days. My dad gave me one of his reel-to-reel decks, and I would make 3-hour-long mix tapes for our house parties as well.