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What were your humble beginnings on the path to high end audio?

Recently there has been a discussion as to the “price point where mid fi tops out and hi end systems begin”. I’d be willing to bet that there are not many folks who started out in this field of interest spending $100K, $50K or even $10K. Going back to your very beginnings, what was your first serious audio system?

I’ll jump in the wayback machine with Mr. Peabody and Sherman and give you a look at my beginnings.

My journey began at around age 13. I started out with a Lafayette KT-630, stereo tube amp that I built from a kit in my 9th grade, “electronics shop” class. The speakers were built at home from plans in the 1968, July issue of Mechanix Illustrated. I upgraded the cabinet construction from plywood, to solid mahogany. The twin woofers in each cabinet were also upgraded to 5” from the specified 4” units and the tweeters were also upgraded from the specified 2-3/4” units to the deluxe 3” units. The inductors in the 6db per octave passive crossovers were hand wound and the caps, terminal strips, L-pads, magnet wire and grill cloth were from Lafayette Radio Electronics as were the woofers and tweeters. The turntable was a purchased Garrard SL72B with a Shure M91E magnetic cartridge.

Check out the amp specifications on page 42 of the Lafayette 1968 summer catalog #648.
https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Allied-Catalogs/Lafayette-1968-Summer.pdf

The raw speakers are shown on page 55 of the Lafayette 1971 catalog #710. Woofers, 99-F-01554, figure D. Tweeters were at the bottom of page 55, 99-F-00499. The Garrard SL72B is on page 69 of the same catalog.
https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Consumer/Lafayette-1971.pdf

I still have the speaker systems and the amp and they all still work! Alas the SL72B is long since gone. I mowed a lot of grass and shoveled a lot of snow in the neighborhood to buy all that high end gear at age 13! :-D By todays standards, not very impressive, but to a 13 year old in 1968, it was awesome!

So to reiterate, what was your first serious audio system?

P.S. - If you are interested, check out some select old Lafayette, Allied Radio, Heathkit, Radio Shack, Olson and other old catalogs from what I think of as the “good old days” of electronics and my youth.
https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Electronics_Catalogs.htm

vintage_heath

Showing 1 response by mg16

mg16's avatar
mg16
113 posts
 
1972. Got a steel related job just outside of Pittsburgh. Had my draft board number, but wasn't called up for Viet Nam war duty, although some of my friends were.
They needed men to work in the mills. We ran thousands of miles of dull, flat, army green , sheet steel, for ammo boxes. I was against the war, had my flag ,peace sign on my old 64 buick, and here I was making ammo box material for the Vietnam war. Had to make a living, and no money for college. 
I was making $2.25 per hour, but I managed  to save  for 6 months or so, and visited a place called The Audio Warehouse on Saw mill run Blvd.
Plunked about $600 down for large advents, a sherwood receiver, and dual turntable with a shure md1ed.
I can remember getting it home, setting it up in my bedroom, and the first record that  I played on it. Neil Young Harvest. Just freshly bought. I still have it in my collection. I heard the orcheastra in "A man needs a maid". After using a cheapo Capehart all in one unit for years, I was mesmerized by how gorgeous it sounded to me.
Hardly high end by todays standards, and I now have Proac, Quicksilver, and Oracle, ARC, (and it sounds leagues better), but its kind of like the first time you get a really good buzz, or make love.
Somehow that initial thrill is never recaptured.
Pity.
Mg16

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