My first real system was a top of the line Dual 1219 turntable with a Shure M91ED cartridge driving a Dynaco Pat 4/Stereo 120 combo through Dynaco A-25 speakers. The whole smear cost $440 via mailorder plus $9.15 for UPS from Dixie Hi-Fi. Bring back any memories? One time I borrowed another pair of A-25's and ran both pair in parallel in the dorm lounge. The room was quite large and it rocked to Hendrix and Cream for about two hours. Then in the middle of Holst's The Planets I cooked all the output transistors in the Stereo 120. Dynaco made me spring for the amp repair but when it came to cooked woofers, they always fixed them at the factory in Philadelphia for free, while I waited, and no questions asked! About 10 years later, the Pat 4 had become a SAE P102, the Stereo 120 a Hafler DH200, and the A-25's were Big Advents. My ex kept that whole system and blasts it every day 1,500 miles away to her heart's content. The Dual 1219 still spins like a dream in my current system and has never skipped a beat!
Your first stereo system
What was your first stereo or hi fi music system? What do you remember best about it? What were its strengths? Its weaknesses? What music provided you the most enjoyment from it? What did you trade in first and why? My first system was from Lafayette Radio Electronics. It consisted of a very small integrated amp, two small book shelf speakers, and a turntable I don't remember much about. I was thrilled to have the tiny amp, it provided much better sound than an a.m. radio, in such a small package. My system was in the basement of my parents home, with the speakers on opposite sides of my round water bed! The first "up grade" was to a cool looking Garrard turntable with a clear plastic hinged cover. My favorite music of the time was by Jim Morrison and the Doors. That system did its best to light my fire, and the memory of it still does.