your first system-

Fun topic! 1977 for me as well. Amazingly, my parents surprised me with it, probably for my birthday. (I wonder if they later regretted it!) It was a Harmon Kardon 330c receiver, a Garrard 55b turntable ... and Acoustic Research speakers, though I can't remember the model. Mostly I remember the green lights on the receiver. I bought Get Yer Ya-Yas Out and Zep2, added some Koss headphones, and never looked back....

I can trace every piece of gear I own to my first cheap stereo system, I never started with a clean sheet, I always upgraded one thing at a time. I learned a lot doing that way over the decades. 

russ69, that is absolutely brilliant. It's like the guy who owns a vintage 1954 Porsche Speedster ... who has replaced the seats, the engine, the chassis .... Seriously, talk about lineage!