Late 80's. Polk audio 5b speakers, Realistic tape deck and Kenwood receiver. I quickly realized the speakers didn't sound as good as they did in the store, so I saved up and replaced the Kenwood with an NAD 3140 int. amp. Now that's more like it and the journey continues to this day.
your first system-
I put together my first system in 1977- turntable, receiver, speakers and a cassette deck- $600. An on-line inflation calculator tells me that is $2760 in 2022 dollars. I am sure a current $1500 streaming based system can be assembled that would demolish my 1977 system. That's what I call real progress!