It was 1979, I managed a Radio Shack store in Carmichael, CA (#3934, I still remember)
I was 20 years old.
I had the SA-2001 integrated amp with the TM-1001 tuner, Mach One speakers, the Lab 400 turntabler and the TR-3000 reel to reel, even the bid equalizer. Throw in the seperate lighted VU meters in a custom redwood rack made from 2"x10" planks.....All Realistic. I still have it in storage...
I know it's not great, but I wouldn't take $25,000 for it. (not that any sane man would offer it)
I was always jealous of the guys (older of course) who had the "cool" name brand stuff (Sansui, Pioneer, Marantz, etc.) Now it's all available on Ebay for about free. I'm really glad I saved it all these years, it hasn't been easy moving it. |
My brothers pioneer all in one receiver/tape/phono and loads of 70's rock lp's. The benefit of being the baby brother in the 70'/ealy 80's. |
Year 1966. 19 years old -very limited income.
An old JBL solid state integrated amp for $20 from a friend. Another friend's former speakers Acoustic Research AR-5 for $15 and a third friend let go an AR-XA turntable no cartridge fitted for $5. Got a new Shure M91 phono cartridge ($23) some lamp zip wire ($2.00)as speaker cable and no recordings! A total of $65 for my first stereo set (more money than my monthly salary income then).
My first LP -Beethoven's Violin Concerto - Ruggiero Ricci violinist let me discover my AR speakers had blown tweeters and failing mid-hi level knobs and also that my JBL electronics had scratchy tone / volume controls!!!
So guess had to start up as a tweaker as well as an audiophile.
After cleaning up my JBL's volume / tone pots and replacing my AR's hi-range drivers with new original ones plus cleaning up mid-hi pots I added AR's recommended fuse setup - and was finally able to enjoy the magic of good music at home!!!
Was quite happy for some time. Till another friend listened to my stereo rig and offered me to buy it all. Sold it for $250.
Then started my search for more used equipment. But that's another story. |
1985 Living in Japan at the time with a px. I still use the tuner, and my church uses the amp for the cryroom.
kenwood m1 amp
kenwood c2 pre
infinity rs3b speakers
onkyo t4017 tuner
onky0 eq35 eq
teac cd player
techniques phono |
Circa 1968, Sanui 800a reciever, I believe it was 15 or 20 watts, University Sound Speakers and a entry level Dual Turntable with Shure Cartridge. When I came back from overseas in 1971 I had a Sansui 5000 Reciever, AR3 Speakers (wish I still had them), Teac Reel to Reel Deck and Dual 1225 Turntable with a Shure Cartridge. Over the years I have owned Technics TT, Phase Linear, EPI (Epicure), DB Systems, Magnapan, Kenwood, Denon, Mac 1900 Receiver, Mac 2105 Amp - C 26 Pre Amp, Spectral, Bryston, Theil CS3.6 speakers, Linn LP 12, Itok Arm, Madrigal Carnegie I, Dynavector, NAD, Roksan and Paradigm speakers and too many others, including expensive cables, wires & tweeks to remember. It has been a long & wonderful journey. I am thankful I can still hear. I know it was about first systems but I got too reminiscent to stop. |
1974, 14 yrs old - am/fm car stereo with homemade power supply, home made speakers. Added a ratshack 4w amp with phono in and Gerard TT w/Pickering ceramic cartridge. Ouch. Upgraded the amp to a Fisher 12w intergrated and the TT to a Techniques SL3300 and built bigger speakers. Dumped the car radio for a Scott tuner-I have fond memories of that system. |
when I was 12yr my dad bought me a ELECTROPHONIC review with built in 8 track, small speakers that said air suspension and a built in Garrod turntable. It sucked. My next shortly thereafter at age 15 yrs old was a Marantz 2220B reciever with ECI speakers and a Marantz 6100 direct drive turntable. Next got a Teac A400 cassette. At 20 yrs old I got a Yamaha CA810 integrated amp and matching tuner, with Bang & Olufen TX Turntable(still have) Bose 901 speakers(stinko)then JBL L100 speakers, then JBL L112 speakers(I always liked them)then Nackimichi B100 cassette, then BX300 cassette,then Klipsch LaScalla speakers(like them,poor bass but too darn big)then McIntosh reciever then AR turntable, then Denon turntable, then B&K Pro101 Preamp,then Nackimichi reciever, then B& K Pro10MC preamp then B&K 202 plus ap, then Thiel CS 1 then Thiel CS 1.2 then Thiel CS 2 then Thiel CS 2.2 then Thiel CS 2.3 I want Thiel CS3.7 now I have McIntosh MC206 amp and McIntosh MX118 preamp and Meridian 508 CD. I left out alot of Sony CD players that gave out |
cambridge 550a
cambridge 540p
Music Hall MMF7
PSB Image T55
before that i wouldnt call it a system, most just what i had come into over time. marantz 2215, technics sl1900, some bookshelfs. |
Pioneer SX-838 receiver, Pioneer Pl-55x turntable with a Stanton 681EEE cartridge, and JBL L-100 Speakers. All for $1219 in 1975. My dad thought I was nuts! |
Looking back, I really fell in love with music during this time. Its about 1972 I am a 15 year old trumpet player/vocalist attemding USDAN Center for the Performing Arts during my summer. I begged my dad for a stereo system for the previous three years. I also wanted a car (Camaro SS) and a honda dirt bike. Those two things never happened.
The stereo system did. Thats just one of many fond memories of my dad. One of the other memories I have of my dad was seeing the look of awe on his face when I played one of his and my moms Sam Cooke albums on this system. (After a DiscWasher and "Last" preservation treatment) That was followed by Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Ray Charles among many others.
Dual 1249Q with Shure cartridge
Bose 501 Speakers
Sansui AU7700 Intergrated Amp
Sansui TU7700 Tuner
Sansui Dolby Tape Deck Auto Reverse and program play.
I wish I still had them. My Dad too.
|
I guess my first real system was in 1977 or 78 and consisted of a Realistic STA-2000 receiver, a pair of Mach 1 speakers and a totally forgettable Rat Shack cassette player (although it was my first with Dolby). I soon added a Technics SL-1900 TT. Within a couple of years, the receiver and cassette deck were replaced with a Yamaha CA-810 & CT-810 combo and a Pioneer CTF-900. |
1973 - catalog ordered from some place in San Luis Obispo, CA - Dual 1218 tt, Pickering cartridge, Harman Kardon (530 ?)receiver, Infinity 1001 two way loudspeakers. First set of separates which replaced a Sony bookshelf system into which I inserted a pair of KLH 2 way monitors. Now that I think of it, the sale of my KLH speakers to make room for the Infinitys was my first sale of used gear. Its been a hilly ride ever since! |
In 1978, my father bought me pioneer system. At least it came with saperate pre and power amp, cassette, turntable, tuner, and big speakers.
I thought it was the greatest thing ever - in my memory, I can't beat that sensation I had even with today's system for some reason - perhaps it's my age with a bit of hearing loss now, or my enthusiasm for new music back then.
I still have the amps and they still function !
I think buying all in one big system on craiglist for $100 is a good way to start on this exciting hobby - instead of getting a boombox for the price. |
Oh my, I remember it well. It was 1977 and I was 18 years old. I had a good job right out of high school and I had saved a huge sum of money right up to Christmas. I walked into a audio/video store and purchased a Kenwood KA-7100 integrated amp, a JVC JT-V71 tuner, a Pioneer CT-F8080 cassette deck, a Technics SL-1300MK2 turntable, and Technics SB-7000 speakers. It was a great sounding system. I wish I had more money for the Kenwood KA-9100 and the Kenwood KT-8300 tuner at the time, but I went away happy. I still have the amp and tuner. I wish I had kept all of it, but the upgrade bug bit and I purchased Mac equipment later on. I sold or traded the rest. |
At 19 I purchased a 200w Carver 2000 receiver a Kenwood TT and cassette player and 2 pair of infinity speakers One pair were 3way with 12'woofers and the other were towers with a front and rear firing tweeter a front firing mid and 10'woofer and a down firing 10'woofer. Then an Awia Cdp once cds were introduced. I remember most about it is that was how I first built credit and been in debt ever since:). Still have them in storage. |
1970, I was 15 years old, had a Dynaco ST-70, REK-o-CUT player with GE cartridge, an old Zenith tube pre-amp, Viking tube reel to reel, and an 8 track deck, home built base reflex Electro-voice LS-15 full range wolverine. I also had a large stack of records for 15 since every $ went to records. I got most of the equipment from my Fathers recording studio equipment no longer used or needed. I payed about $35 for each speaker. Lots of deep purple, led zep, mountain, stuff like that. I was 15. Now it's ARC, Vandersteen, SOTA. |
1976, I was in the Army stationed at Augsburg,Germany.We got great deals through the PX. My system was a Marantz integrated(forgot model),Pioneer CTF 9191 cassette deck(huge), Dokorder 10 1/2" open reel recorder(would die to have this back), Technics belt drive turntable and Sansui "Super 16" speakers(loud). I sold this system in 1982(needed money) and did the low-fi thing for years,sad but true. Just got back into good equipment and I am having a blast !!! |
Late 1980s - Bare bones Technics receiver, Kenwood CD player, and Bose 201s.... ugh. I could have chosen some Baby Advents instead of the Bose... what was I thinking!? |
Around 1970, Sansui 3000A receiver, speakers were various drivers thrown together, turntable was an early Bogen, with a hand-made tonearm that would really get a good laugh if seen today. I forget which coins were used to balance the arm, front and rear. Counterweight was a mass of wood, hand carved, as was the head shell. There was no anti-skating. Cartridge was a Shure that cost around $19. I got the turntable from a friend who upgraded to a Lenco. Lamp cord for speaker wire. I was in heaven! |
Pioneer 8 Track with matching speakers from 1973. Listened to this to death. In college, my Dad got me a pair of pro JBL monitors matched to a Dynaco Amp and a pro Sony cassette deck. |
Mine must have been in the mid '60's. It was the first boom box I guess. I remember it was a textured grey suitcase looking thing with a handle on top. On the sides were the speakers, they hinged out and detached for better sound-staging! In the middle was a turntable that folded out of the "suitcase" housing and it was even nicely suspended. After a year or two it required a penny taped to the tonearm to keep it tracking!
My dad was a true influence on my requiring good equipment, NOT! I think he found it next to the camouflage waders at the corner five and dime.
Thanks for the thread, I have not thought of that thing for years.
jd |
When I was 17 a retired friend of ours had a stereo that he had assembled and mouted in a pine box. Rather ugly. However, Once I paid $150 to him I found that he had an EICO HF85 preamp, an HF 90FM tuner with a multplex decoder all that he hand assembled, and a Pilot SA232 amp. The turntable was a top of the line early 60s Garrard which listed for over $200 in 1960. I snagged a couple of JBLs which ran me another $100 and a new Empire cartridge for $50 and I was ready to go. I never knew how fortunate I was to have all that collectable tube gear and a $300 system that I would envy today. I have been searching for that sound ever since. Go figure. By the way I purchased this in 1972 along with my first car, a 1967 Pontiac GTO. They were both sold in 1974 for what I paid for them. I hope someone still has both of them today. Anyhow I was a lucky teenager. I just did not know how lucky. |
I got my first "rig" in 1972 for Christmas. I honestly can't remember the brand. Dad must have purchased it at a department store (sears?). It was a receiver with built-in 8-track! It had a separate turntable (the platter was smaller than an LP). Speakers were way cheap (about 15 inches high). The tone controls were the "slider" style. My big "upgrade" was to replace the turntable with a BSR McDonald-310 (I needed to get a cheap external preamp from radio shack). My next upgrade was a pair of Ambassador speakers (bookshelf) that were actually acoustic suspension. I had to be clipping that thing every time I played it. I don’t think I ever backed the volume off full blast! It was all about rock & roll in those days; played a lot of air guitar back then! Man, my poor mom & dad were pretty cool about it; the house was too small to filter out the “noise.” No worries back then….those were fun times! (Thanks dad). |
1975-ish (before that, I used my dad's system, which was basically all Philips)
Sansui Something integrated amp
Pioneer Something turntable with Shure Something cart
Technics Something cassette deck
LSA (Laboratoires des Sciences Acoustiques) Something bookshelf speakers
(no sarcasm, just don't recall the model designations) |
1964 - College freshman in-dorm audio special:
(1.) Single box all tube record player/pre-amp/10w mono amp/2" woofer (FR: 200Hz - maybe 800Hz).
(2.) Rolling Stones first album ("12 x 5"?).
(3.) Ample supply of model airplane glue. |
pioneer sx 1250 receiver, pioneer ctf-9191 casstte and altec lansing model 19. The best, or so I thought in 1976. |
1973-I was 18 and had travelled cross country with a high school buddy after graduating. We ended up in Maynard Massachusetts where I got a job for Digital Equipment Corp. I worked in a department with some Vietnam Vets who were all into audio and, after hearing them discussing gear, and telling them I wanted to buy a decent stereo, they suggested I buy a pair of AR 7's which I did and they also told me to go down to H.H. Scott (just down the street) because every Friday they opened to the public and sold equipment, as is, that had some kind of defect(s). I purchases a receiver that worked perfectly for $75.00. The only thing wrong with it was it was missing the bottom cover. I don't remember the turntable I had at the time but after coming back home to Washington State a few months later I purchased an AR turntable with a Shure cartridge (don't remember the model), and an Advent model 201 cassette player which was the first player to have Dolby noise reduction. For it's time it was an incredible sounding system. Those speakers made a lot of jaws drop. And I don't know if I'll ever enjoy a system, no matter how good, as much as I did that one. |
As a kid, I had always wished to be the age I am today (36). I wanted to have the finances to buy all the audio equipment I would dream of. I remember when I was 14 years old, I had a paper route and saved up enough money all summer long to buy a Marantz receiver in 1981, from Leo's stereo. I don't recall the exact city, but in the Los Angeles area.
I remember getting up on Saturday morning and waking my mom at 930am so I could be there when they opened at 10am (god, she must have hated me then). We went down to the store and I knew exactly what I wanted. I can recall my parents keeping the receipt for me in their safe, and even though I had other pieces of audio equipment before, that was my first piece of real home stereo equipment that I earned and found myself.
That September I started my freshman year of high school, and the quest was on...
Today I have most of the things I dreamt of as a youth in my house and in my car, but nothing can compare to how my system sounded in my own room when I was 14. That was priceless. |
Garrard 401 (hand-me-down)
Aiwa cassette deck
Denon DCD1000
Kenwood tuner
NAD 3020
Electrovoice Crystal speakers
A real hotch potch of components, but I loved this little system which I can blame for getting me into this hobby back in the early 80's. |
My first component system was a Dual changer (model 1015?) with a Stanton 500E cartridge, a Fisher AM/FM receiver, and a pair of 10" or 12" 3-way house brand speakers from Cal Hi-Fi. This was 1968. For my $500, I could have just as easily gone with AR and Dynaco had someone given me some guidance, though I probably could not have tackled a kit. |
Garrard record player, Sony TCFX310 cassette, Amstrad Executive receiver and Goodmans Q30 speakers at 16 yo. I thought I was spending a fortune - little did I know until later. |
my first system consisted of a marantz sr 430 reciever a marantz sd 221 cassette deck and a small pair of epi speakers,i only had the epi's for a few weeks and then went out and bought a pair of advent 5012's |
He fellas, a little late but, had to add this. Circa 1971, my first love was a Muntz(remember them?)4&8 track car stereo with a car battery i stole from a car note being used and a pair of funky plastic craig??? speakers. Accidenty hooked both ground wires to the deck and finally found out what BALANCE meant. Then i moved to discrete quad 8trk decks, what fun. Then, i bought an am/fm 8trk unit, i think it was Electrophonic and two funky speakers for $85 bucks, then added a BSR/Mcdonald record player with a pickering ceramic cartridge, years later i found out the damage i did to some original Blue Note albums that'er now priceless! My, have i grown since then, i have so many toys, too much to list. Thanks for the opportunity to share how i got this disease, or is it ease? |
I had a Scott FM only tuner (tube) a Scott Pre-amp (tube) and a Mac 60 watt (tube) power amp. My turntable was by AR with a separate SME arm and a Pickering stylus. My speakers were AR 3AX.
I still have the AR 3AX's in my basement with a quad of smaller Advent's. They still sound great |
My first bedroom system when I was 13 was made of bits and pieces found in relatives' attic: An old Pioneer receiver, a Technics manual TT and a pair of beaten 3A from France(same designer Daniel Dehay as the now Reference 3A brand but at his beginnings).
My first system purchased new by me was many years later Rotel 930 series (CD + integrated) + Paradigm Mini-MkIII |
A battery operated transistor radio with earplugs and to which I fell asleep with at around age 11. |
Got mine in 1973 after graduation from High School. Where I lived at, every one had high power systems. Mine consisted of Kenwood Kt-1035 with Stanton 681EEE, Kenwood KA-9100 (mega power), Kenwood KT-7500 tuner, Akia X-1810 reel to reel with JBL L-100. Not many changes since then. Now changed TT to Poineer PL-518 (2 of them) with the 681EEE, retired reel to reel and bought another one from studio I worked at, TEAC TA-7300, rare one there, and picked up a Pioneer CTF-6060, and added a pr of 4311B control monitors with the L-100's. Still have this system today. Sounds as good as the first time I listened to it. For christmas I received the Tascam CD RW5000 for turning my albums into CD's for audio system in my truck. I found its like Timex, takes a lickin and keeps on tickin!!!!! |
Kenwood M1-A Amp
Kenwood C-2 Pre Amp
Teac PD-30 CD Player
Onkyo T4017 Tuner
Onkyo EQ-35 EQ
Infinity Reference Standard 4b
Kenwood Casette Player |
Kenwood C-2 Pre Amp
Kenwood M2A Amplifier (still use for the Uppers)
Onkyo T4017 Tuner
Onkyo EQ-35 Equalizer
Technics PD-50 Turntable (still using)
Teac CD Player i forget which one |
Its time too show my age in the Hobby.
I've had a few bestbuy type systems in the past, but my first attempt at doing something different was a tri-amped system consisting of Sonic T-Amps.
I have a pair of Kinetic Audio speakers that allow for a tri-amped configuration.
I run two sonic t-amps with the left/right inputs mono'd together. This was run of a entech dac, fed by a cambridge audio CD player.
I then ran a third t-amp off the analog outputs for just the tweeters. I control the system with two Luminous Audio pre-amps.
The system is very un-conventional, a pain to adjust but very efficient.
Its no longer my primary setup, but I still enjoy it in a remote corner of my house, infact alot more than my previous BestBuy/Circuit city over-priced bargains. |
hooked up my 13" black and white tv speaker wires. The sound was kind of "surround" due to signal mismatch....and wrong impedance as well. later I added a SONY 8-track tape deck! that was great for recording my own 8-track tapes in full stereo. Recorded my own Elvis music off the radio since there was no napster back then :) |
Really it was a Craig 8-track I bought from Bill Ursery when I was 13 for $50 because he needed the cash for his trip home from Northern California to Kentucky, (or was it Tenn.?), and with it came a pair of plastic, backless, 45* angle 5" fullrange(?) speakers which I mounted to my wall above my pillow so I could get the full 'true' stereo effect (Ooooh pleeeeease)
- But I learned to love Carly, Led Zep, Grand Funk, Cream, Jesse Colin Young and others which were right out of 1971-73 during this summer of '73.
In High School (a few years later) I bought a Concept 3.5 (which I still have in good looking/working condition!) from Pacific Stereo and then BUILT my 1st pair of speakers from Plywood and a pair of Altec 15" along with some E.V. 3500 horn tweeters I acquired from an older gentleman at Church.
That stinkin' system was so loud, full and efficient with the ported enclosures I built (at the ripe old age of 15) that I immediately became rather a well-known fixture as a Freshman who liked to hang out on the Senior lawn, and was allowed to.
-The reason? Because I was invited to all the Junior / Senior parties as long as I brought my stereo and 'DJ'd all night!
Now THAT was real fun; because I had the right stereo system I was a big man on campus as a FRESHMAN!!
Oh, what a fun little stroll down amnesia lane.
These days I often find time to enjoy my Soundlabs, Threshold S/500, and Studer CD, which aren't real upper end but set me free every time I off the lights and melt into the Ekornes with that hauntingly ethereal Mr. Hedges on guitar... Can't wait to hear him again live, but that won't be on an Earthly Stereo system.
We all miss you Michael.
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I was working at Lafayette Radio's southern most company store (Forest Park, GA) while in school when I bought my first real system.
1975
Lafayette LR-2200
Lafayette Criterion 777 speakers
BIC 940 w/Shure M91ED cartridge
1976
Lafayette LR-3500 (from marketing literature "Massive 47 Watts RMS per channel")
JBL L-36 loudspeakers (still have them)
BIC 1000 w/ADC ???? cartridge
Kenwood KX-530 cassette deck
Moody Blues, Doobie Brothers, Pink Floyd, etc all sounded so good back then. Ah to be young with little or no cares in the world.
Several changes since them but still have some of the equipment, more changes are coming! |
It was 1982 and I was only 9years old. Dad gave me a NAD6040 tape deck - to play recordings made on his Linn LP12 / Nakamichi - connected to an - then already - old Dynaco Integrated valve amlifier driving a pair of AR8s speakers. The sound was great! |
In 1971 when I was 14 , it was a 60 wpc ? KENWOOD TK140X Receiver , a cool BENJIMIN MIRACORD Turntable model ? , An AMPEX reel to reel Deck model ? And a Pair of Large 2 way BOZAC Speakers w/12" woofers which I proceeded to BLOW PRONTO !!! Playin' HUMBLE PIE'S "Performance Rockin' the Fillmore" Lp. What a blast it was ! mike |
A Kenwood KR-2600 stereo reciever(15 watts per channel!),
a Pioneer PL-112D turntable with a Pickering XV-15 cartridge
and Fisher St-455 12",3-way loudspeakers with DOME tweeters and finished in genuine walnut veneer.
I upgraded to a Technics SU-7600 integrated amp (50 wpc)
SU-7300 tuner, Garrard DD-75 turntable with Stanton 681-EEE, ADC Integra XLM-1, and Empire 2000T cartridges, and Marantz Imperial 6G 10", 2- way loudspeakers finished in genuine walnut veneer.
I later added a Technics RS-M228X cassette deck with DBX. |
Bought this system in 1977 - Pioneer SX-1080, Pioneer tape deck, Techniques turntable, Bose 601 speakers....later added Bose 201's in 1982. Still have the system and it still sounds great. |
My Dad took me to the Council Stereo shoe in 1956 and bought a Packerd Bell it had a wonderful sound.I did not experiance true stereo untill 1967 in some hippy pad wow--- |
Fisher 190 24wpc receiver, BSR changer (absolutely worthless), Fisher 3 way speakers, all purchased 1974. My freshman year at college it impressed most people. Now my most recent (secondary ie. bedroom) system. Mint, refoamed, large Advents, Dual 1226 turntable, and the same Fisher 190 receiver. Sounds great. |
A Pioneer SX 525 reciever. I was so happy when I brought it I rode all the way home with it in my lap, like it was a baby. I could not even afford speakers to go with it. The tuner was my only source listening with headphones. Finally got some house brand Havard Speakers,a pioneer turntable and a technics cassette deck. Great first system. That was some 30 plus years ago. I've a better system now, so not so very bad getting older. |
