What was the first system you heard that made you think the high end made sense


I am sure I cannot be the only person here who can recall the day, and indeed the very system that made them think 'oooohhhhh yesssss - I get it - I understand - and I absolutely love it!'

In my case I attended a HiFi Show in Heathrow at the Renaissance Hotel. It was the GT Audio room hosted by Graham Tricker. The parts comprised:

DPS turntable- Schroeder arm - jan allaerts cartridge
Tron Pre-amp
Avante Garde Uno's

In all honesty I still remember the day now. It was so musical and had the ability to connect me to the music. When I went for a full demo at Grahams home I came to understand the magic of horns, valves and imaging. 

lohanimal
I guess, besides having been addicted to car audio upgrades, it was when I first heard the Spica TC-50s from an AR tt, listening to "Let's Dance" lp.

I still have a pair of TC-50is in my closet.
1974 my first system a Lafayette receiver,, Klipsch Heresey 
That came bare wood I hand stained and French waxed 
Nakamichi 3 head cassette deck ,and AQ  wire .I was stoked.
It was great mostly  Made in U.S.A.,The Nackamichi cassette deck 
From Japan- great quality their Dragon deck still a classic.
It was when I finished my first summer job and decided to splurge and buy ATH-M50Xs. I'd only listened to cheap earbuds all my life, but when I could actually pick out where instruments and voices were, it got me ~very~ interested.
September 1973, Palo Alto. Goodness, but as a group we do seem to be getting on, don't we?

Magnepan Tympani 1a's with ARC electronics and SP10, playing Cat Steven's Tea for the Tillerman (Wild World).



Yes, we are getting on. 1974, Infinity 2000 Speakers in rosewood, Mac C-26, Crown DC300A, Dual TT, Shure V15, Yamaha tuner, Sony R to R. Our local dealer also used Cat Stevens when demoing speakers.