As A Youngster, What Unit Puqued Your Interest In All This?

Marantz 2230 that I received as a 16TH Birthday gift from my parents in 1975.  

Been in this hobby ever since and have loved every minute of it! 😊

It was in the mid 60's that I bought a kit amplifier. I do not remember the name but I also bought a turntable from them and speakers. All to play a Ventures album.

I had the same Craig "all-in-one" or similar to the OP's.  TT, 8-track, and tuner.  My parents got it for me when I was 14.  It lasted through college where I was exposed to real gear.  Had a few ex-GI buddies that brought back killer systems from the mid-late 70s.

Before that, I had a steel needle POS but it played records.  Good enough for a 5-year old...

My folks had a TV "console" unit with a TT and tuner, and a stand-alone "record player".

My first bonus check in 1981 went for a Technics receiver and linear tracker paired with EPI speakers.  I was surprised the cartridge and stylus cost as much as the TT.  I still have the receiver, TT and that Stanton cartridge still sounds good.

In the Summer of 1964 my mom and I did a National Parks tour for my Bar Mitzvah (in lieu of a catered affair). While We soaked up Yellowstone the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, my older brother was building a Dynakit PAS3, FM3, and ST70. After my return he took me to a McIntosh dealer in Ridgewood, NJ to shop for speakers. We chose KLH 17s. When hooked up to a Garrard changer with I don’t know what cartridge, that was my intro to HiFi. When I was able, I got myself an SCA 80 kit, a pair of A25s and a Dual 1209…1970.

What opened my ears wider was hearing Rectilinear 3s, IMF Monitors and Quad ESLs in the next few years.

A mismatched pair of Bozak B302A’s that my Dad built at different times ( added the second when stereo came to be) powered by a Dynaco electronics & cables he built & modified, a Fairchild 15” turntable( he worked for Fairchild) w/ a Wooden Pritchard arm all in the 60’s & later replaced by an Elac  Miracord 770H table / arm & a Shure  V - 15 type II in the early 70’s..
 

Then, when my Dad took off & I accumulated some cash “ distributing “ things that have recently been made ok to do…. I purchased my own system  for my 10’ x  12’ bedroom: first single pair  then stacked Advents, Pioneer 1010 receiver, BIC 960 table / arm ( mistake - sounded ok but poorly built) w/ a Stanton 681 EEE cartridge.  I treated the walls w/ large, heavy Karastan wool carpet samples my best friend got for me from his father’s variety store..
 

Like many here, I’ve been on an upgrade spiral ever since for 50 years….