What was your very first audio system?

[sound dropouts]

but how they post and respond when challanged.

Are you saying we are immature??

[dubyahJay]

A pair of Klipsch Heresey II's and a two channel Yamaha receiver, man do I miss those speakers!

[Rutgar]

Originally Posted by William

I'll do my best.

Pioneer Spec-1 pre amp
Pioneer Spec-2 power amp
Pioneer linear tracking TT (upper left) w/Shure V15
JVC TT w/Audio Technica
Teac cassette deck (obscured by spider plant)
Akai 10 1/2" reel to reel (GX-6366).
JBL L-220 speakers
Magnavox 13" HDTV prototype

Not shown (up higher)
Pioneer tuner and Akai 8-track recorder

Ah yes. I now remember the Spec-1 and Spec-2! I thought those looked familiar. But through the years, I had totally forgot about them.

[Randybes]

Originally Posted by Paul Scarpelli

For the time, that was a classy system.

It gave me several years of enjoyment. I bought it at E J Korvette's high end department store in St. Louis:-)

[Buckeye911]

Originally Posted by petergaryr

Well, the first "anything" I had was a $29 Westinghouse all in one record changer. Looked like a suitcase.

Hey, my elementary school used those suitcase record changers. Wow, I forgot all about those things.

[blastinbill]

May 1974, 10th grade, $560 total expenditure:
1. One pair of Realistic (Radio Shack) Optimus 1b bookshelf speakers ( one 10" acoustic suspension woofer, two 2.5" cone tweeters, 2.5-way);
2. Realistic automatic turntable with Shure magnetic cartridge;
3. Technics RS-263US cassette deck with Dolby B NR;
4. Realistic 12 watt/channel receiver;
5. Realistic 8-track playback deck; and
6. My aunt's swing record LP collection, including various Command and London Phase-4 recordings.

Oh, how happy I was!

[IceBadger]

Hi, I'm IceBadger, and I have a problem...
Long time lurker, 1st time poster (gotta keep with the A/V addiction theme!)

1st ever: I needed something to keep up with my new electric guitar at age 14, so I dug around in the basement until I found my dad's old college system... (Parents "loved" the racket from the basement )

General Electric stereo reciever circa 1970
Huge floorstanding "Animal House" style speakers (No idea what brand, grilles were missing), then "upgraded" to a pair of Sharp towers...

Current System:

Reciever: Panasonic SA-HE70
XBOX 360 w/HD-DVD add-on drive
Sharp Aquos 19" LCD
Mains: KLH 3-way floorstanders w/12" woofers (Ceiling mounted... heh heh heh)
Center/surrounds: KLH Bookshelves
Sub: Polk PSW12

It works in my apartment, and I kept the old system in the living room (parties and such... its loud AND I don't care if the roommates trash it!). I'm so screwed when I have a job and can afford some of the toys I've seen on here!

[oztech]

Anyone remember 4 track i had one of those in jr.high some J.C.Penny brand.

[blastinbill]

I'll answer for my cousin. The first time I visited his house in 1974 he had:
1. EICO tube integrated amplifier built from kit;
2. Dual 1219 (maybe 1019?) turntable with Shure V15 type 2 magnetic cartridge;
3. Sony TC-250A reel-to-reel tape deck;
4. Dynaco kit-built tube FM tuner; and
5. ADS acoustic suspension speakers.

I asked him a couple months ago where these classic components were now and he said that all except the speakers and tape deck are in the bottom of a landfill.

[scientest]

My father was into music so I didn't feel the need to get anything for myself until I hit University. Helped my father put together some Heathkit stuff and assemble some home built speakers when I was a kid. The turntable he had for as long as I can remember was a Dual something or other with a Shure cartridge.

First system I purchased came together sometime around 1975 started out with large Rotel integrated amp / preamp. 120W or so per channel, all brushed aluminum, rack mount (at least in look) with handles on the front and two large VU's. Very impressive looking. Turntable was a middle of the road Technics something or other and I think an AKG cartridge. First speakers to be attached to the system where probably one of the first pairs of PSB Betas that made it outside the factory, tried out on loan. Found I couldn't justify the price and ended up building my own. First upgrade was the turntable, changed over to the top end Technics direct drive of the time with a SME tone arm. Purchased my first pair of Stax electrostaic "earspeakers" the SR3/mk3 in 1977 or so. Sold the Rotel to a friend some time before 1980 and purchased a Michaelson and Austin TVA-1 and a PS Audio 4 (4.5?) preamp. By the time the 80's were in full swing I had upgraded to the Denon DL303 cartridge and their low end MC pre-pro. Things really started getting out of hand after that...

[ptlurking]

I bought my first "Hi-Fi" system in 1977 when I was a kid in the Air Force.

Marantz 2235B Receiver
Pioneer Project 60 Speakers
Pioneer PL510 (I think?) Turntable
Dokorder Reel to Reel.

Still have the Marantz 2235 boxed up in the attic along with a pair of
1980 vintage Pioneer CS722A speakers.
One of these days I'll set them up and see how they sound after all these years.

Pete

[jcalabria]

Mid-Late 70's while in college:

• Pioneer SA-9100 Integrated Amp
• Pioneer TX-9100 Tuner
• EPI 180 Speakers
• Garrard Zero 100B Turntable
• Shure V15 Cartridge
• Marantz 5420 Cassette Deck
• dbx 118 Dynamic Range Enhancer
• Koss Pro4AA Headphones

At a time when just about everybody else I knew was using all-in-one compact systems with 8-tracks, that was pretty hot stuff. I can still clearly remember exactly how it sounded playing Yes, ELP, Springsteen, Pink Floyd, The Who, Boston, Eagles, Doobies, etc, etc.

The Pioneer stuff was the forerunner of the Elite series... billet aluminum faces and knobs, real walnut cases, huge power supplies, overkill specs (yet conservative vs actual). They are now classics, but who knew then... I was just saving my nickels to put together the best I could afford.

Back in the day there was a McIntosh dealer in Paramus NJ (Leonard Radio)... occasionally McIntosh Engineers would come in and run free amplifier clinics, where you could bring in your gear and they would test it's power, frequency response and distortion (complete with hand-charted(!) graphs). Of course, the main idea was to point out the flaws in your equipment and sell you a McIntosh. When the engineer tested the SA-9100, he was astounded at its extremely low distortion levels, wide frequency response and conservative power rating, and stated, "That's one happy little Pioneer you've got here... I would hang on to that one if I were you."

So I did... I still have all of it except the turntable, although only the EPIs are still in use.

[ShrinerMonkey]

Late 80's- high school:

Technics SA-160 receiver
Kenwood CD player
Bose 201 series II

All purchased from Best Buy.

Those Bose 201s were truely awful. I was young and impresionable and went with marketing hype over my ears. I could have chosen a set of Baby Advent's instead... what was I thinking?

[Browninggold]

HTIB by Zenith 5.1 speaker. Cost around 400 dollars

[Tunacious]

Marantz 2250 receiver w/wood case
BIC 960 Turntable
Audio Technica cartridge (model # ?)
CJD tower speakers (model # ?)
Koss headphones (model # ?)

All purchased at "Now Sound Stereo" in So Cal...


First system to be proud of - same as above

[Goofoff]

I got nice Denon 3805 receiver but i was using a 7.1 Onkyo speaker setup with it back when that receiver came out..was great for when i got it...loved that thing and everyone in knew came over to my parents house so we could play games.

I still have the receiver but it sucks now that it doesn't have any HDMI and that lousy (but still badass) Electro-Luminescence (i think i spelled that correcty) changing remote that came with it devours batteries like nobodies business...Still have that receiver and setup if anyone wants to make an offer on it...i need more money for moving into a house.

[rikc]

This thread seems to be no stranger to resurrections, so I thought I'd post my system. I just made these purchases yesterday and the AVS forums were invaluable while doing my research. This is my first system, and is made up of entry-level hardware. I'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions:

Speakers: B&W DM110
Receiver: Harman Kardon 3385
CD Player: OPPO DV-980H
Turntable: Audio-Technica AT-PL120

[519audiofan]

First system - 1985 15 years old. Purchased at Richmond Sound in London Ontario
yamaha R-5 receiver
Nakamichi BX100 tape deck
Paradigm 7s
Dual CS505-II turntable w/Ortofon cartridge

This system hosted many a high school party in my parents basement. "Money for Nothing" sounded amazing.......


First system to be proud of - 1993
NAD 7100/2100 combo running bridged mono
Paradigm Esprit Monitors
Yamaha CDC-5?? CD Changer
Nakamichi CR-2A (1990)
Dual 505-2 (1985)

I am surprised I haven't seen more Nakamichi stuff in this thread.

[penngray]

Hey!!! Im from Woodstock, ON lol, from your list did you grow up next door to me

btw, first system Kenwood, 1984....first paycheck as a kid working at KFC

How can people remember brands, labels, details so far back?

[GregLee]

Originally Posted by Randybes

First system in 1965 was

AR turntable
AR speakers (forget the model 1 or 2 I think)
Dynaco amp

Very similar here, in 1963, AR turntable, AR 4a speakers, Dynaco amp.

[Scottyb09]

Oh hell yes - my first system purchased in the late 1980's consisted of:
1. An $80.00 Scott stereo receiver
2. A Magnavox CD player
3. A pair of three-way Yamaha speakers ($60.00 each) with 8" woofers
4. "Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue
5. A 12" black and white television
6. A Sega Genesis (nothing shows off the power of a new console better than a total lack of color!)

I later hooked my car stereo 6x9's to this baby and it was great! Looking back, I am amazed at how horrible and poorly designed this set of junk was compared to what I have now (Denon & M&K system).

[Bone215]

Wow, nice thread.
First system was the one Dad bought, one of those console jobs, had one speaker that could be detached and moved further out for that stereo effect. Had a turntable and tuner built in. Must have been 1957 or 58.
I got a Singer suitcase with two speakers and a turntable in 66.
In 69 I bought my first system.
2 Dynaco 25 speakers
A Dynaco integrated amp
A Dynaco tuner and a belt driven turntable with a Shure cartridge. I was hot $hit.
Later moved on to dual Dynaco 25s and later dual Advents. It seems I never had enough cash to buy the good stuff.
I remember when Polks first came out, Quads.
I must be getting older......

[dwdokc]

No one laugh, but my first system was:

Sanyo Cassette boom box with external Sony bookshelf speakers and a Sansui turntable. Also had a realistic 8 track player with internal amp and two horrible speakers!!

Wasnt bad for a 13 year old though. Doing much better now!!

[519audiofan]

Originally Posted by penngray

Hey!!! Im from Woodstock, ON lol, from your list did you grow up next door to me

btw, first system Kenwood, 1984....first paycheck as a kid working at KFC

How can people remember brands, labels, details so far back?

I grew up in Delhi so it probably wasn't me next door. Small world though
Working in tobacco in the summer made for some nice $$$ for electronics. I am still upgrading....though not as often as back then !

[mfeust]

I bought my first system in 1978 and I was very proud of it and very much liked it's sound.

Pioneer SX-780 reciever. Wish I still had this reciever.
EPI 120C speakers. I still have and use the EPI's in my wife's art studio.
Sanyo Turntable. All bought for $640 from Wonder audio in Pittsburgh PA.

[psgcdn]

Nearly 30 years ago:

Nikko integrated amplifier, a year later upgraded to Nikko separates: beta 20 pre-amp and Alpha 220 amp. I still have those and still use the amp to drive my surround speakers.

Small 3-way speakers from a Canadian brand that longer exist. Very coloured sound. Upgraded to used Klipsch La Scala a year or so later, and I still have them and use one as center speaker.

Two Technics turntables and a mixer.

My and a friend would rent ourselves out as DJs. The La Scala blew everyone away.

[Mozvz]

Yes, I owned Bose 501's-901's with a Carver Phase Linear 700B. No highs, but could rock the house with that setup.

First real audio system: 1970's

Speakers: Braun LV 1020 - Self Powered 3 way - 12" woofer
Line Stage / Equalizer - Sound Craftsman PE2217
Turntable - Thorens TD-160
Ortofon M16 cartridge
Pioneer Open Reel Deck - 1020L
Nachamici cassette deck - Model Number ??
Grundig FM tuner

Pioneer 1020L


Sound Craftsman PE2217


Photo Copied from a German Ebay sale: Braun/ADS LV 1020's

[MKtheater]

I was a late bloomer, I started off with a KLH HTIB, pioneer receiver, and laser disc player.

[petergaryr]

Originally Posted by Mozvz

Sound Craftsman PE2217

Hey, I had that equalizer at one time too!

I actually think of it sometimes when a thread opens concerning "bright" speakers. I remember carefully using that Sound Craftsman equalizer with the test tone LP and a sound level meter from Radio Shack to get a "flat" frequency response at my favorite listening position.

I managed to take a pair of AR3a (back when Acoustic Research was an actual company in Massachusetts known for its somewhat laid back "Boston Sound") and turn them into real sizzlers in the high frequencies.

It was an interesting experiment, since I could switch the equalizer in and out of the system pretty easily. Listening to the "flat" equalized sound for a while, then taking the EQ out to revert back to the original AR sound caused them to sound "dull" (they weren't really and actually produced a very neutral sound under "normal" conditions).

Anyway, thanks for the picture. Good memories.

Come to think of it, this thread has brought up quite a number of brand names I haven't heard in a long time.

[Raymond Leggs]

I couple of horrible mini systems.