Olaf Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 I thought it would be interesting to find out how we have upgraded our systems through the years. My first stereo that I bought with my own hard earned money was when I was in high school('72). It was a quad(remember them?) Panasonic 'Whitney' model. It was $200 and it was a 4x10 watt unit. It had 4-6.5 inch full range speakers (aarghh) and a BSR turntable. It took a beating and I still have it in the attic. Everything still functions on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 The year was 1978 in Hessisch Oldendorf, Germany. I was in the USAF and had never owned a stereo before. I never knew about Hi-Fi until I went to a friends house and his Dad had a Carver amp and preamp, Denon turntable, DBX 3bx Range Expander and the best sounding pair of speakers I had ever heard - KEF 104/2's. This system sounded unbelievable! I remember listening to Boston's 1st album and it just blew me away! From that point forward, I knew one day I was gonna get me the best system I could afford. After saving most of my money for a year in the Armed Forces, I purchased a Sansui G-8000 Receiver (125 w/ch), Dual CS-721 Turntable, SAE 500 Noise Reduction Unit, DBX 3bx Range Expander and Infinity Column II speakers. This system was not as good as my friend's father but it was good enough for me. About 4 years later, I replaced the receiver with Yamaha separates that I still have today. Mike ------------------ Family Room ----------- Denon 4800 AVR Panasonic DVD-A7 Dual CS-721 Turntable DBX 3bx Series III Range Expander Klipsch Epic CF-2's (mains) Klipsch KLF-C7 (center) Klipsch RS-3's (surrounds) SVS 20-39CS Sub w/Samson S700 Amp Bedroom ------- Yamaha M-4 Amp Yamaha C-4 Preamp Yamaha T-7 Tuner Teac DVD Player Looking for a pair of Heresy's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Gee, let's dust off the ol' brain pan for a sec. It started off whith one that was given to me (does that count?). In 1978 my parents handed down to me my first "box"; a Hitachi all in one table-top unit with AM/FM, cassette and record player (when they're this cheap you call them 'record players' ). The grills wouldn't come off so I have no idea what was in them. I just remember it having a silver finish and a neon-type glowing blue tuner display. Then came my first "job". It happened to be at Swallen's in Cincinnati in the Audio Department. Shortly after starting there I picked up the a Technics SA-411 receiver with 45wpc., Technics R&B Series SB-7 speakers (main), SL-D350 (I think) turntable, a Technics RSM-236 cassette deck and a Numark 2310 EQ. Soon after that was the matching rear speakers, Technics R&B Series SB-3 speakers (bookshelf) and my first cd player, a Sony CDP-111 in silver. I was one of the first 50 people in this city to even have a cd player. That thing was a royal tank!! While the drawer was open you could use it as a handle and pick up the entire unit off the shelf completely and hold it like you would a suit case. I wore the laser out in it eventually, that must have been when you had to power down the cd player when you weren't using it because the laser was still turned on at idle. But that was all in 1983 ------------------ Tom KLF-20 Mahogany McIntosh C33 (In the Hospital--being discharged on June 29th) Rotel RB-1080 Yamaha PF-800 Turntable/ Sure V15 Type V Cartridge Ortofon VMS-30 mkII Cartridge Stanton 999SS Cartridge Carver TL-3100 CD Yamaha K-1020 Cassette dbx 1231 EQ H.H. Scott 830z Analyzer Monster Interlink 400mk II Monster Interlink 300 mk II Studio Tech U-48RW Cabinet Original 12ga. Monster Cable Enough boxes for a fire hazard! This message has been edited by tblasing on 06-29-2001 at 10:32 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 That seems like such an easy question, but the funny thing is, I'm not sure I really remember. The first stereo I ever HEARD was my freshman year of college in 1973. Yep, Mr. Hot Shot Audio Freek here had never even HEARD a stereo throughout middle school and high school back in the late 60s / early 70s. I had a "record player", big white suitcase-like thing from Sears that you opened up, plugged in and played records on. I had a bunch of 45s, you used the little plastic dohickies that fitted the big punched out center hole on the records to the little spindle on the player. (By the way, can anyone tell me why 45's've always had that large center hole?) When I got to my dorm on the first day of freshman year, my roomate had this typical Lafayette (?) stereo (all in one case with receiver, 8 track tape and record changer and little bitty speakers). He didn't have any records, just listened to the radio, mostly AM sports channels. One day I saw Tarkus (ELP) at the student center store, thought the cover art was cool, bought it. Had NEVER OWNED AN LP before. Waited till roommate was out (aside - just to help you get the picture - I was a physics major, about 5'10", weighed at most 135 lbs, glasses, geeky clothes, the whole bit; he was on a hockey scholorship, about 6', 275 lbs, hated me. Well, not hated, exactly, just thought I was a stupid little twerp who annoyed the heck out of him.) anyway, waited till he was out, put Tarkus on the "stereo", and, well, my world changed. Went running back to the school store, bought Brain Salad Surgury. That was pretty much it. I never recovered. By that summer I had a Nikko preamp, Nikko power amp (Tech HiFi said they were the BEST! What did I know....), Dual 1219 table with a Shure M91ED, ElectroVoice Interface A speakers, and about 200 records. ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 This one makes you guys sound old LOL!! My first system was a all in one Masterwork stereo, my dad brought home from work! As a kid, i used to pull audio out of the trash, fix and sell them! Filled my room then, at 16 years old, i had, 37 pair of speakers, 16 turntables, a knight tube amp, 27 recievers, 15 cassette decks, A set of Klipsch squakers and crossovers, and tweeters out of la scalas, didnt know what they were, and traded them for a motorcycle! Dad got suspicious, had the police liquidate my room! Well i didnt know, some was stolen! LOL Ever scince then, ive owned 9 sets of Klipsch brand new, and have had over 500 systems!! Maybe thats why i have 3 recievers 2 amps and more now! The horns i had, i think were the 400 horns, but im sure they were out of la scalas! Ive been into this scince i was 11, something that never went away!! These cornwalls, topped me off, but still collect audio components! Have fun Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myram Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Well the first stereo I bought, was a big Pioneer rack system with Pioneer speakers.....that was back in 1986 when I was in high school. That lasted for 4 years until I got to college and my roommate talked me into upgrading....so I got rid of the Pioneer rack system, and picked up a Yamaha Integrated amp, and a Yamaha CD player, and a pair of Klipsch KG4. Then my roommate was hard up for cash so I bought his NAD 1600 Pre/tuner from him. I mail ordered my Sony c67ES cd player, and that summer bought an Adcom GFA-545 amp. That was the system I was using up until last year, when I sold my Adcom and KG-4's and moved up to what I am using now.....and this past Christmas is when I started working on the Home Theater part of my system. ------------------ Home Theater System: Klipsch Quartets - mains for both systems Klipsch KV3 - center Klipsch KG.5's - rear surrounds Klipsch KSW12 subwoofer Denon AVR-1601 JVC 36D201 36" TV JVC HR-S3600 SVHS Player JVC XV-M565BK DVD Player Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2100 Digital Cable box Music System: Adcom GFA-555 Musical Concepts Modified NAD 1600 Pre/Tuner Sony C-67ES CD Player Playstation 2 Monster Power HTS-2000 MIT Speaker Cable RS Gold Interconnects Monster S-Video and Component Cables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikiman7 Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Let's see.. Onkyo A-45 amp 70wpc Luxman T-500 tuner (beautiful rosewood cabinet) Sony PS/LX-2 turntable Radio Shack Mach 1's horn midrange! I still have all of the pieces and all were put to work at my mother's summer house, with the exception of the Luxman. (Needs a new tuner section). I replaced it with an Onkyo T-100. Still sounds great to me and everyone else who has heard it. If anyone knows how or where I can get the tuner repaired, I'd like to know. ------------------ SF-1/SC-1/SS-1/KSW 10 Technics SA-DA8 Technics DVD-A10 (DVD Audio) Sony SLV-700HF Sony KV27TS27 *** ProMedia 2.1 PIII 750Mhz/256 MB PC-133 Abit BE6-II V.2 RAID Pioneer 16x DVD Teac 16x10x40 CDRW IBM 40GB 60 GXP Iomega Zip 100 Hercules GeForce2 GTS/64 Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 3com NIC 10 BT IBM G70 Mid-Tower ATX w/350w PS Win 2k Pro damn floppy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschguy Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 I grew up listening to a big ole pair of Bozak B302's from the late fifties coupled to a Heathkit AR-15 receiver. I still got the Bozak's and they really do have a beautiful, mellow tone. KG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake2 Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 My introduction to stereo was from my Dad. He saved his jury duty pay and used it as "mad money" to buy a Fisher receiver and a pair of Fisher speakers from Harvey's in Manhattan. Had an old Garrard turntable. This replaced the Heathkit tube mono amp and homemade speaker that he was using. I still remember going with him into "the city" on the train to help bring the Fisher stuff home -- I was maybe 9 at the time. My folks gave me my first stereo. It was a Panasonic tuner/8-track unit (with real artificial wood finish) with a couple of matching speakers. I think the speakers weighed all of .5lb each. Many an hour was spent listening to Abbey Road on it with my best friend, late at night. Next came the Modular Component System (Series?) (remember this from a few month's back on this board?) sold by Jacque Pennier -- tuner (big mutha), speakers (even bigger mutha's) and a turntable (which my daughter still uses!!). Then, a Pioneer SX-780 in the late '70s in college (Dad still uses in his living room -- the Fisher gave up the ghost long ago). Then, the breakthrough!! After a good year on commission -- NAD receiver, B&O turntable (still using), Pioneer reel-to-reel and the beloved KG4s. Then nothing for about 13 years, until my family gave me a DVD player. What's this Dolby Digital thing? I was so out of touch. That re-ignited the flame - now the Denon, NAD, Sony ES CD, Elite Megachanger, B&O turntable, Toshiba VCR, Denon DVD, Forte's, KV-3, SS-1s, KG4, KG3, Rock Solids, and Velo sub (and my wife an dog) live in peaceful coexistence! DD2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikekid Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 My first stereo is too SAD to mention! Man it was awful.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klewless Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 My first stereo was a Zenith portable, with a Cobramatic tome arm. It even had little electrostatic tweeters in there! As a yongster I modified the devil out of that little thing. Loved it. ------------------ John P St Paul, MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A B Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 1977 was the year I purchased the rest of my system components after starting my first real full-time job. A 1976 Technics turntable w/ADC cartridge for $150.00, a Kenwood KR-4070 (40 wpc) receiver for $200.00, a large pair of used Jensen 4-way speakers for $200.00, a Marantz cassette deck, and Koss Pro-AA headphones. I later added a $60.00 Radio Shack 5-band equalizer which helped balance the sound (blasting Van Halen, AC/DC, and Pink Floyd among others). I dumped the whole works once I decided to move west in late '79. Fast forward to the present and I'm back in my home state currently blasting Rammstein's "Mutter" on my '89 Forte II's. It's been a fun ride! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpgwagon Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 I actually had a good setup (for the time) as my first. Onkyo TX-6500 MK 2 receiver(it was like 290 watts per side) JBL Century L-100's speakers Kenwood direct drive turntable/shure cartridge ------------------ Technics SA-1040DX Klipsch SF1 Fronts Klipsch KSW12 Sub. (2) Klipsch SC1 Center Klipsch SF1 Rears Panasonic RV31 DVD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 I had a deprived childhood.When I was nine I had to suffer with my father's horn loaded four way EVs with 18" woofers.They were driven by these lame old McIntosh MC75 tube amps that he borrowed from work (they drove shaker tables with them) until his HarmanKardon gear came.At the tender age of eighteen I had to suffer with a cast-off pair of Altec A7 Voice of the Theater cabinets that a friend of my father charged me the outrageous sum of $50 for.A year later I got conned into buying something called a Klipschorn for $90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 My first stereo was...wait for it....a brand new Radio Shack record player with 2 tiny (tinny) matching Radioshack speakers. It cost all of 50 pounds back then (I think we were done personally). Now you've got me thinking about it I think it is still at my parents place - I will go check it out next time I am in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschguy Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 djk, You have been truly blessed. KG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Palm Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 My 1st was an Arvin. Yep, the same people that made auto mufflers. Bought it in 1969. Liked it cuz it had a Garrard changer. The speakers formed the cover for it and made it look like a suitcase. Bought The Beatles "Abbey Road" and the bass guitar made the thin moulded plastic cabinets buzz. Took baffle-grill cloth assembly off and mounted in home made plywood cabinets. NIRVANA! Still used these speakers in car in 1977. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf Posted June 30, 2001 Author Share Posted June 30, 2001 a typical Lafayette (?) stereo I remember the Lafayette equiptment. When I was about 18 I had my sights set on a Lafayette 4-channel system that I wnted sooooo badly. It was about 600 bucks and I saved all my money to buy it. Then I had to make a big decision. The stereo or a new drum kit? I bought the drum kit,at least that paid for itself many times over!...:-) I can remember the Arvin stuff too, along with the 'Electrophonic and SoundDesign. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornEd Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 Back a little further in time, they had something called "High Fidelity" on which I spent my youth. Then, while stationed in France, the PX got in something called a "stereo"... a non-descript "suitcase" with a questionable turntable and two even more suspect detachable speakers. I snapped it up along with a half-dozen or so of the curiously marked "stereo" records. It was exciting... but no match for the big tube amp and monster cubic inch speakers of my hi-fi home-built days. It didn't take long for my new stereo to become a gift to the local French hospital children's ward (A neighbor's child was hurt and when I visited I was appalled at the lack of attention these kids got. So I started dropping by to tell them common fairy tails in my then fractured French... the more inept the translation... the more they laughed... it was a most rewarding experience). You, see, I had discovered a pair of nicely spaced cabinets built into the stone walls of my building, fronted by flush mounted heavy oak doors covered for many years by ancient wall paper. With the proviso from the building owner that modifications were OK as long as they remained after I left. So, I popped in some 15" woofers with a multi-cell mid-horn array (in the center), carefully cut circles in the oak from the reverse side without damaging the wallpaper, made a jillion pin holes in said wallpaper and rocked on with a real rock enclosure that sure surprised unknowing guests... and that was my first honest-to-goodness stereo... I think it was fired with either an old Mac amp or maybe a Heathkit. Great memories... lost in space... of Planet Fuzzbrain! Hmmm, thanks for plumbing my depths, "cousin" Olaf. Your post reminded me of Larry Elgart hanging out in my place in San Antonio after fun jazz sessions with the late Jim Cullum, Sr. (original source of the Live from the Landing PBS radio show). I had a freestanding 40' x 60' masonry building built like an intimate nightclub overlooking a large, tree lined free-form bass pond. It was a great opportunity to develop "Klipsch-ears." Unfortunately, no one conned me into buying K-horns for $90 in my whole life. So my heart goes out to you, djk...... NOT!!! HornEd This message has been edited by HornEd on 06-30-2001 at 06:02 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwK Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 My first system.. not counting Boom Boxes................ Well, grew up with a Pair of Heresys right infront of my face, that I didnt realy "discover" till about 1 year ago. My first setup was/is the Klipsch Pro Medias. ------------------ Living Room: Yamaha Natural Sound A-500 Stereo Amplifier 2 Klipsch Heresys on A switch 2 Fisher STV-873 on B switch My Room: Klipsch Pro Medias 2 Fisher Surrounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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