Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be FANboys.

DUALityOFman

Active Member
I really just wanted to start a thread with that title, but maybe you can share your best fanboy story about a friend who is SURE his particular tube amp or turntable is the best ever made. I'll start.

When I was in high school, most of the kids I knew were very excited to get any kind of stereo equipment for xmas, or bday, etc. I remember my best friend's dad brought home a Panasonic stereo on xmas. It was one of those with everything...panasonic-vintage-stereo-thruster_1_0683e04930d90444e17625c654dcd950.jpg turntable, tuner, 8 track or cassette, and two fairly large THRUSTER speakers. Hell, who cared what they sounded like with a name like that? Anyway, I had an old clock radio for my stereo, so I thought this "system" had to be the best ever made in 1980 ish. It wasn't even mine, but I would have fought in the parking lot after to school if anyone had dared tell me it wasn't the best ever. THEN I found a used RA6600 receiver maxresdefault.jpg by Panasonic, and in my defense, it was great-looking. Even now they are sharp, but it had more issues than Car and Driver. I need to find a photo. So, I was a Panasonic fanboy for a year or two.
 
It just occurred to me that it might be more fun to tell about your first "stereo" love. So it's a dual-purpose thread.
 
When I was a teen my friends and I would hang out with an audiophile guy in his late 40s, he would smoke his pot with us. Maybe reliving his youth. He had all kinds of Kenwood equipment, Mitsubishi high end vcrs and a set of JBL l80t. Always buying off Crutchfield. Odd guy, He had walls stacked everywhere in his house with vcr tapes, he recorded everything.

For whatever reason he would give us stereo equipment! I got my first stereo, KA5500 and KT5500 set from him for the hell of it I guess. He gave my friend powerful 90s Kenwood 2ch receiver and the L80t pair. My friend always bragged about the speakers being so awesome and they were. Most of my teen years was listening music through the L80t.
My KA5500 lasted a few years blasting 90s rap and eventually stopped working.
Last time I saw the L80t they were in rough shape, cats got to them.
Wish I could find the guy now, I'd repay him back the same set but heavily upgraded.
 
Lets not focus on the dark side. I'm sure the statute of limitations has expired. I was just thinking I'd crap out, too, if I had to blast 90s rap music.
 
As far as enjoying the heck out of your humble Panasonic gear, I am all for that. No one can say you enjoy your music any less than the snobbiest audiophile. The guy who disputes your enthusiasm wants to sow discord and sell you something.
 
My first real stereo was a HK 330C so I don't know that my affection for it was really misplaced.
 
Growing up my dad had an H.H Scott TT/Tuner, that I cannot find on the web to save my life. It was tube, I guess a mini-console, but GD it sounded incredible. I'm sure it assisted with my appreciation of music.
 
The Fisher MC-3050. My parents were immigrants trying to make it work in Queens, NY and we never had much. He was a bookkeeper at a Wall St. investment firm and my mother worked in factories and later at LaGuardia airport in a restaurant for minimum wage. But for my 9th birthday, I don't know what happened. Maybe they felt bad that I never got GI Joe with the Kung-Fu grip, or I was doing really well in the 4th grade... I still can't figure it out, but they got me the "dream gift" for my birthday... you know, the one you ask for knowing full well it can't happen.. like a Ferrari or Farrah Faucet.

But when I woke up on March 21st, 1978, there it was. And to break it in, the Star Wars soundtrack LP. I still have that 2- record set but the Fisher is long gone.


Vintage-Fisher-MC-3050-Stereo-Receiver-Cassette-8-Track.jpg
 
The Fisher MC-3050. My parents were immigrants trying to make it work in Queens, NY and we never had much. He was a bookkeeper at a Wall St. investment firm and my mother worked in factories and later at LaGuardia airport in a restaurant for minimum wage. But for my 9th birthday, I don't know what happened. Maybe they felt bad that I never got GI Joe with the Kung-Fu grip, or I was doing really well in the 4th grade... I still can't figure it out, but they got me the "dream gift" for my birthday... you know, the one you ask for knowing full well it can't happen.. like a Ferrari or Farrah Faucet.

But when I woke up on March 21st, 1978, there it was. And to break it in, the Star Wars soundtrack LP. I still have that 2- record set but the Fisher is long gone.


Vintage-Fisher-MC-3050-Stereo-Receiver-Cassette-8-Track.jpg
IMG_20171216_141511.jpg
 
My second real system was the one I thought great at the time - a Kenwood 6030 receiver with Pioneer HPM-60 speakers and a Thorens TD-165 'table. I loved it. The speakers are still in the family with all drivers functional. Sounded perfect to me and with its 80wpc power section could get loud in my small apartment in the mid-to-late 70s. FM was a great source in those days, and Kenwood built a pretty decent one into it. That was a high-end system to me at the time, and I enjoyed it several years.
 
My father had a Yamaha A-1000 amp back when I was a kid and having spent many hours listening to that has kinda turned me into a Yamaha fanboy.

I've had a lot of Yamaha gear and even a few motorcycles over the years, all of which have performed exceedingly well.
 
JBL L110

These are the speakers my dad had in the house I grew up in and still has in his current house. I spent my entire youth wishing I had L110 speakers too, but instead I always had cheapo speakers.

You could say I am an L110 fanboy.

As of now, I have 2 pairs.

In my defense, they are a kick ass speaker.
 
The Fisher MC-3050. My parents were immigrants trying to make it work in Queens, NY and we never had much. He was a bookkeeper at a Wall St. investment firm and my mother worked in factories and later at LaGuardia airport in a restaurant for minimum wage. But for my 9th birthday, I don't know what happened. Maybe they felt bad that I never got GI Joe with the Kung-Fu grip, or I was doing really well in the 4th grade... I still can't figure it out, but they got me the "dream gift" for my birthday... you know, the one you ask for knowing full well it can't happen.. like a Ferrari or Farrah Faucet.

But when I woke up on March 21st, 1978, there it was. And to break it in, the Star Wars soundtrack LP. I still have that 2- record set but the Fisher is long gone.

Vintage-Fisher-MC-3050-Stereo-Receiver-Cassette-8-Track.jpg
Wow...that is amazing for 4th grade. I'd have lost my mind...and the kung fu grip was all hype. After talking GI Joe, it was all down hill. Thanks for a great story. Note...my friends turned me on to an interesting Star Wars thing, in case any of you are interested. Apparently, the winter after the release of what we used to call Star Wars...in 1977 ? There was a xmas special made to take advantage of the craziness. It had most of the cast but focused on Chewbacca and his family. It is the worst tv show I ever saw, but you have to take a look. It's worse than a train wreck. Google Star Wars Christmas special and enjoy.
 
JBL L110

These are the speakers my dad had in the house I grew up in and still has in his current house. I spent my entire youth wishing I had L110 speakers too, but instead I always had cheapo speakers.

You could say I am an L110 fanboy.

As of now, I have 2 pairs.

In my defense, they are a kick ass speaker.

Being a fanboy doesn't mean your chosen brand/item isn't great. And those are nice speakers, I agree.
 
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