first steps in audio...
<< rewind << to..
approx 1983...aged 13..
good friend of mine had an amstrad ghetto blaster which kicked out at least 15 watts per channel..
it had detachable speakers ( ! )
separate bass and treble controls ( !! )
twin aerials ( !!! )
and.. wait for it....
a tape deck with not only 'state of the teenage art' soft eject mechanism but that holiest grail of grails amongst my peers...
vu meters and a recording level knob *swoon*
whilst in the melofelo household resided a humble sharp gf 5454 *radio cassette player* and a handful of memorex 90 tapes to deal with those weekend pirate radio mexa-mixes between 2pm and 4pm
..hardly a ghetto blaster by any standards..and only 6.5 watts of audio kick through its meagre woofers...but..
it was mine...and by shoving a metal coat hanger in the hole where the end tip of the aerial *used* to be...
and bending it into shapes resembling modern art sculpture of the most minimalist persuasion..
you could just about eek out a stereo signal from the humble 5 miles radius pirate transmitters :thmbsp:
>> fast forward >> to...
winter 1984/spring 1985 ..and...
i'm working one evening a week in a shoe store saving for my dream system
..whilst steadily refining the art of subdued anxiety at the imminent approach of my school exams...
audio nirvana descends upon me...
piece by slowly acquired piece every three months in the shape of :
dual cs 505/ii deluxe t/t,
yamaha a-420 amplifier,
b&w dm 110 speakers
mordaunt short speaker stands with spikes and sand filled internals
and
an aiwa adf 450 cassette deck..complete with YES :yes: led level meters ( !!! ) and lo and behold a separate recording level control...
...
..
>>fast forward>> to...
2005..
and all but the speakers have been replaced..
cheap...these B&W may have been...
but after 20 years of endless musical enjoyment...
even today visitors comment on how good those 'old' boxes still sound