Back in the 70s I read a lot of Rolling Stone which in those days was a great publication as was Esquire. Stereo equipment was the big deal along with cocaine and drunk driving. I was sick of my Quadraflex system and spent a lot of time researching equipment. I finally walked into Pacific Stereo and paid the hefty amounts for a Sansui 8080 ($500) and a set of AR12s.($250 each) Already had an AR XB turntable so I was fixed up pretty good. Over the next 40 years I really enjoyed that system. In about a couple of decades I happened to notice a change in the speakers and removed the foams which proceeded to fall apart. I saw the surrounds on the woofers were ruined as well. I ordered a new set of woofers and new foams from AR and installed them. That turned out to be a timely problem because although the new surrounds went away, the foams up front are still perfect. I recently replaced the surrounds on the woofers and mid-range and they seem to be about the same great speakers. The 8080 eventually started losing lights, so after 25 years I took it into a stereo repair shop next door to the office. I made two mistakes that time, I didn't mark the unit in some way and I told the guy that they were becoming valuable. He said that he had a couple of old ones in the back. You've probably guessed what happened next. When I went next door to pick up my receiver, the guy gave me some other machine. Mine was perfect, one owner babied and like new. I told him that I wanted my receiver not this turd. He denied everything. Had this happened 30 years earlier, say when I just came back from Vietnam, I would have just gone nuts and been arrested and not give a s***. It may have been just cover and knobs, I don't know, but I was pissed. Lesson learned and one Asian stereo crook got to go home to his family. Now my ears are wrecked from the war and I'm 78 years old, but the Sansui and AR 12s turned out to be a pretty lucky buy. It still works perfect and God only knows what I'm not hearing.
