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What was your first "real" stereo system?

Pioneer SX 680 ,Gemini speakers and a Pioneer PL 512 turntable ,Gemini speakers with later replaced with a pair of Cerwin Vega d7s...all started back in 1977. Pioneer bit the dust when some idiot spilled a beer into the Pioneer some 3 years ago .D7s have been refoamed twice and are in service at my sons apartment .Turntable is boxed up at my moms house .
 
When I was stationed in Germany, in the Army, back in 74-75, I had various setups. I kept selling/upgrading, (what I thought was upgrading anyway),.
The final setup I brought back to the states with me was a Pioneer 9100 amp, Technics 676 cassette deck, Pioneer turntable, (forget the model number), and some Fairfax tower speakers.
All of which is long gone now.
 
First system?

First... system... :scratch2:?

Not really:no:..., was an Akai integrated amp, Pioneer turntable, and a mixer/microphone controller by Lafayette. Not sure of the speakers though I often played with "disco-thumpers".

I thought I was the s_ _ t (shot)... on the block:thmbsp:!

That was until a friend got an Onkyo "dual-push" amp that made my Akai sound like a toy:sigh:?

Of course, this meant.... "war" :D
 
avionic said:
Bought new in 1980-81 at the Bitburg Airbase BX and Audio-photo Club.Yamaha
M-4,C-6,T-1, P-750 with a V15 type IV cart. Nakamichi 480 and a set of NS-1000's.
Still have it all. The TypeIV was upgraded to a Type V.
Click to expand...

I was at Ramstein AB from 84-86. Paul Klipsh visited the Base Exchange and autographed his speakers for anyone who bought them. Unfortuneatly I was young and broke. :tears:

I did get to see the 'secret' button, his response to sales people who tried to talk shop about speakers. A real class act, that man
 
Mine was Dynaco PAT-4 and Stereo 120 that I put together as kits, the amp powering a pair of AR-2ax speakers. Source was a horrible 2-motor AR-XA which was soon replaced by an Empire 598mkII, which I still have. I did not have an FM source till a time later, but I did have an Aiwa reel to reel that was fun.

I did have a Kenwood receiver first, but it wasn't a real system, as I used bare car speakers set into the corners of my bedroom. Headphones were a pair of Koss "Red Devils".

What old memories those are.......
 
I gradually transitioned from mono to stereo over about 8 years. I started the mono system with a Zenith record player of the model shown in my icon, an EICO HF12 amp and a Quam 12" speaker in a small, open-back, wood box. I replaced the Zenith with an AR turntable and Empire 880p pickup. I replaced the HF-12 with a Scott LK72 I built, then I added a Dyna FM stereo tuner,. I replaced the Quam with two Calrad 8" triaxial speakers in the cutout bottom of some big trashcans, which got replaced with AR 4x's. And that was my first "quality" system. I've gone on a couple of steps to the systems in my siggy, and so far that's been enouogh.
 
First real system was a sansui 5000x I got for mowing a guys grass all summer in early high school paired with some Kenwood speakers mom got me for Christmas. I later added a Kenwood 5 disc carousel. Good times.
 
I posted earlier in the thread that my first true Audiophile system was my College Yamaha CA-810. The Electrical Engineering students had me so lathered up on having to get that amp that I sold my Pioneer 45 watt amp at a huge loss just to get a few more bucks for the Yamaha.

I don't know about you guys, but I really yielded to peer pressure and was a victim of brand names as well when I was younger. I had a decent 25 WPC Realistic SA-1000 Integrated Amp when I entered College, but took a lot of grief from dorm mates on what a piece of crap Realistic was, so I sold it (at a huge loss) and bought a 45 Watt Pioneer Amp. Two years later I sold that (at a huge loss) and bought the Yamaha.

Since I still have my Yamaha system I'm not complaining since it's a fabulous system, but in hindsight, I'd probably have kept one or both of my previous systems instead of upgrading to the Yamaha back then. At least I would not have been in such a damn hurry and not sold them for such a big loss at fire-sale prices.
 
Yamaha CR-2020, YP-D6, Shure V15 Type IIII, Yamaha cassette deck, DCM TimeWindows. Had it until my apartment was burglarized in 1988. After that I got Sony and Bose stuff...then I found this web site and I was born again!

Just picked up a McIntosh MC2105 to go with my C36. This in addition to my Yamaha CA-2010, CT-1010, VTA ST-120, Cary SLP03 two techniques TT's, Campbridge Audio phono pre, 651 Azure CDP, Marantz CDP and tuner and more things.
 
BillyBatts said:
I posted earlier in the thread that my first true Audiophile system was my College Yamaha CA-810. The Electrical Engineering students had me so lathered up on having to get that amp that I sold my Pioneer 45 watt amp at a huge loss just to get a few more bucks for the Yamaha.

I don't know about you guys, but I really yielded to peer pressure and was a victim of brand names as well when I was younger. I had a decent 25 WPC Realistic SA-1000 Integrated Amp when I entered College, but took a lot of grief from dorm mates on what a piece of crap Realistic was, so I sold it (at a huge loss) and bought a 45 Watt Pioneer Amp. Two years later I sold that (at a huge loss) and bought the Yamaha.

Since I still have my Yamaha system I'm not complaining since it's a fabulous system, but in hindsight, I'd probably have kept one or both of my previous systems instead of upgrading to the Yamaha back then. At least I would not have been in such a damn hurry and not sold them for such a big loss at fire-sale prices.
Click to expand...

I know when I was in college, I could not have afforded to keep multiple systems! Anyway, your friends were right about the 810. It would have taken a bunch more money to get significantly upgraded sound...had a great phono section too.
 
I had AR4x speakers quickly replaced by Dynaco 35. Pre-amp was Dynaco PAT4 with ST120 power amp. Turntable was BIC 960, with Shure 95 cartridge. When I added a tuner it was a Pioneer TX5500.
 
My first "real" stereo system is actually the one I have today (minus about half of it) -- I bought it 38 years ago in the US Navy. It was 1977 and my ship, the USS Reeves out of Pearl Harbor was planning a WESPAC cruise (western pacific). I had heard about the great deals on stereo equipment available to sailors over there and I borrowed about $1200 from the Navy Credit Union to buy my gear. I ended up with a Sansui TU-9900 tuner, Sansui AU-11000 integrated amp, TEAC A3340s reel to reel, Pioneer CTF-9191 cassette deck, and some lower end Sansui speakers.

A few days ago I started a repair and recap project on the AU-11000 amp, which still works pretty well with a few issues. The TU-9900 tuner is still great too. The cassette deck and speakers eventually died, and I traded the TEAC reel-to-reel for a table saw.

I've been happy with my purchase.
 
I was 18 and a freshman at Purdue w/ a Zenith flip-down portable. This was 1967. Guy down the hall in the dorm showed me the light. Within three weeks the Zenith was gone, and I had his used Harman-Kardon A-50K integrated tube amp, an old wired for mono Rek-O-Kut turntable (that I rewired for stereo), Pickering cartridge, and new AR4x speakers. Served me well for 4 years.
 
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Back In 1983 (20 Years Old), I got (a piece at a time until 1987):

Speaker System: Polk Audio Monitor 4 (1983)
Stereo Receiver: JVC R-20 (30 Watts Per Channel) (1983)
Cassette Deck #1: Luxman K-220 (1984)
Cassette Deck #2: Nakamichi BX-300 (1987)(and I regret getting rid of it too..... wish I still had it)
Compact Disc Player: NAD 5255 (1985)

Served me well until 1990, when I then upgraded the Speaker System to the KEF Reference 102's (which I still have now). I got the KEF's back in 1988, and they sat in the carton for about a year and some change. I then upgraded the Stereo Receiver to an NAD 7225 in 1989, and then mated it to a B&K ST-140 Power Amplifier back in 1990. It was then High-End Bliss until I started assembling my current system back in 1997.

All I did was add Vinyl Playback over the last 15 Years (Phono Stage and Turntable/Arm/Cartridge), and changed the Digital Player when the Pioneer Elite PD-65 gave up the ghost a few years ago.

My current system listed below in my signature is where I am at now.

But my first system did get me into the game in a BIG WAY.

Never looked back after that.

--Charles--
 
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As a young musician back in my school days (drummer/percussionist), I of course enjoyed music so a decent stereo was often a goal. It was not always attainable since I was just a youngster and in school. My parents, through a friend of theirs had put together a nice little system consisting of a Pioneer receiver, Heathkit speakers and a Dual turntable. A cassette deck as well. I do not remember any of he model numbers for any of it. At that time I put my stereo money into my car stereo where I could also tinker with it.

At some point in college I ended up getting a used NAD 7020 receiver, boston Acoustic A40's and the Dual turntable from home. Loved it and still would grab a 7020 if it came my way for a good price. This was the mid to late 80's so I eventually afforded a CD player that I got used from a high end audio store in Palo Alto. Can't remember what brand but it was an early or even first generation player and all I remember was that it was an absolute tank and it had a cool little drawer for the remote that slid out. (Anybody remember what that was?) All this was stolen but I got replacement value and teh guys at the local high end audio shop wrote up the replacement equal for the insurance claim and I ended up getting a pretty good deal because that CD player was originally something like $800! Got myself a nice little NAD receiver, CD player and B&W speakers.
 
In my senior year of high school I picked up an AR XA-91 turntable, a Realistic STA-18B receiver (7 blazing Watts per channel of Foster-built goodness), and a pair of Jensen 17 speakers. I upgraded the electronics a year later, building a Dynaco SCA-80Q integrated amp and a Dynaco AF-6 tuner from kits, and replaced the speakers with a pair of B&O S-60s two years after that.
 
my first system was when i was 17 cheap package deal i dont remember the brand.
my first real system i put together in 1975 when i was 21.

Marantz 2245 -still have- took a loan out to buy
Dual 1218 turntable with stanton 681eee cartridge- threw the table in the dumpster years later (dumb) still have the cartridge
Janszen z410 electrostatic speakers- a friends wife worked at janszen which was local then and got me a returned pair with employee discount for $150. i dont remember the retail price but it was way way more then that- still have but not working
Pioneer cd recorder and 8 track recorder- dont remember the models
 
Purchased a Sansui 2000A, SP1500s, Teac A-1500W and a Garrard SL-95B while in Vietnam in early '69. They were shipped to the states and my wife kept them boxed up until I returned. I still have the receipts from PACEX for them.
 
A Harman Kardon HK385i (35 watts of analog tuner sweetness), a Panasonic portable CD player, and two way speakers I built myself using Vifa drivers and Solen/Chateauroux parts. That was 25 years ago. I still have the crossovers.
 
I was given a Superscope Qa-420 and a Dual 1019 for my birthday.
I have no idea what speakers I was using.
 
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