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Your first system

My first real system was an almost all Technics set that I saved for and assembled a step at a time back in ‘83. First were the SA-204 20wpc receiver and SB-L32 8” two way speakers. Next, along came the RS- M224 cassette deck and a little later, the SH-8025 7-band per channel EQ. The only component that didn’t match was the turntable. That was a belt drive Project One that I bought from a friend. It was a fine sounding rig with plenty of power for my small bedroom at the time. I still have the tape deck and EQ to this day.
 
Technically I guess my 1st was some 8 track soundesign receiver with some basic fullrangers, but my 1st "real" system was in HS 1979 Technics SL220 ST-7300 SU-7300 SB5000A bought with hard earned short order cooking.

35 some years later after waxing nostalgic I've assembled a near mint reset (and matching price tags lol) except I have 2 SU-7700's and no Phase Linears. They were great speakers but didn't stand the test of time. The last nice pair I saw were the 7000 monsters on the bigstore but they were at $1K. The whole line was notorious for the fragile tweets.

I still have my original 78 RS Nova 7B's I had bought for the B set though.
 
My first stereo was a birthday present from my father. A Fingerhut catalog buy with 8 track player and two "speakers." Died after a month. My father returned it and got a replacement...which also died prematurely. So I saved chore money and my brother took me to Tech HiFi where I got a used Sansui 210 and a BSR 2510X with an ADC K7E cartridge. The family Symphonic console had died so I unscrewed the fold out speakers and used them for a couple of years. They were eventually replaced by Ohm E's. My first LP was Beatles Yellow Submarine (because my brother didn't have it). I cut the 8 track player off the Fingerhut stereo so I could listen to the 8 tracks I had bought. I don't even know how I figured out how to do that.
 
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Circa 1983 I received a complete, matching, lightly used Ward's Airline system. The first big upgrade came in '88, with a Harman/Kardon 430 and a pair of Marantz HD-880 speakers.
 
I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was not a "System", just a damn nice radio. But it rocked my little bedroom. And I can honestly say I wish I could find another one.

Arvin 3586 radio.

Arvin_3586.jpg
 
I talked my parents into buying a used Phillips console for my bedroom around the late 60's. In 1973 I bought myself my first components. First came a Dual 1009 turntable with a Shure V15 type II. I found them in a junk store in Ohio near where I was visiting my aunt and uncle. I took it back home to Michigan on the back of my 350 Honda motorcycle. After that I bought a new Pioneer 10 watt pr channel integrated amp and a set of Pioneer Project 100 speakers. Those were really nice speakers. I foolishly replaced them with BIC Formula 4's. I was a teen who wanted louder...

[edited for spelling correction]
 
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Rek-O-Kut belt-drive turntable with ROK tonearm; Pickering-something cartridge; Harman-Karon integrated tube amp (kit, I built in my room); 12" coaxial driver, and bought a cabinet for it — I couldn't afford two. I was 16, and I don't remember the speaker brand.
 
My first system was about $600 or so in 1993 for an all in one JVC system with AM/FM tuner, dual cassette and single tray load CD player. One of the early all in one's where they tried to make each section look like a separate component despite being a single unit. The speakers were separate though. Took me all of my savings to pay for it (I was in high school at the time).

luxmaster said:
My 1st system was a mish mash of stuff. I had a dual amp with a built in 1016 tt ontop. Dual speakers. for a cassette player I used my yorx ghetto blaster and one of the 1st Samsung cd players all connected thru the dual. The cd player lasted a year and broke down.
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My systems now are a mish mash of stuff. I buy for the best sounding piece of gear I can afford. All the best sounding systems I've heard have been mix and match also. No single vendor seems to be able to do it all ;)

Aesthecs take a back seat to sound quality and price however it is still a factor. My wife can over rule my purchases.... :(
 
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mjw21a said:
My systems now are a mish mash of stuff. I buy for the best sounding piece of gear I can afford. All the best sounding systems I've heard have been mix and match also. No single vendor seems to be able to do it all ;)

Aesthecs take a back seat to sound quality and price however it is still a factor. My wife can over rule my purchases.... :(
Click to expand...
I do my audio stuff exactly the same. I'm just too practical. Complete aesthetic mish-mash; only the sound matters to me. And any extraneous purchases (which is all audio gear acquisitions) are a communal decision. I'm an old hippie at heart. My corner traps are old sofa cushions; I gotta store 'em somewhere ...

I think I get a more relaxing music enjoyment from my gear when I don't feel so excessive. I mean ... half a billion people in the world don't even have water; and we flush our toilets with fresh drinking water.
Sorry for the rant.
Cheers.

Dave
 
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david1111 said:
I do my audio stuff exactly the same. I'm just too practical. Complete aesthetic mish-mash; only the sound matters to me. And any extraneous purchases (which is all audio gear acquisitions) are a communal decision. I'm an old hippie at heart. My corner traps are old sofa cushions; I gotta store 'em somewhere ...

I think I may get a more relaxing music enjoyment from my gear when I don't feel so excessive. I mean ... half a billion people in the world don't even have water; and we flush our toilets with fresh drinking water.
Sorry for the rant.
Cheers.

Dave
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Mmmm, 99% of people I know think I'm nuts having even 1 big system in the house.... I've 3 big systems and 2 smaller systems around the house. 2 of the big ones are reference level. That's without including the surround system for movies....

In an age of sound bars most trade sound quality for convenience. :(
 
in 1971 i was 17 and had saved a $100 i only had a radio in my bedroom and wanted a stereo for my bedroom so i went and bought a system for under $100 i dont remember the brand and it wasnt great but it had a turntable and i could listen to headphones so i was happy. in 1974-75 i had a job and my own apartment and i got what i had been dreaming about a Marantz receiver i couldnt afford the 2275 but i could the 2245 so i got that, a co-workers wife worked at the Janszen speaker factory which was local here at the time and got me a returned pair of Z410 electrostatic speakers with her employee discount for $150 and i had the speakers i wanted. picked up a display model Dual 1218 turntable i had been lusting for, dont remember the cart but i upgraded to a stanton 681eee. bought a pioneer cassette deck and 8 track but dont remember the model, and a pair of pioneer SE-505 headphones and i had my system and for me it was impressive. the tape decks and speakers crapped out but i still have them in storage. the Dual got weird and i threw it in the dumpster (idiot) im sure it just need lube but i was young and dumb kept the Stanton though and still use it. still have the 2245 had restored a couple of years ago and had a new fancy wood case made for it the as old one needs refinishing. i bought another 1218 and a pair of Z412's so i kinda still have my original set up

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First real system:

Dynaco PAT-4 preamp
Dynaco Stereo 120
AR-XA turntable, M91ED cartridge
AR-2ax speakers
Koss Red Devil headphones

Around 1972.

First receiver was a Kenwood KR-2120, with car speakers in the corner of my room.

First kit was a Graymark 2 band all tube receiver AM/SW, Graymark 506.

506-1.jpg
 
Bought my first system when I was about 12 with paper route and lawn mowing money.

Kenwood KS-4000R receiver - bought brand new
Kenwood KD-2000 turntable - bought brand new
Sharp RT-10 cassette deck - bought brand new

And a pair of Kewood s-40x speakers handed down to me by my brother - had to replace the tweeters in them but I was in heaven at the time :)
 
Sedge said:
Thinking back on my first system (not the family console)...paid $100 for it used in 1970. Integrated amp (probably ~15W), Garrard record changer (but I only used the single play mode), David Clark headphones, and two small bookshelf speakers. Don't recall amp or speaker brand. The amp had wood grain vinyl case with a black front, and a little red rocker-type on-off switch (don't know why I remember that little detail). Cheap-o little system, but it was mine and and trouble free for about 5 years. Many happy hours of listening. Wish I had a photo ;-(
Would like to hear of others', especially dating from late '60s-early '70s era.
Hear's to ya! (pun intended)
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Here are pictures of my first stereo setup in my our first home circa 1967. The knight mono amplifiers are 30 watts a piece with 6L6s for outputs. I do not remember the type of tuner but I am thinking Kenwood. The massive speaker enclosure is concrete lined with foam. The top was two pieces of 3/4 plywood bonded together. The speaker was a 12 inch triaxial mounted offset. There was a 3 foot 4 inch wide pipe for the bass reflex return. The speaker was aimed straight up at a hardwood ceiling that was at 45 degrees. This bouncing of the sound impressed myself and everyone I knew at college with its sound quality. Sadly these were way too heavy to ever move once built. By the way, I was 21 working at a civil service job and my wife there just turned 18. We are significantly older now :)

Electronics.jpg janetspeaker2.jpg
 
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My first piece of audio equipment would be a mid 80s Panasonic portable radio and cassette boombox, which I think one of my uncles still has possession of. Then at around age 10 I asked my Dad I’d like a CD player, so I upgraded to a JVC portable CD/cassette boombox with the front-loading CD tray and remote.

When I finally started working and making money, treated myself to a nicer but still compact and proper stereo for the bedroom, a Tivoli Model Two with matching subwoofer. I still have it.
 
At age 16 I bought a Pioneer SX-650 (or was it a 550?), a Sharp cassette deck (IIRC), and Pioneer turntable of some sort, and I don't recall which speakers (surely they were cheap) for my bedroom.
I also bought a 19-inch color TV and a vinyl covered recliner, which my friend's called "The Throne".
Everyone in my time had a stereo.
Only I had a throne.
 
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