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Your very first amp? What was the first amplifier you had?

I cannot remember the first receiver that I had. I think it was a Sony (my friends actually have it and I am seeing them this weekend). My first integrated amp was an antique sound lab aq-1003dt. I still have it and love it. I will eventually upgrade it, I am sure, but I have not even gotten around to rolling tubes yet and have had it for a little over a year.
 
The first piece of new equipment I ever bought was a Marantz 1030.
I was 15 years old, working 38 hours a week, for around $40 total.
As I recall, it cost something like $120.
Needed something to power the drivers, still mounted to the front baffle, I'd pulled from an old console.
The crappy BSR TT I used came from a junked console as well.
 
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Citation 12 Deluxe. It sounded really nice with my Apt-Holman preamp.
 
That would be an AR Integrated purchased in 1972 to drive Advents. It taught me two important lessons:

1. THD is irrelevant to provide any useful knowledge about sound quality. Despite the fact that a McIntosh clinic test and presented graph verified a low figure...
2. It's resolution disappeared at low levels as it was a low bias design. I now pay attention to that important characteristic.

ar_integrated.jpg
 
Realistic SA-1000A integrated amp and matching TM-1000 tuner.
This was my first system bought in '76. I re-bought a pair a couple years ago, recapped them and now being used in my garage with a pair of Optimus 2B speakers.
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Juliette receiver with an extrordinary built-in 8 track recorder that could actually.... record !

Sears speakers that mentioned >>>> acoustic suspension.

Then, I moved to Mirage, Kenwood and Technics just to say.
 
It was such a bad experience I had pretty much forgotten. A Knightkit that was rated at 32/watts per channel. I bought the factory built version. It blew when one of the output transformers failed taking out the power supply, the output tubes and more. The estimate was to high and I bought a H H Scott.
 
Dad gave me his Bogen RR550 receiver and Bogen turntable when he updated to stereo in 1966. Was using 2 Radioshack 4" full range 4" acoustic suspension speakers that I made the enclosures for in woodshop.
 
B&K ex-442 , bought new in late '80's ....
Still chugging away .....
-bk
 

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