My first audio system

The first stereo I bought was the Samsung turntable, AM/FM stereo, dual cassette and CD player in 1 in high school and it lasted from then until the CD player failed and I could no longer buy styli for the turntable so I upgraded to a Gemini turntable and Stanton cartridge and an RCA surround mini-system stereo.

 

My first stereo not including using my Dad Grundig console (which I just gave away 2 years ago and it was still working) was a Mono system. A Garrand late 50's table with I believe an Empire mono cartridge, a Fisher Tuner , Lafayette Mono tube amp and an a pair of Stevens drivers in homemade enclosures. Sounded pretty good as I remember. I then traded up to a Panasonic all in one system. By early 73 it was replaced by a Pioneer 12D with Shure M91ED, Technics quad receiver, Sony Cassette, AKAI Quad R2R and two pair of speakers in homemade enclosures with Stevens drivers. That system lasted 9 years till 1982 when I gotten bitten by the high end bug. From this point on it will take me the rest of the day just to list the components that I've owned.

 

I was in my mom's basement on the weekend and lo and behold there was the very first record player I had sitting there. A little red and white Admiral "suitcase " model with a grey plastic arm. Although it doesn't qualify as a "stereo" it was the first thing I played 45's on. It is probably the one thing that most got me into music.

My mom had bought it when our old b&w Westinghouse tv bit the bullet and we couldn't afford another set right away. She said to take it and of course I did!

 

The first receiver I ever bought was a Pioneer SX-780. Would have been about 1977-78 I think. Had a Pioneer turntable as well, an Akai tape deck, and some big boxy speakers that I bought from Dow Stereo (with the biggest woofers that I could afford - what the hell did I know then? ). The SX-780 died many years ago (it was in and out of the shop with a power supply problem), but i still use the turntable in a second (third?) system, and the tape deck is in the bottm of a closet somewhere.

Ray

 

Isn't it amazing how Audio Brands change over the years.

Back in those days Sansui, Akai, Grundig, Fischer, Garrad, Marantz, KLH, and Advent were the big names in audio.

Most have disappeared over the years.

JohnG

 

1976-ThorensTD165C turntable
Shure M91ED cartridge
Sansui AU 5900 integrated amp
ESS Tempest 8 speakers (Heil Air Motion Tweeters)

(I kept on blowing out the tweeter by clipping the amp, the headbanger that I was.)

 

My first real system (purchased in Germany) consisted of a Technics intergrated, JBL L100, Technics dd TT, and a both a Teac reel to reel and cassette player.

There were many upgrades over the years but its final configuration included a Hafler amp/preamp, Thorens TT, Tandberg cassette deck, and monster cables. I still considered it the same system even 10 years later because the JBLs were its heart.

 

Bought my first system at the Navy Exchange in Yokosuka Japan in 75....Kenwood receiver 60 wpc and had a midrange control which I really loved. Pioneer 3 way's w/15" woofers, and a technics turntable. The speakers blew years ago, the turntable was replaced by a B&O in the 80's, and now a clearaudio.

But the Receiver is still alive and kicking in my garage, but has to have a matchbook shoved under the balance control knob so it doesn't cut out.

I remember setting it up in my apartment in Hawaii when I got back and thought it was heaven !!!!

 

I started in 1985 with the following humble set up:

Dual turntable with Ortofon cartridge,
Rotel integrated amp and
Monitor Audio bookshelf speakers.

I later upgraded the Dual to a Denon CD player in 1986 and added a Denon cassette deck and Kenwood tuner (tuner is still in my system).

Further tweaks have followed over the years - primarily upgraded to a Marantz CD player, Arcam Amp and Linn Index II speakers between 1989-1991 (still have the same amp and speaker set up today).

I hope to enter a new phase of upgrading later this year...

Happy days of system building!