Post your first hifi here!

Keith_W · Jul 23, 2012

I thought a thread like this might be fun

I'll start.

In 1991, I bought my first hifi system. This was a Mission 760i driven by a NAD 3020i with a Sony Discman as the source.

Within 2 years I upgraded to this system: Sota Sapphire (with Sumiko FT-4 and Sumiko Blue Point Special), Marantz CD-52, Pioneer A-400, and Audio Definition speakers. This was my first "all seperates" system and lasted me for 15 years, until I rekindled my interest in hifi and started buying new equipment.

Let's see pics of your first system

puroagave · Jul 24, 2012

brings back memories, my first serious TT was a SOTA i had three. the first was a sapphire in oak like yours with a sumiko ft-3 arm and audioquest 404 cartridge. it didnt take long to upgrade to a star sapphire w/ vaccum holdown and ET II airbearing arm w/ monster cable alpha genesis 1000 and then koetsu rosewood sig, (still have the koetsu somewhere). then i got one of the first Sota cosmos 'tables w/ an SME IV and benz 2.0. i did this in the span of about three years during the eighties, kinda nuts when i think about now.

Bill Hart · Jul 24, 2012

The very first? It was a suitcase changer with built-in amp and a hardwired extension speaker (for stereo) that unlatched from the case. I used to play the soundtrack album from Goldfinger on it. (circa 1964?) Later on, I figured out how to run the output for the extension into a guitar amp head and PA speaker and would haul the whole arrangement into my bedroom when my parents were away, and play Led Zep 1 at full chat.

My first real hi-fi (circa 1972 or so) was an AR table, Shure cartridge, small Marantz receiver and small Advents. After that, all hell broke loose. Dynaco 400, McIntosh preamp, then Phase Linear 700, various upgrades to preamps, double big Advents, by the mid-70's had switched to tubes and electrostats. I posed a pic of my 1975 era system elsewhere here, under 'Vintage.'

cjfrbw · Jul 24, 2012

Homemade speakers with Lafayette full range drivers from Radio Shack. Me and my roommate Big Al at Bezerkely made them my freshman year at my home in San Jose from fiberglass, screws and particle board, sounded great at the time.

Shouldn't tell whart this, but mainly leeched records by recording them R to R, too poor to afford much else.

Tape deck was purchased through the military PX at a very discounted price through my father's military service.

I attached my own speakers through the tape deck, used the console to record. Console sounded crappy on its own, but decent when recorded and played back through the R to R. Used the tape deck through 1986, replaced the glass heads once, then ripped off my father's seldom used Roberts R to R to continue using it.

Not exactly sure that I had that exact GE model, but something very similar.

rockitman · Jul 24, 2012

my first Hi-Fi speakers...

Genesis Physics Speakers:
Model 2+

http://www.humanspeakers.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?page=genesis/gen2plus.txt
amazing I could find a web shot of these early 80's speakers.

Bill Hart · Jul 24, 2012

cjfrbw said:
View attachment 4505 View attachment 4506

Homemade speakers with Lafayette full range drivers from Radio Shack. Me and my roommate Big Al at Bezerkely made them my freshman year at my home in San Jose from fiberglass, screws and particle board, sounded great at the time.

Shouldn't tell whart this, but mainly leeched records by recording them R to R, too poor to afford much else.

Tape deck was purchased through the military PX at a very discounted price through my father's military service.

I attached my own speakers through the tape deck, used the console to record. Console sounded crappy on its own, but decent when recorded and played back through the R to R. Used the tape deck through 1986, replaced the glass heads once, then ripped off my father's seldom used Roberts R to R to continue using it.

Not exactly sure that I had that exact GE model, but something very similar.

That 'drop down' integrated player looks just like a GE my little sister had. The one i started with was vinyl luggage style, very 1961-ish. Looks like a Roberts or Rheem reel to reel, but I guess you said that.

docvale · Jul 24, 2012

The first time I started playing with audio was in 1991, I was 11 and my father bought a Pioneer coordinated as the first CD containing system in my house.
He actually already owned a system with a Lenco A-50 integrated amp, ESB 70L speakers, Pioneer TX-606 tuner and a Lenco L-78 table. This latter system stayed basically unused, until I bought a portable CD player from Technics, which I hooked to the Lenco. It was 1996, I guess, and I had that system in my room (formerly my fathers' home office): I used it on daily basis, listening to CDs and lots of radio, while doing maths and technical drawing homework...

In 2001 I decided the sound quality was not enough: I specially disliked the amp, in which the age messed up with the noisefloor. I bought a used Rega Mira integrated and a Marantz CD-4000. The upgrade was very consistent, and, those years, I also started playing wuth my father's vinyl collection (jazz and classical only, basically).

Later on, I had the hitch to have tubes in my system, so I bought a new Copland CTA-405. Soon after I replaced the Lenco table (still in a box at my parents' house) with a Technics SL-1200 MkII and an Ortofon MC-3 Turbo. I progressively stopped listening to the radio and expanded the vinyl collection.
The permanent component has been, so, the ESB speakers. Aged, but nice performers and an easy load for my tubed Copland.

Now that system is entertaining my young brother. As I migrated to NY, I did a kind of step back in my system quality, but, for now, it's fair to me.

Bill Hart · Jul 24, 2012

docvale said:
The first time I started playing with audio was in 1991, I was 11 and my father bought a Pioneer coordinated as the first CD containing system in my house.
He actually already owned a system with a Lenco A-50 integrated amp, ESB 70L speakers, Pioneer TX-606 tuner and a Lenco L-78 table. This latter system stayed basically unused, until I bought a portable CD player from Technics, which I hooked to the Lenco. It was 1996, I guess, and I had that system in my room (formerly my fathers' home office): I used it on daily basis, listening to CDs and lots of radio, while doing maths and technical drawing homework...

In 2001 I decided the sound quality was not enough: I specially disliked the amp, in which the age messed up with the noisefloor. I bought a used Rega Mira integrated and a Marantz CD-4000. The upgrade was very consistent, and, those years, I also started playing wuth my father's vinyl collection (jazz and classical only, basically).

Later on, I had the hitch to have tubes in my system, so I bought a new Copland CTA-405. Soon after I replaced the Lenco table (still in a box at my parents' house) with a Technics SL-1200 MkII and an Ortofon MC-3 Turbo. I progressively stopped listening to the radio and expanded the vinyl collection.
The permanent component has been, so, the ESB speakers. Aged, but nice performers and an easy load for my tubed Copland.

Now that system is entertaining my young brother. As I migrated to NY, I did a kind of step back in my system quality, but, for now, it's fair to me.

Doc, sounds like your father got you off to a good start! I don't really remember either of my parents listening to music- my dad would listen to a ball game over a transitor radio or whatever, and I assume that when they had parties, they had the 'record player' going, but no real hi-fi stuff.

docvale · Jul 24, 2012

whart said:
Doc, sounds like your father got you off to a good start! I don't really remember either of my parents listening to music- my dad would listen to a ball game over a transitor radio or whatever, and I assume that when they had parties, they had the 'record player' going, but no real hi-fi stuff.

Somehow I inherited the passion for music from him, that's true. His time was the time in which most of the people, included him, dreamt about AR speakers, Marantz amps and Thorens tables. He just could not afford them, so he went for Lenco plus Italian speakers...
I have to say, though, that when I told him I bought the SL-1200, after a deep breath because of the direct drive, he told me "Well, I've always wanted a Technics table"

Phelonious Ponk · Jul 24, 2012

We could debate how "hifi" it was, but it was a Grado cartridge, a Thorens turntable, an HK integrated amp and a pair of Altec Lansing Valencias. I thought it was the bomb!

Tim

mep · Jul 24, 2012

Phelonious Ponk said:
We could debate how "hifi" it was, but it was a Grado cartridge, a Thorens turntable, an HK integrated amp and a pair of Altec Lansing Valencias. I thought it was the bomb!

Tim

Don't you still have three out of the four components?

cjfrbw · Jul 24, 2012

whart said:
That 'drop down' integrated player looks just like a GE my little sister had. The one i started with was vinyl luggage style, very 1961-ish. Looks like a Roberts or Rheem reel to reel, but I guess you said that. I'm not real focused right now, think I may have Lyme's.

Yup, Roberts reel to reel, solid state, US version of popular Akai unit.

I upgraded the turntable to AR in my junior year, and got a Dynaco PAS3 for recording. I still have the recordings archived from R to R on 12 bit DAT tapes, transferred in the early 90's. Listened to them a few years ago, they still sound pretty good all considered, even through the digital lens.

The tubed Roberts/Akai R to R sounded much better due to single ended, tube rectified el84 amps built in, but I didn't know that at the time.

Phelonious Ponk · Jul 24, 2012

mep said:
Don't you still have three out of the four components?

I still own the HK, though it has been out of use for awhile. I finally gave up the old Thorens in a recent house cleaning.

Tim

treitz3 · Jul 24, 2012

Oh boy! This brings back memories...my first was just like this...

H-H-Scott-S-way-speakers-H-H-Scott-H-H-Scott-20120102065915.jpg

The rig contained what you see above [not my "actual" photos but a very close representation thereof...all of the old Polaroid photos my Mom still has] and an old, even at the time, turntable that had cheap plastic woodgrain sides and a lid that was considerably scratched. I can't even pull up any photos of vintage TT's that resemble what I had. To be honest with you, I wouldn't even know what to call that type of TT. I could load 5 LP's at once on the spindle and pull some sort of arm toward me and when one side of an LP was finished, it would automatically move the arm and needle back, drop another LP and keep going until all of the LP's were played on that one side.

This was when I was 8 years old, so cut me some slack. Heck, back then, I thought it was Hi-Fi.

I had it hooked up to some ol' Rat Shack IC's and whatever wire I could scrounge up out of Dad's shop. Most likely mis-matched, oxidized and cheap as all get out. It sure did provide me with a lot of good memories, though! Took me a lot of lawns back then to slowly upgrade things...

Tom

Phelonious Ponk · Jul 24, 2012

To be honest with you, I wouldn't even know what to call that type of TT. I could load 5 LP's at once on the spindle and pull some sort of arm toward me and when one side of an LP was finished, it would automatically move the arm and needle back, drop another LP and keep going until all of the LP's were played on that one side.

As far as I know, this was simply called a record changer.

Tim

Bill Hart · Jul 24, 2012

Phelonious Ponk said:
As far as I know, this was simply called a record changer.

Tim

For some reason, those have not come back into vogue. Betting it was a BSR?

Bill Hart · Jul 24, 2012

treitz3 said:
Oh boy! This brings back memories...my first was just like this...

View attachment 4508

View attachment 4509

View attachment 4510

The rig contained what you see above [not my "actual" photos but a very close representation thereof...all of the old Polaroid photos my Mom still has] and an old, even at the time, turntable that had cheap plastic woodgrain sides and a lid that was considerably scratched. I can't even pull up any photos of vintage TT's that resemble what I had. To be honest with you, I wouldn't even know what to call that type of TT. I could load 5 LP's at once on the spindle and pull some sort of arm toward me and when one side of an LP was finished, it would automatically move the arm and needle back, drop another LP and keep going until all of the LP's were played on that one side.

This was when I was 8 years old, so cut me some slack. Heck, back then, I thought it was Hi-Fi. I had it hooked up to some ol' Rat Shack IC's and whatever wire I could scrounge up out of Dad's shop. Most likely mis-matched, oxidized and cheap as all get out. It sure did provide me with a lot of good memories, though! Took me a lot of lawns back then to slowly upgrade things...

Tom

I started with far worse.

treitz3 · Jul 24, 2012

whart said:
For some reason, those have not come back into vogue. Betting it was a BSR?

Yes, actually it was. Didn't know this until Tim's post. Still can't find anything close to what I had.

Tom

mep · Jul 24, 2012

whart said:
For some reason, those have not come back into vogue. Betting it was a BSR?

You're kidding right? Do you really want to lay 5 LPs on top of each other, have the first one fall to the platter, and then the second one fall on top of your first LP while the first LP is spinning and then repeat that 3 more times? Never mind the VTA getting worse as each LP drops on top of the last LP.

cjfrbw · Jul 24, 2012

mep said:
You're kidding right? Do you really want to lay 5 LPs on top of each other, have the first one fall to the platter, and then the second one fall on top of your first LP while the first LP is spinning and then repeat that 3 more times? Never mind the VTA getting worse as each LP drops on top of the last LP.

I have some records with the input groove and some grooves after completely trashed. I couldn't figure out how this happened, without somebody putting their finger on a primitive needle and scoring the grooves.

I eventually remembered the record changer thing, where a record dropped, the needle went to the first groove, then the rest of the records plopped down on to the arm. Ha, Ha! That explains that.

Post your first hifi here!

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Super Moderator

New Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Super Moderator

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads