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The Stack




As a child in the 70s, I saw a lot of wooden, all-in-one stereo consoles. And then, in the early 80s, I started to see more of my neighbors (San Francisco's Western Addition) and classmates get stereo "stacks," where one vertical cabinet held a turntable (top shelf), tuner, cassette deck, and amplification. There was even enough room for LPs down below. Just add speakers.

For me, these stacks were my home stereo inspiration and dream. In 81-82, one of my downstairs neighbors got one such Sony stereo stack. Even the magnetic locks on the glass doors were cool. I then attended Presidio Middle School. On Fridays, instead of coming straight home, I'd stop off at the Rainbow Records and Record Factory on Geary. Instead of spending my money on candy, I saved the few bucks for 7" 45 rpm singles. It was such a thrill, to bring them to my neighbor's unit.

One of our friends from up the block would come over after school. He'd come blasting down the hill, singing at the top of his lungs, Joey Scarbury's theme from "Greatest American Hero." We'd line up our Air Supply, Christopher Cross, Culture Club, Earth Wind & Fire, Gap Band, Go Go's, Hall & Oates, Lionel Richie, Olivia Newton-John, Styx, Survivor records. And I'm still pissed that all copies of Supertramp's "It's Raining Again" were unplayably warped and warbly.

Oh well, it didn't matter that the sound sucked; there was nothing like belting out "Even The Nights Are Better" at the tops of our lungs. I've rarely witnesed that kind of joy, when we audiophiles get together.

Oh ho ho. When my neighbor's dad got the Asia LP, we 4th to 6th grade kids were convinced that a dragon was going to rise from the Bay!

Then an older high school neighbor taunted us with Iron Maiden's Number Of The Beast, including a cool-man blacklight poster.

By 1986, these stereo stacks went out of vogue, to be replaced with "entertainment centers," housing a TV and A/V receiver.

As audiophiles, we wouldn't, due to heat and vibrations, stack our high-end audio components. Nevertheless, I'd like to pay homage to those early-80s stereo stacks, which were an early influence on me. Oh, where did I go wrong? :-)

This photo has been going around on Facebook, gathering many "Likes." It reminded me of my early influences, which, as I review the car-priced Simaudio 750D, puts things into perspective. Rock on!

The Audiophiles' DJ,
-Lummy The Loch Monster


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Topic - The Stack - Luminator 11:24:50 08/22/15 (6)

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