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Purchased my first components from a stereo shop in Lafayette, LA when I was 19. Pair of Cizek Model 1 speakers with a JVC 35 wpc channel receiver. Within a month I traded up to a Kenwood integrated amp, JBL L-50 speakers and a Sanyo Plus series turntable with Ortofon MM cartridge...fun times :)
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I had an SX-1250 that I bought at a Salvation Army store for 80 bucks. It worked great and looked great after replacing a few dial lights and cleaning.
I liked the sound but it weighed over 80 lbs and was so big it wouldn't fit in a typical audio rack or anything else I had at the time. Since I had other gear I sold it for $600 and the buyer was super excited. I can't understand how they can command the prices they do today.
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Gsquared
...was seriously good, in its day.
Unlike the others, it wasn't watts for the sake of watts, it had a great phono section, an excellent tuner and sounded wonderful.
At the shop I worked for back then, we paired it with Allison One speakers, or the ADS L-1230.
At 24" wide, it was a beast !
Dean.
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reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
These large 1970s vintage stereo receivers were the gateway to high-fidelity audio systems for mainstream consumers..... The large analog tuner dials with other lights, knobs, and switches lured consumers into trying, and then often buying, these integrated systems......
And those who wanted better sound (aka audiophiles) would then delve into separates.
These behemoth receivers were often the way to instant audio/music gratification..... (Popular music and FM radio were a lot better in those days.... ) It seems that the allure of audio to the masses was never quite the same once those big receivers fell out of favor. The later receivers with the digital tuner displays just didn't have the same appeal of their earlier analog dial counterparts. (I also believe the later receivers had corners cut in design, often resulting in lifeless "solid state" sound.)
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Around 1978. Served me well for many years, driving some hand-me-down Wharfedale speakers from my dad. Ran kinda toasty, and emitted that distinctive '70s hot receiver smell.
I bought my first real stereo in 1970:
Dyna FM-3
Dyna PAT-4
Dyna ST-120
Dyna A25
AR-XA table with Grado FTR
I was in hog heaven!
For my first stereo I built Dynakits ST-70, PAS-3, and FM-3, and added AR-4s and a Dual 1009 with Empire cartridge.
In hindsight that was a pretty good starter system.
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho
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Your interest may vary but the results will be same. (Byrd 2020)
I can't compete with the dead. (Buck W. 2010)
Cowards can't be heroes. (Byrd 2017)
Why don't catfish have kittens? (Moe Howard 1937)
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Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
My introduction to stereo began at a hamburger joint where I met my beautiful blonde sixteen year old girl friend to see her new 1968 Chevelle. Mary was a life long lover of recorded music. I know that because we were married for fifty-one years. As proud as she was of the new car she seemed just as proud of the sound of its Lear eight track stereo tape player with upgraded amps and speakers. Simon and Garfunkle had never sounded so good to me.
We waited until she graduated from high school to get married. One of the first major purchases for our little garage apartment was a Lloyds all in one record player, tape deck, amp and attached speakers. We loved it for several months until we replaced it with with a Pioneer receiver and Lafayette Radio speakers which gave way to Series one Bose 901s and McIntosh electronics. Then we graduated from college and the stereo purchases continued unabated for the next half century.
Have any of you guys ever wondered what it would be like to have a wife as passionate about audio as you are? In my case it was pretty wonderful, but it played hell with our budget and made our friends and relatives think we were crazy. It was not just money where Mary showed her audiophile colors. When I told her that I wanted to add a pair of 18 cubic foot horn subwoofers to the decor of our den she asked if I was sure they would sound better than the present subs. I said yes, and she said OK.
Mary passed away in 2021. At her funeral a good audiophile friend mentioned how unusual she was to be a lady audiophile. I was very depressed after her passing so I bought a new Clearaudio turn table to distract myself. Mary would have loved how great it sounds.
I dream of an America where a chicken can cross the road without having it's motives questioned.
I enjoyed assembling an FM-5.
Traded the AR Integrated for a PAS-3x and ST-120.
I built all of my Dyna electronics as kits. I was a high school kid and every penny mattered.
That skill helped me later making power supply modifications a la Van Alstine to an Audire power amp.
Don't remember the model, but I loved it!
Geez, you're making me wax nostalgic!By 1973 or so, I had already sold my Roberts/Akai tape deck and bought a Tandberg. Yes, it was only 3-3/4 and 7-1/2 ips, but it was half-track, not quarter-track. I specifically toldits next owner about that! I wonder where that deck is now. Anyway...
As a college student (music major), in the early '70s I worked part-time installing commercial sound systems. The company owner dabbled in occasionally buying a nice piece of hifi gear to use in "the shop". A Lenco turntable, a BGW amp, a Kenwood integrated, E-V Sentry III speakers, a B&O turntable, Frazier speakers, an Onkyo something, etc., etc., you get the idea. These items would come and go as somebody would buy them and he'd get something else. This was my introduction to hifi components up close and personal.
Fast forward past my roadie sound reinforcement gig, to selling hifi gear at a major retailer. 1977-1979 - the sweet spot! I was like a kid in a candy store. I still have my Sansui "Big Knobs" t-shirt. :) (But I don't have my Sansui AU-717 integrated, 'cause my good-for-nothing apartment neighbor stole it.)
Next, I went to a more "semi-high end" store. (1979-1980). The customer traffic was much less. So, I sometimes had time to do some good comparative listening. This is when I found the Sony receivers to be "soft" - a little rolled-off in the treble, and the Pioneer receivers to be comparatively "harsh". And that's when I bought my Harman/Kardon 505 integrated amp, which I still have.
Yes, indeed, those were the "golden years of hifi"!
*********
We are inclusive and diverse, but dissent will not be tolerated.
Edits: 03/28/24
AR tt, Shure M 44, AR 4x, and a Kenwood KA 6000 integrated. Decent even today. God it never ends. Golden age indeed.
LowIQ
I bought my first stereo system at 15. Dual TT, Sony STR-V35 receiver, Genesis 1+ speakers. The receiver after some years actually caught on fire one day, flames out the top. Waited... used it for a while still after. No idea how it worked. Receiver pic:
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A while later I upgraded to a Luxman R-117 which made a notable difference. It was powering Geneses 320's (I made new cabinets, d'Appolito config, 1 1/2" thick front baffle), same TT. Receiver pic:
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Pics from the 'net.
Edits: 03/28/24
Pretty good system for age 15 :)
It all started with a friend who's parents bought him a stereo. Brought me to the same place... never ending since.
First real system in 1972 was Advents driven by an AR Integrated with Lenco L-75 as source.
I never got into receivers either.
My first system (1974) was a Kenwood KA-6004 integrated amplifier, Dynaco A-25 loudspeakers, and Thorens TD-160C turntable with a Shure M91ED cartridge. I initially bought a Dynaco SCA-80Q integrated amplifier but didn't like the feel of the switches and volume pot so I returned it to the University (of Texas Austin) Co-op bookstore where I purchased it, and a BSR 810 (810X?) turntable which I didn't like it's mechanics, so I immediately sold it. Both of these had good reviews. Lesson learned.
"All thoughts are prey to some beast" - Bill Callahan
"I'll be your mirror
Reflect what you are" - Lou Reed
"Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth." - Albert Einstein
"the general pubic were expected to be capable of interpreting things like Nyquist Charts and be familiar with terms like 'harmonic distortion', 'slew rates' & 'frequency response' which today are only reserved for that bizarre and tiny segment of the human population known as audiophiles."
There's a typo in there or was it intentional...
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