My First Time

splittailz · « **Reply #20 on:** 17 Jun 2008, 02:04 pm »

I am going to show my age here a little.

Marantz 4 channel quadrophonic receiver model 4300?
4 baby Advent speakers
Dual Turntable & Shure cart.
Some form of quad 8 track player
later added a nakamichi dragon cassette.
I had a surround fetish 35 years ago, and it hasnt stopped yet.

mv038856 · « **Reply #21 on:** 17 Jun 2008, 08:27 pm »

Hi there!

At the age of 15, back in 1985, I acquired my first HiFi system.

In the naive thought to acquire a German HiFi system, I purchased

- Dual CV-1260 Integrated Amplifier (2 x 60 Watts RMS)
- Dual CT-1260 Synthesizer Tuner
- Dual C-816 Tape Deck
- Dual CS-620Q with Ortofon Cartridge
- ACL Speakers, later to be replaced with Quadral Status 18.

Just as James pointed out for his first tape deck, I was intrigued by the meters of the amp and the tape deck. As it turned out later, the amp and the tape deck were manufactured in Japan. Looking closely, one could see that the color of the components didn't quite match. It seems that in 1985 the "big days" of the famous German brand Dual (which came from St. Georgen, a small town in the Black Forest, not too far from where I was born) already were over. Later it was bought by the French corporation Thomson, just like the formerly important German brands Telefunken, Nordmende and Saba.

The amp and the tuner still work in my kitchen though.

Just my two cents!

Markus

rob80b · « **Reply #22 on:** 17 Jun 2008, 11:12 pm »

Quote from: mv038856 on 17 Jun 2008, 08:27 pm

Just as James pointed out for his first tape deck, I was intrigued by the meters of the amp and the tape deck.

Markus

Something about meters and tape decks, sometimes I just spool up my old multitrack reel to reels just to watch everything in motion.

pjesse · « **Reply #23 on:** 18 Jun 2008, 01:18 am »

Lenco turntable
Shure cartridge
Heathkit stereo amplifier kit
Telefunken speakers
Revox reel to reel
DBX 128 processor
Electrovoice microphones

My brother had to one up me a few years later:

Dayton Wright SPS MK I pre-amp
Audio Research amplifier
Rogers LS35A
Era turntable with Stax tonearm and Dynavector cartridge

jdandy · « **Reply #24 on:** 27 Jun 2008, 12:06 am »

Geez...this goes way back for me. I bought my first system as a complete setup from a friend who was moving to Seattle and didn't want to have to move the system. It was 1968, and I gave $900.00 for the whole system. It was a great sounding system, with the exception of the low frequency rumble from the idler wheel drive on the Dual turntable. You could always hear it between album tracks. The gear was:

Dynaco PAS3x tube preamp
Dynaco FM1 FM tuner
McIntosh MC30 tube power amps (pair)
Dual 1091 turntable w/ Shure V15 type II cartridge
Akai reel to reel w/ crossfield heads
Altec Lansing A7 Voice of the Theater speakers (utility cabinets, 15" woofers, horns & compression drivers mounted on top...102dB with 1 watt)

It's no wonder he didn't want to move that system. Neither did I, but I bought the system anyway. I moved those speakers three different times through the years before I finally had enough and sold them. I wish I still had them, they were great. That system would rattle the plaster off the walls, even with 30 watts. The McIntosh mono amps gave me the McIntosh bug, which I still carry today, some 40 years later. I have had so much different equipment through the years. I could stock an entire audio store with it if I had it all back.

pjg66 · « **Reply #25 on:** 29 Jun 2008, 02:41 am »

My first system was mono, circa 1958:

Garrard changer (forget model) with GE VRII cartridge (a great, affordable magnetic pickup)
EICO HF52 integrated amp (built from kit; 50 watts from EL34's, considered big power at the time)
AR 2 speaker ($89 in unfinished pine; the bookshelf acoustic suspension speaker was about to make its mark on the hi-fi world)

Incidentally, this is my first post on the Bryston Circle. I currently use three 7B ST's for the left, center, and right channels of my
Music/HT system. Before the system became multichannel, it used a BP 25 preamp, which I still own and hope soon to put back to
use. It is truly a great piece.

I am a huge fan of Bryston. I've owned McIntosh, Audio Research, Goldmund (all excellent stuff), but the Brystons are my all-time
favorites. Love that 20 year warranty.

pjg66

James Tanner · « **Reply #26 on:** 29 Jun 2008, 10:57 am »

Quote from: pjg66 on 29 Jun 2008, 02:41 am

My first system was mono, circa 1958:

Garrard changer (forget model) with GE VRII cartridge (a great, affordable magnetic pickup)
EICO HF52 integrated amp (built from kit; 50 watts from EL34's, considered big power at the time)
AR 2 speaker ($89 in unfinished pine; the bookshelf acoustic suspension speaker was about to make its mark on the hi-fi world)

Incidentally, this is my first post on the Bryston Circle. I currently use three 7B ST's for the left, center, and right channels of my
Music/HT system. Before the system became multichannel, it used a BP 25 preamp, which I still own and hope soon to put back to
use. It is truly a great piece.

I am a huge fan of Bryston. I've owned McIntosh, Audio Research, Goldmund (all excellent stuff), but the Brystons are my all-time
favorites. Love that 20 year warranty.

pjg66

Welcome to the Circle pjg66

james

Barry.B · « **Reply #27 on:** 1 Jul 2008, 11:42 pm »

It wasn't Hi Fi, but the start of an interesting journey at 18yrs!!

Beolab 1700 amp - 20 watts per channel (paid for looks not sound)
Pair of Goodmans two way speakers (sounded OK at the time)
Garrard SP25 Mk-IV autochanger with a Goldring cartridge.

This system lit my fuse for the search for quality in music reproduction. This search has led me up a merry but enjoyable path.
I rarely miss a day without playing my current system for at least an hour or so before turning in, it's a fantastic stress killer.
Planet Rock also sounds great via internet radio on my Squeezebox 3.

Regards,

Barry.B

Laundrew · « **Reply #28 on:** 9 May 2009, 05:54 pm »

My first audio system?

Well it was composed of bits and pieces from our local landfill site (back then they called them "Dumps"). The amplifier sections were scavenged from old shortwave tube radios (I just realized I was using monoblocks back then - wow, I was ahead of my time), speakers were nailed to 2X4s and I had a chassis of a dismantled record player sitting on some bricks. Cables consisted of old lamp cord and my interconnects were alligator clips. I remember one day I had an awesome upgrade when I found an 8-Track player half submerged in the mud! If you bumped the table, something in the "rats nest of wiring" would come undone and this was normally followed by some nasty arching and a column of smoke. Ah...to be 13 again!

I often think of this, it keeps me grounded.

Jet Jockey1 · « **Reply #29 on:** 9 May 2009, 06:48 pm »

1984 was my first "real" hi-fi system, at least it was to me back then.

Sony 20wpc receiver, Sony P-cartridge TT, and my pride and joy for many years were the Wharfedale Mach V speakers, I still own them today and they still sound good. I hooked them up to my current gear and got a bit carried away with the volume knob and I think I blew a tweeter...stupid.

john1970 · « **Reply #30 on:** 9 May 2009, 06:57 pm »

My first 'hi-fi' system that I had in college (early 1990s) was the following:

1) Old pair of B&O speeakers from the early 1980s
2) A Sansui Reciever
3) Sony CD player

Definitley, not hi-fi, but it did survive my college years.

My second 'hi-fi' system was in graduate school:
1) NAD 304 Integrated amplifier (still in use in my basement)
2) Linn Bookshelf speakers (still in use and I enjoy having an 8" Acoustic suspension woofer in a bookshelf speaker)
3) Same Sony CD player

My current (and final) system is:
1) Bryston BP25 preamp
2) Bryston 4B SST amp
3) Bryston BDA-1 DAC
4) Marantz CD player (used as a transport)
5) VMPS RM40 speakers

Interesting thread!

hodge · « **Reply #31 on:** 9 May 2009, 07:06 pm »

Laundrew's post reminds me of my first system.....the almighty CANDLE cassette tape recorder along with TORONTO'S - GET IT ON CREDIT.......GET IT GET IT...... What a beautiful piece of equipment that thing was.The only problem was that it lacked that " 500 watts into 4 Ohms and over 1000 watts available in bridged mono mode. " thing ( yes..I own a few Bryston products). So being a " I can fix that " type of 11 year old, I came up with a plan that would do just the thing - call it my first ever " tweak ". I ran downstairs and made my way into my stepfather's work shop where I proceeded to cut about 5 feet off of his orange extension cord , grabbed some screwdrivers and the wire strippers and ran back up.This was gonna be great. I carefully opened the tape recorder to expose the speaker. I then stripped the end of the extension cord and connected one strand to one of the small wires on the speaker itself ( that leads to the speaker magnet) and connected the other strand of cord to the other wire. Then I pressed play.....Then I cranked the volume up about 3/4 .....THEN......I plugged the extension cord into the wall (watts ... volts...what's the difference...). Needless to say, the next 3 months of paper routing money went towards a new and louder tape recorder.

To this day, I can't figure out why I hate electrical.

Laundrew · « **Reply #32 on:** 9 May 2009, 07:18 pm »

Awesome post hodge...I am still crying after reading it and believe me, I feel your pain!

Best regards...

hodge · « **Reply #33 on:** 9 May 2009, 07:29 pm »

I kind of figured you'd like that.......don't even ask about my attempt at a homemade shelf for my newer machine- Let's just say that old wooden window frames don't take too kindly to 3 1/2 " Ardox nails.....neither did Mom.

Hififreak · « **Reply #34 on:** 10 May 2009, 06:21 am »

Thorens turntable
Philips 2 way BR speakers
Marantz Model 2216 stereophonic receiver.

I still have some of these receivers.

95Dyna · « **Reply #35 on:** 11 May 2009, 01:17 pm »

1975

Pioneer SA 9100 Integrated w/8100 Tuner
Dual C939 Autoreverse Casette w/Stanton 681EEE
Thorens TD 160 (works great lasts a long time--I'm still using it)
Design Acoustics D4 Omnidirectionals

I bought this setup just before getting married and Dad said, "don't you have better things to be spending your money on right now"?

95Dyna · « **Reply #36 on:** 11 May 2009, 01:19 pm »

Correction: The Stanton goes with the Thorens not tape deck.

bummrush · « **Reply #37 on:** 11 May 2009, 04:33 pm »

sony str 7065 receiver,philips 312 tt,infinity speakers, quite decent in 76

perose · « **Reply #38 on:** 11 May 2009, 09:24 pm »

My First Audio System:

Dynaco Pat 4 Preamp (kit)
Dynaco FM 5 Tuner (kit)
Dynaco Stereo 120 Power Amp (kit)
Dynaco A25 speakers
AR-XA turntable with Shure M91ED cartridge.
Sony Superscope TD(?)-355 7.5 inch Reel to Reel

Moon Doggy · « **Reply #39 on:** 12 May 2009, 04:21 am »

First rig at age 15:

Sherwood S9400 Integrated "Quad" Amplifier
Panasonic Reel to Reel
Garrard Zero 100 Turntable
JBL L88 Soeakers

2nd setup purchased over last year and 1/2.