What was your first hi fi equipment?

dangermouse said:
Done that a few times over the years. Absolute sensory overload of hi-fi gear. :D
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At the time, 1 USD = about 250 yen, so I felt good "knowing" I was getting a 140,000 yen system for less than $600. It would have been around $1000 at the current exchange rate. Of course, being a foreign national, I applied this false economic reasoning often in the early years of my life in the Land of Wa.
 
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In 1974, I purchased my first stereo with money I earned working over the summer. It was a Pioneer SX-525 receiver, Garard turntable, and a pair of Soundcraftsman Lancer speakers. Owned that system for a few years, then sold it to purchase a car.
 

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Don't laugh--an old Garard turntable/radio/8-track combo that was probably my dad's and was sitting at my grandparents' house when they were cleaning up. My dad did have a Pioneer setup in our living room, but the Garard would technically be my first one since it was setup in my bedroom.
 
QuarryHunslet said:
The first system I can remember the details of consisted of a Garrard SP25 Mk V turntable, a Rotel RA 314 amplifier, a Rotel tuner to match the amplifier ( I can't remember the model number ), and a pair of Wharfedale Linton XP2 speakers, all purchased from my local Comet Store.
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Sliphorn said:
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My senior year in high school, 1972, I bought a pair of epi model 100 speakers, Philips GA212 turntable and a Marantz amp that I can’t remember the model number. Good stuff!
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I still have my EPI 100 speakers! I use them initially as primary speakers then for a second zone. Now I use them as surrounds. I still think they are a good speaker.
 
not mine, the picture is from an archive, but this model was my first all in one. added two mission speakers and the sun rises and stood in the zenith for long. that days none of us had the idea of taking photos. cars and girlfriends yes, but the stereo? no.

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This SABA stereo radio (that was my dad's pride and joy)

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and this Craig portable cassette player that I managed as an eleven year old to connect its output to the input on the back of the radio. The European connections made for some interesting trial and error. :)

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So I had to find a picture in the internet as I don't think I ever took a photo of mine.
I remember choosing it for my 15th or 16th birthday. Like any 80's teen I wanted digital anything I could get. The linear tracking turntable also felt super futuristic. Within about 12 months I had bought myself the matching CD Player to go even further into the future.
Objectively this was probably fairly poor, especially the "flat diaphragm" speakers but it was mine, it was in my bedroom and only I could use it.
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Info: Fisher MT22 midi system, linear tracking turntable, twin cassette, digital FM/AM tuner, 5 band graphic equaliser. Typical 80's gloss black and silver. The photo is from an eBay listing I'm trying desperately not to bid on...
 
Ok, seriously taxing my memory here, because the first parent-pisser-offer came around 1980-ish. I thought it was anchored by a Nakamichi SA-2A (still in my basement in the original box!), but a quick lookup tells me I’m at least 10 years too early for that. So my next guess is a Technics SA-202, because 1, it sounds strangely familiar; and 2, it’s right around the correct time period and looks like something I could afford at the time (i.e., not much). Speakers were some no-name 2-ways that the stereo store was pushing that actually sounded pretty good as I recall, good enough for the regular nagging from upstairs to turn it the hell down. Last piece was a Technics belt drive turntable. I do remember that it stood out because it was wood-grain on the top and all sides, which weighed heavily into why I bought it. You know, like picking teams in the football pool based on uniform colors. Dark Side of the Moon nearly got worn out on that unit.

Holy crap - it was the SA-202. I remember the analog tuner and those LED’s now like it was yesterday. Talk about instantly being taken back 45 years... :eek:
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Amstrad EX222 receiver, BSR turntable, Lloytron cassette deck, Solavox speakers. All bought from Comet (now defunct UK electrical chain) over several months with proceeds from a Saturday job.
 
1970's penniless student, only spending on the essentials (alcohol, girls, LPs, HiFi)... & food if funds remained.

Pioneer PL-12D turntable
NAD 3020 amp
Leak 3050 speakers

I still have the first two for sentimental reasons, the speaker driver foam had perished by the late 1990s so those are long gone.
 
Machiavelli said:
the guy reminds me a bit of young chick corea 😉 or is it you? anyway looks like the speaker is loud enough.
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It's me, but I'm having a hard time thinking of any similarities. Anyway, almost all the equipment came from the scrapyard, and some I built myself. We certainly hadn't yet figured out that loudness isn't everything.
 
Few weeks before Xmas 1979: turntable Technics SL3100 + ampli Technics SU7700 + speakers JBL L50. Paid everything with 3 post-dated checks...
Xmas 1980, added the cassette player Pioneer CTF-500, paid cash this time😆
 
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