Your first real hifi

[deafasapost]

cant remember the year, but,

marantz cd 46
harmon kardon hk610 amp
mission 731 speakers
qed qudos cable.

loved it!!

[tkimages]

Mid '60's, still at school, part-time work in a petrol station allowed me to convert a two speaker mono radiogram to stereo by the addition of a BSR deck and ceramic cartridge, and a Northcourt 5W valve amp. I thought it was brilliant. Within 6 months, and a few visits to the local Hi Fi shop it was a Garrard deck, Shure cartridge, homemade Sinclair amp and homemade speakers with Elac units - now that was good!

40 yrs later and still at it, but no DIY components anymore, and it still sounds good. I wonder what the future has in store?

Tillman

[PigletsDad]

In about 1973 or 1974, Dual 1209 (?), Shure something nasty, maybe M75ED, home-made amp, horrible home-made speakers. My first power amp used to die fairly often; it was based on an RCA handbook design.

[matt j]

About 1998 I reckon

Marantz CD67 OSE
Rotel RC971? pre
Rotel RB9?? power
Maudaunt Short 25i floor standers (still got somewhere!)

Later swapped the single Power amp with a bloke at work for two of the previous model power amps and used them as monos, was very happy until I discovered forums and ebay.

[DSJR]

Goldring Lenco GL75/Shure M75-EJ (replaced Garrard AP76/M75-ED) in 1975
Armstrong 621 amp - motorboated from new so replaced with
Lustraphone LP100 amp - lovely, sweet sound and good styling
Audiomaster Image 1's which became Image 2's (designed by Robin [Epos] Marshall with hideously complex crossover - he learned valuable lessons from these)
Sony TC366 reel to reel

[audiogoose]

1968:
Elac-Miracord turntable, Pickering cartridge
Fisher 500T integrated amp and tuner
Utah speakers (not sure which model)
Never did like it as well as a friend's cheaper tube-based H.H. Scott system.

[joolsburger]

About 1989/90

Systemdek 2S biscuit tin with heavy alloy platter and steel feet.
Roksan Tabriz
Shure v15

Rotel rc850/rb850

JBL TLX floorstanders

I was 19 and my neighbours hated us!

[James Evans]

would be about the same time:

NAD3130
Ariston Q deck
Wharfedale Diamond 3s
technics cassette deck and cdp

[rontoolsie]

1978

A&R A60E amp and Tangent RS4 speakers from Billy Vee
Michel Focus One with Hadcock GH228 and Sonus Blue Label from Subjective Audio
Aiwa AD 1800 cassette deck from somewhere on Picadilly Circus (?KJ Leisuresound?) All funded with a summers job working graveyard shift making 4k RAM chips at the ITT factory in Sidcup.

And in 1979 got an Entre One/Lentek Pre-preamp on my summers dole money- also purchased from Billy Vee.

[markn]

Late 90s I think

PT LPT Akito Ortofon Quartz
Pioneer A400
Wharfdale Delta 30s left over from a midi system

I later added an Arcam alpha something CD and Meridian 203

[stevec67]

1986, 2nd year uni, funded by a summer as a lab tech on a sewage plant: Pioneer A22 amp, Diamond 2 speakers and...an Aiwa cassette deck while I worked out whether to buy CD or LP. 22 years on I still have both formats.

[Tony L]

1978, age 15, bought second hand as a job lot with a bit of money from a will:

Goldring Lenco GL75 / Shure M75EJ
Quad FM3
Quad 33 / 303
Hitachi D-550 cassette deck
Jim Rogers JR149 speakers

All set up with no skill whatsoever and the cheapest cables known to man. I'd love to hear it again, it helped me discover much of my favourite music.

Tony.

[kasperhauser]

Nakamichi BX-100 cassette deck
Harman Kardon HK340 receiver
Bang & Olufsen RL60 speakers

[Heath]

1974, age 7. My dad bought a B&O system and sorted out a system for me to stop me playing with it. Can't remember what it was exactly, but it was some kind of idler wheel turntable, a big valve amp, and some floorstanding speakers (that I think my dodgy uncle later admitted to nicking from a school). It was fabulous until the turntable died when I was in my teens and the amp and speakers were donated to a local school.

First hifi purchase was when I was heading off to uni. Bought a secondhand Technics SLP2 off a mate who had to have the latest model, an Arcam Delta 90 amp and Arcam 2 speakers. Still got the speakers in my bedroom.

Heath

[sds]

1971 still at school

Pioneer PL12D
Rotel RA 611
Thorpe Grenville Speakers (I think that was Comet's own thing. Big boxes large oval cone with tweeter on centre line in front of it.)

Seriously good sounds in my room.

Although lots of upgrades have happened (now active system), the original amp and deck are at my brother in law's where they get regular use. Not bad for around the £60 I paid for them.

Biggest memory of it was not wanting to buy on the never never so the deck was bought first. Months went by and then the amp and the cheapest set of headphones I could get. More months and then the speakers. Bliss.