Come on you 50+ somethings!

Quad 33, 303, FM3 with a Technics SLDL1 parallel tracking turntable. Speakers were some my dad had hanging around. The quad stuff came from Laskeys, although I am seriously 50-.

Andy

Hi,

my first Hi-fi System ( before Nuno era )was:
Thorens TD 125, SME 3009, Shure V 15 III, Receiver Sansui Eight,Bose 901.

Bass performance of the small Bose Speakes was not bad, not very clean but deep and fat. Midrange o.k., treble not detailed enough. It was possible to hear the left channel standing close to the right speaker!

Regards

Manfred Müllers

My Dad's Hi-Fi (as was)

Thorens TD150
Rogers Cadet Valve amp
? Valve Tuner
Ferrograph reel to reel
B&W speakers (I think)

I used this for several years before I got my own Garrard SP25 rumble generator.

DS

OTD - Klymaxx - Good Love

You are all youngsters.

I was once the proud owner of a Dansette record player and the original Bush radio that became a design statement by accident, the one with the circular tuning dial.
The Dansette was my solace when studying to pass my exams, on the basis that i could only mange to revise to music. The music came from 78 rpm shellac, that's the stuff that came BEFORE Vinyl and immortalised Bill Haley & The Comets, Little Richard, Gene Vincent et al.

Moving forward in time to the start of my earning carrer my first attempt at a serious system consisted of:
Garrard DD75 TT which was a direct drive affair using a hall effect motor and a strobe gauge which could be tuned to the correct speed with a adjustment knob.
A Shure M75 EJ cartridge (I think)
A Technics SU V2X Stereo amp which was identified as "computer controlled Class A" and maybe was because it ran hot enough to toast bread
A Hitachi DW500 Double cassette recorder
A pair of Goodmans bookshelf speakers which were ported and sounde pretty good, even on top of the bookcase which was the only spare space for them.

I still have the cassette deck, the amp and the TT. The amp still works but the TT has ground to a halt irrevocably.

Ah happy days. I think I'll start a thread for the 60 +'s

GEOFF

My first time was.....

A&R Cambridge A60 amp
Dual 505 turntable
Mission 700 speakers
and some cracking Audio-Technica headphones

Post Mum and Dads Garrard player :-
Garrard SP25 /shure ED75 Mullard 10-10 valve amp and sinclair Q14 speakers.
Last system b4 Naim :
Conneseur deck sme 3009 /v15 rotel 610 or JVC reciever(cant remember which) and AR 2ax speakers. Traded them for LP12 basik arm and cart (new) and S/h 12/160 and new AR 8. 1984 this was. Only sold the 160 last year.
Did have a Sinclair tuner at one point needless to say it did'nt work.

Howard

[This message was edited by BigH47 on SATURDAY 06 December 2003 at 00:38.]

Take me back....
First kit Laskys Garrard SP25, Amstrad amp, homemade speakers then on to Conneiosseur BD1 with Acos Lustre, Sugden A48 and Minimax speakers. !984 saw a 2nd hand NAC 160 which lasted until last year. 84 saw an LP12/Syrinx that went last year also. Had ARC 101 speakers for years and years as well. Went from birth of child 1 in 86 until about this year without any major changes. Now up to a pretty decent active set up.

Bob

My first hi-fi would have been a Zenith Circle of Sound system, got me through college very nicely, especially in conjunction with the gorilla lamp (don't ask), and the toilet paper tube bong

First component system: Garrad turntable/changer, Pioneer SX505 receiver, and some Pioneer speakers with beautiful wood latice work on the fronts. Upgraded to JBL L16 speakers and boogied with that for many years.

First "real quality" sysem: Magnavox/Phillips cd player, Superphon Dual Mono Basic preamp, PS Audio 2C amp, and Spica TC-50 speakers.

Thanks for the memories.

Jeff A

Our family lived next door to a Radio & High Fidelity shop in the 1950's where my father bought his Armstrong valve receiver. A homebuilt a 3' tall x 18" square reflex loudspeaker with sloping plywood baffle housed two transparent, plastic-coned tweeters. All made from a postal kit advertised in "Wireless World" and using the the latest chipboard material! It was later covered in plastic film Fablon woodgrain to satisfy Mum. This loudspeaker lasted for decades and we heard all the early pop music as well as reproducing 78rpm classical "albums". My father could only dream about SME and Quad. They were always well beyond reach. HiFi News magazine replaced Wireless World at some point lost to time.
My own first (inherited) hifi system was a heavy, all-steel, idler wheel Goldring record player with built in (highly) magnetic cartridge in a massive, pressed shell, oil damped, unipivot arm. With a step up transformer the size of a food can. A Mullard 510 mono valve amp & preamp powered the old 10" Whiteley, cloth cone, loudspeaker unit from the original reflex box. Which then went into assorted Paralines, Tricolumns & sandfilled reflex baffles. Including one Tricolumn 6'6" high x 18" diameter made from steel drums taped together and deadened externally with papier maché. Driven by the Mullard this sounded better on Bruch's violin concerto than anything I've heard since.
I can still remember us all gasping in amazement at hearing the first simultaneous test transmissions of stereo. BBC Radio for one channel and the B&W BBC TV for the other. Listening to sounds and voices crossing the room was unbelievably exciting.
It all seems like another century now.

Nime

Everyone has the right to be wrong.

Brill thread!
My first TT was an ITT one where you had to let the lp drop onto the platter - know what I mean?
I then plugged this into a Freguson portable cassette radio - one of the first I could find with Dolby NR on it. I though I owned the world. (Its come back to its 1st owner sadlt after a family breavement). I then jupmed to a Garrard sp25 into a denon reciever - the tt was fitted with a ceramic cartridge!
Then to the Dual CS505-2 (still going strong at me mums), into a technics amp. The TT then went to a rega planar 3 into arcam alpha 3+.
then we are upto the 90's...

hope u don't mind me posting 'cos I ain't over 50, but i love reading about old kit...

My grandad - its all his fault - had radiogram after radiogram and made his own speakers out of 15" drive units - brill times.

Remember Nytech? - I still use my CTA252XD (with integrated tuner) for my PC audio.

It's all black and looks like a big old fashioned calculator!

Still sounds terrific - bought in 1980ish.

quote:

---

Originally posted by webrat11:
Remember Nytech? - I still use my CTA252XD (with integrated tuner) for my PC audio.

It's all black and looks like a big old fashioned calculator!

Still sounds terrific - bought in 1980ish.

---

They used to be very well thought of in the mags back then. I still have technical leaflets for the CTA 252XDII and the CPA602 power amp amongst my collection.

Nime

Everyone has the right to be wrong.

CTA252XDll leaflet

Nytech leaflet

Nime

Everyone has the right to be wrong.

My parents first "Hi-fi" was a Phillips (Phillco in North America) all-in-one console system (tuner/receiver & TT).

This was replaced by Pioneer SX737 receiver and PL12D TT, and no-name 2.5'x1'x1' 3-way speakers in the early 70's. Still have the PL12D and it works.

My first "system" was JVC 727 "Boombox" which travelled all over the Canadian North in bush camps (the SW capability was usefull where no AM stations existed).

In Uni, this was replaced by my first "real system", a Thorens TD 166 MkII turntable with Grace F9E cartridge, Yamaha RX75 Receiver, Yamaha 760 Cassette Deck and Studio Lab monitor speakers. Speakers were replaced by the Advent 2002 bookshelf speakers.

After Uni (when earning real money), replaced first the TT with an Lp12/basik/Grace F9E into a Hafler 220 amp and Audible Illusions Tube Preamp and Nakamichi 480z tape deck, the Yamaha used for the Tuner only, all driving the Advent 2002.

This gave way to a 32.5/Hicap/250 and Quad FM-4 Tuner. This lasted into the mid 80's when the speakers were changed to Dayton Wright LCM-1 on Linn Kan stands (simply amazing speaker, simlar to the Spica TC-50 but better IMHO). An Sony CP300CD player was present at this time.

A The 250 was replaced by a pair of 135s. The CD by an Adcom player separate dac unit (still have). Then lightning took out the speakers which were replaced by KEF Reference 2s in the early 90's.

Final iteration in the last few years has been the addition of a 52/SC to replace the 32.5/Hicap and a CDS to to replace the Adcom units.

Cheers,

Ah happy days. I think I'll start a thread for the 60 +'s

GEOFF[/QUOTE]

Hey, Geoff, if you fall into the venerable category of the 60s+ then you automatically qualify for the 50s+, surely?!
pcm

quote:

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Originally posted by Nick Lees:
If any of you lot bought from Laskys Oxford Street in the mid 70's I might have sold it to you. Goodness those Amstrad units were crap...

nick.lees at btinternet.com

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But the noise when you pushed any of those buttons was something to dive behind the sofa for, wasn't it? And the switch-on thump through the speakers was nearly as good as Naim's!!!
pcm

My Hi-Fi Oddysey

Crap Jap when at Uni.

Then
Sansui SR22? TT, A&R A60 and ARC101 speakers
Amp to Nytech 252
Add an LP12 + basik
Activate speakers with the extra Nytech amp
Nytech to 42x/o and 2 x 110's
ARC101 to active sara's
Add an Ittok / Asak
Add a wife kids and mortgage

wait 10 years

change to 32/hi-cap 135's
Adda a Pioneer CD player
change to CDi
add a 102
add a 52 / supercap
change speakers to NHT 2.5's
Change to B&W 804
Change to B&W 802
change to CDS2 / XPS2

Phew!!!

And I don't qualify for this thread as I'm only 46.

Still using the CDi, Pioneer CD, 32's and 110's, NHT's and Saras in other systems. I must learn to sell some of this stuff.

Colin Lorenson

My Dad's first system - Garrard SP25 in home made plinth, metrosound amp (I think it had crackly knobs even when new) and some huge (12" diameter?) Tannoy dual concentrics in home made 3ft high chipboard boxes - my brother and I couldn't even lift them they were so heavy.

My first 'system' - a funny Philips wood-effect top loading cassette deck with built in amp and a pre-Dolby hiss reduction thing called DNR which made those early pre-CrO2 tapes even more muffled sounding! (actually it may have been Pye not Philips - remember that make?)

My first separates - a Garrard SP25, the same as my Dad's, a black Amstrad amp with 2 volume sliders (for L & R) - if you think it's tricky balancing the volume of a Nait at low volumes this was worse, and a pair of Wharfedale kit loudspeakers built into white chipboard boxes with shimmering black and silver cloth grilles - it was the 70s after all.

10 years later I came out of uni (in London) with an LP12, 32/160 and Gale 301s, and no overdraft - this was just before they got rid of grants and housing benefit for students.
Phil

I started out with a Dansette record player and I remember well the very first record (Cliff Richards - Living Doll) and G** help me but I can still remember all the words!!! Must have been early 60's

I then went to home made built stereo amp (very trendy at the time - mid 60's circuit from some mag or other) which I proudly put together from a kit of parts and a home made mahogany fronted chassis. Worked well apart from the odd hum loop!

Next up was a heathkit tuner amplifier (I was obviously well into my building phase) with a pioneer PL12D deck and wharfedale triton speakers. All went well until one new years eve party, and at the stroke of midnight, I switched channels from the PL12D to the radio to get big Ben ........... result nothing. I had blown all the speakers in the tritons!!!

Having had enough of home build I wnet for an Armstrmong tuner/amp and Rogers Ls4's and this lasted me well until 10 years ago when I got into serios listening and Naim.

Now have CD2/NAT01/52/250/SBL,s and its the bees knees

Don't think I'm goin anywhere else now!

End of SAGA (well apart from their holidays etc)!

Cheers
Peter

Some time in the 50s - listening to the stereo broadcasts on Radio 3 and the TV on a Saturday morning.

1964 - wandered into the BBC Paris Studios in London and heard reproduced music as it could be played for the first time in my life

1965 - Leak Stereo 30, Goldring Lenco GL70, Wharfedale Bookshelf 2 speakers.

1966 a Heathkit tuner
1967 swapped in some homemade cabinets with Wharfedale 12" RSDD drivers.

The Leak 30 turned into a Leak 70 and a Stereofetic tuner

1972 - Pair of Spendor BC1s and a Thorens TD125 with an SME 9" arm with a Shure Cartridge
and thats when it started to go down hill via a big Yamaha amp (1976) and then a Yamaha tuner, then to Musical Fidelty, then to Arcam and then one day in 1999 I was driving home having been thrown out of my office (to go work from home) and I called in the same shop where I bought the Yamaha amp in 1976 (now under new management) where they mentioned that they had taken on a new product range and that I ought to try it out, and eventually after 4 years (see my profile) to see how far I have descended into audio dependancy.

Derek

<< >>

quote:

---

From "myself":-
You are all youngsters.

I was once the proud owner of a Dansette record player and the original Bush radio that became a design statement by accident, the one with the circular tuning dial.
The Dansette was my solace when studying to pass my exams, on the basis that I could only manage to revise to music. The music came from 78 rpm shellac, that's the stuff that came BEFORE Vinyl and immortalised Bill Haley & The Comets, Little Richard, Gene Vincent et al.

---

quote:

---

From Peter Gear:-
I started out with a Dansette record player and I remember well the very first record (Cliff Richards - Living Doll) and G** help me but I can still remember all the words!!! Must have been early 60's

---

Peter
SNAP!!!
Actually I hate to tell you this but if I remember correctly (senility might be setting in), Living Doll was around 1957-58 ish. We are getting older quicker than we think!!

regards
GEOFFP

Living Doll was around 1957-58 ish

1959 I think you'll find....

Cheers

Don

Don

Just goes to show senility IS setting in. I must admit to still remeber the bloody words aswell.
Sir Cliff bounded on to our TV's just as I was falling asleep in front of the thing on Friday night.
He's in a lot better shape than I am goddam him!!

Geoff

Sir Cliff bounded on to our TV's just as I was falling asleep in front of the thing on Friday night

....and again on Songs of Praise on Sunday....

Must be getting close to Xmas......

Cheers

Don