Over what period have you built up your system to where you are now?

I couldn't list them in detail, but the path to musical enjoyment would be something like:

1973 - Adding an extension speaker to my brother's mono record player. He didn't know; I could unplug it when he was around. But it was better with 2 speakers.

1975? - inherited grandparents' stereo radiogram, and ruined many a record with the then std 2p coin on the tonearm.

1976 - school friend bought a Sharp Music Centre, and together we learnt how to enjoy Yes, Patrick Moraz, Led Zep and latterly AC-DC. And I showed him where to find John Peel and on Fridays Tommy Vance in stereo VHF.

1977 - came into a couple of reel to reel tape recorders, experimented with overdubs for my awesome guitar playing, loosely based on Brian May's tape-powered echo devices. 

1979 - Pa bought a not v good music centre. Largely ignored tbh.

Early 80s, not sure when - bought my first bit of hifi: a Technics record deck, Sharp am/fm tuner with stereo beacon, a Sharp stereo amp and some speakers. No idea what.

86 - a Marantz cd player, drilled holes in the back of the amp to add a pair of RCA plugs and a switch to toggle the input to use the CD.

88 - NAD 3020e amp + matching tuner and CD player, and a pair of Mission speakers + stands. Not as impressed with it as I'd hoped to be.

89 - made my own wiring loom to replace the cheap interconnects. My first simple upgrade, massive improvement.

89 - Technics twin stereo cassette deck that could do a timer record sequentially onto 2 C90 tapes. Ideal for capturing Alan Freeman's late night rock show on R1 while I was out enjoying myself.

90 - modified the NAD tuner so that the channels could be changed on a timer during the day, using a home-designed bit of circuitry. Used it to capture Jimmy Young's Legal Eagle on Friday lunchtimes and then Feedback on R4 later that day whilst I was still at work. It worked. IPayer? Catch-up? A distant dream.

94 - burgled, lost all my hifi + CDs but not the tv, credit card on the mantelpiece or anything else. Replaced it with a better amp + rear-leaning speakers. Again, no recollection of the make or model.

96 - found a pair of Moth mono amps, PSU & passive pre-amp in a shop in Bedford, bought them, loved them.

98 - valve amp sourced in kit form off the new internet, built it sitting on the floor at home on the day we had the eclipse in September 1998.

Also bought a pair of Italian Walnut speakers + stands (lead filled) around that time, and a shiny extravagant brushed aluminium and chrome CD player from one of the many shops that used to fill the bottom of the Tottenham Court Road. All had to go when child #1 appeared and wife decided that exposed mains, hot valves and a pair of top-heavy speakers that could crush a toddler weren't safe. Gutted.

2007. Started again with a simple and safe one-box Teac system. It worked, sort of. Paired with a pair of floorstanders, which were quite good. 

2012 - had a fancy to do it properly again so in short order appeared a Naim Nait 5i, CD5i, PMC 20-23s, and a CA Stream Magic 6, replaced a year or two ago with an ND5XS. 

Presently pondering another splurge.

You can’t beat a splurge...

Bought my first naim (5i) in late 2015 and got hooked to what later I have found to be called prat. Avid for more, made my way up through UnitiLite, Superuniti, 272 with Cyrus X-Power and finally to 272 with 250DR.

My first Naim system ended up being UnitiQute 2 into Neat Motive SX3 speakers, which I purchased from a well known auction site at the end of February 2016. However, this was always intended as a second system for use in my study.

My main Naim system was eventually installed in April 2016 and consisted of my existing Manticore Mantra/ Musician arm/ Goldring GL1042 cartridge/ MB6 power supply and new QNAP HS251+ NAS drive into Stageline/ Hi-Cap DR/ N272/ 250 DR/ Neat Momentum SX5i's.

I let this "break-in" for several months, but I always hankered after a separate power supply for my N272. So, in October 2016 I couldn't resist returning to the auction site to purchase a second hand 555PS that had been serviced and DR'd.

Unfortunately, the upgraded pre-amp revealed that my Mantra turntable wasn't quite good enough for my new Naim system. So the 555PS was quickly followed by a second hand Linn LP12/ Ittok III/ Lingo Mk1, that I had sent to my dealer straight from the seller for servicing and updating with Cirkus and Trampolin.

The only upgrade since has been a linear power supply for my NAS drive, which arrived yesterday, so is currently being "broken in". I will also be receiving a wall shelf for my LP12 soon.

But, I'm very happy with both systems and have no current plans for major future upgrades.

First system in 1988 - secondhand rega planar 3 and musical fidelity synthesis amp plus a pair of acoustic research AR18BX

Main source became CD in 1992

first Naim was a NAIT 3 in 1996

probably upgraded something every 4 years or so since

still have the rega but streaming (NAS then NAS and Tidal) has been my main source for 5 years

35 years, but if I had followed a straight line it would probably have been a couple of years. The problem is that 35 years ago I could hardly afford a Nait 1. And I love experimenting. Things like HiCap, XPS, CDX2, SuperNait, HiLine, NAC A5, 202/200, N-Sats, S-400s I have bought 2 to 5 times (depending on which) each over the last 12 years. Always strictly 2nd hand, safe a Supernait, 2 pairs of Sats and my current S-400s.

I started collecting Naim in 1991  but started with a dansette record player in 1969 . Am I finished - I hope so! except started on kitting out the daughter and son in laws now with Naim will it never end!