What Was The First Track You Ever Had Played to You on a 'Proper' Hi-Fi That Got You Hooked?

All Blues from

Wow ... Mine was also" lady writer" also played through a Nad 3020b and Kef Coda 9s via a dual deck

still play Dire straits at least once a week...

Big Dire sraits fan also here..  love "wild west end " from their first album..

Mine was DSOTM!

I was at boarding school at the time of it's release and in the way of all boys after young Nick Kenyon returned from a weekend away very shortly after it's release with a precious vinyl copy, we all took tape copies. I took it home at the end of term to discover that my father had bought a new (and first for him!) stereo system. A Teac cassette deck, a Sansui receiver with big knobs, lots of lights and floating needles and Tannoy speakers.

It was a revelation. when they went out I would play the cassette as loud as possible through the falling light of the evening. It was still light as we all started to breathe and in darkness by the time the lunatic was on the lawn. Magical.

james

When I was about 18 years old, the local hifi/radio/TV shop in St. Andrews had an LP12/SME 3009/Ortofon MC30 (?) into a pair of Crown pre/power amps and thence to some rather large JBL L200 speakers. I had read about this LP12 but never had heard one before. And from the very first note of the Doobie Brothers 'The Captain and Me' I knew I was hooked. He kindly made a cassette recording of this album for me (charge...50p) and playing this back through a friends Amstrad cassette deck showed how important the turntable source was. 

A few months later I happened to be at Russ Andrews in Edinburgh. The policy at the time was first come-first served in the one downstairs dem room. They asked 'what do you want to hear' and for a wag-because I didn't think it would happen- I said the triamped Isobariks. They spent about 15 minutes hooking it up, knowing full well that I couldn't buy more than a couple of LPs in their upstairs record shop. 

But they played one track for me...the just released Breakfast in America. The opening harmonica on 'Take the Long Way Home' moved me to my marrow. Never had I heard such swing and panache, and I had no idea it was even possible. I made a decision that day to one day own a triamp Isobarik system. I never quite did, although I did end up with hexamped DBLs. Which I doubt I ever would have, were it not for that one track back in ?1978. 

Yes...there was a time when Russ Andrews was one of the premier dealers in the country and was about the only place I knew off that had Regas to sell ex stock-everywhere else was a six plus month waiting list. 

Ahh....That slightly damp smelling little basement.  I remember it as a real life Aladdins cave and made a few early purchases there myself too.  A nice pair of dark rosewood ES11's were a particular bargain. G

The big drum solo on Genesis's 'Seconds Out' live album. Played LOUD.

Rega Planar 3, Naim Nait 2, Mordaunt Short MS10's.

Blondie - Parallel Lines on my cousins Dual CS505 / Marantz PM310 can't recall the speakers, they may have been KEF Coda's  1979/80 ish I think. I remember how when reading through the Hi-Fi mags we laughed at the thought of someone paying out £240 for an LP12 (It was something like that I think) Of course not 5 years later I had paid considerably more than that for my first Sondek which was strangled through my PM310. Although I did like the little red led V power meters  Really entered nirvana with Nait1 and Kans.

The PM310.....Champagne and red.  That takes me back.  G

Two friends' systems spring to mind:

1977 - Focus III on unknown TT & speakers through a home-built amp - a Radford Hi-Fi kit IIRC. To me, it was like having the band in the room. This was also the first time I'd seen the budget "audiophile" Pioneer cassette deck (CTF500??? - the one with the angled & partially-recessed tape compartment).

A few years later, Peter Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers" on the classic Dual CS504/Nad 3010/AR18 combo. What I still laugh about was that this was an import LP and PG was singing in German! "Hans spiel mit Lotte.......

Regards,

Vlad

Brilliant, Games Without Frontiers, the first single I ever bought. From Woolworths I think and I've still got it. Not in German though.

Yeah nice build quality. I remember the next door neighbour had a greyhound that had a good win. He gave me £50 towards my first REAL hi-fi. I bought it from Kellys Radio in Brentwood and carried it all the way home through the woods, about 5 miles. That was before I had passed my driving test. That would be a LOT of money in todays terms. Don't think I really appreciated it as much as I should have done at the time.

Rudy

I was in Grad school 20 years ago, friend had incredible system he'd bought in military days in 70s-80s. He was in communications and met a real tech guy in meetings, hobby was upgrading systems so Graham said what should I buy? I remember a Macintosh receiver, lots of boxes, he had an active system. He shipped it all to the guy in Chicago and 3 months later got it back.

He put the needle on a female singer and she was floating in the middle of the room, horns and strings popping in and out, really amazing.  15 years later when I had money stumbled on Naim, not the same 3D but I was enchanted with 92/150 CD5. Blew my budget but well worth it. 

The Beatles Sgt Pepper 1966. I had been collecting records since I was 10 in 1957, never liked The Beatles . I was what has become known as a Mod but never called myself one . I sat down listened and thought I want one of these. After 47 years I have The Linn ,Naim system that I always will now have ,having gone through many systems . Still listen to Blues,Jazz,Soul & Bluebeat only at a much greater quality

Hello Graeme,

I don't remember all the tracks I heard but Muddy Waters stands out big time. It was at Joe Petrik's place (some of you may remember him) on his Naim system through Linn Sara speakers, vinyl source. That's when I got the Naim bug and I've been infected ever since. It was soooo good!

Arun

First time it was somewhere in the 80s, I was still in my early teens, and as far I can recall it was Stanley Jordan playing. I heard it on a pair of Krell monoblocks with a Burmester pre-amp. The speakers were Mangneplanar. And then in the late 90's NAIM with B&W and  Peter Gabriel's Digging in the dirt.

It was 1984.. i was 18...walked into a hifi store called the sound craftsman, on a gyrodec, syrinx pu3, alpha1 cartridge, conrad johnson amps, b&w 801 speakers.. they had playing David Bowie "china girl" ... my world changed from then on. 

It was 1980, room was dark, and it was some early church music by Thomas Tallis.  The haunting voices just floating through the air was entirely mesmerizing.  Followed up by the exact opposite but equalling haunting David Bowie - Sorrow.