Vintage hifi that began your journey...

At the time I was putting together my first serious hi-fi system (GL75, Cambridge P50 and MA5s) a friend at college bought a Trasnscriptor Deck to go with his Spendor BC1s and (I think) Rotel amplifier. I subsequently inherited (bought) the unipivot arm from his deck (he upgraded to an SME 3009) and so started the slippery slope of upgrading, which has never stopped

For me it all happened in 1985, when I accidently walked by a local HiFi-shop, and noticed that they had organized a HiFi-show.

It had just begun and I was the first customer to walk in. They demoed NAD gear, and i listened to Dire Strait's million seller LP through a NAD 3020 amp.
So,...that's where it all started for me, with a NAD3020. (followed shortly by a Nakamichi CDP-2 CD-player and Vifa Korrekt (DIY) speakers)

What actually got me hooked was when I was about 13 a friend's older brother had a Pioneer receiver and JBL speakers with a TT and cassette deck.

So I had to make do - my father had one of these in the basement (10W mono):

Which I hooked up to a big Altec speaker cabinet that he had made and sat in our living room.  I had a cassette tape player that I chopped the ear piece for the mono ear bud and turned that into an input on the amp.  (When you are 12 you try anything.)

It was a while later after saving a lot of paper route and odd job money that I was able to buy one of these at age 17:

(Even had a mono button for George...)

Along with one of these:

Along with a Technics TT and these speakers (no stands):

I thought I was the shiznik!

There have been similar theeads to this before, so I apologise for the inevitable modicum of repetition:

My mother had a wind-up gramophone (sadly just a box with lid that propped open completing the horn, not a beautiful copper or brass thing of popular pictures) and as a kid I'd often come come from primary school and play some of my mum's classical 78s - Beethoven's Egmont overture one of my favourites.  Yes, at 7 Years of age I was trusted not to damage them, and to change the needle daily. Not sure that it counts as vintage hifi, but it was my introduction to recorded music playing, which allowed my love of music to flourish, and surely paved the way for what was to follow.

Meanwhile I was very interested in all things electronic, and must have come across a book about loudspeakers, because I remember learming about baffles and driver sizes etc, and something called stereo - then having picked up an old speaker driver from a discarded radio and made a little box for it I connected it to my parents' radio and discovered how that improved the sound - ah, tinkering and upgrading: a real hifi enthusiast in the making perhaps! 

By the late 60s I had discovered rock and prog music as well, and started buying records, but I only had my brother's Dansette type record player to play them on - and only when he was out, getting into trouble if discovered.

So, yearning for something I could play when I wanted, and better sounding than my brother's record player, having heard better in record shops, and by then an avid reader of HiFi and electronic books and magazines,, I persuaded family to combine Christmas and birthday money, and scrimped and saved my pocket money for many months, and built my own system for about. DIY enabled me to achieve good value for the grand total of about £65, with Garrard SP25 turntable in home-made plinth, Shure M3DM cartridge, Sinclair Project 60 baseboard modular amp, reflex speakers using Eagle FR8 drivers. Circa 1969, i was the proud owner of a system that was the envy of all my friends, who queued to bring thei newest albums to hear on it. This, my first and definitely now vintage system, was a pretty crude setup really, but something on which to build, which I did, starting the journey in earnest.

Not exactly "hi-fi" but I suspect like many of my generation, born in the Sixties, my first encounter with music was via a HMV Radiogram, more furniture piece than disc spinner, it also had radio Long wave and AM. My dad, who died when I was seven, was a big fan of Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. I can vaguely remember being bounced on his knees to the rhythm. I was particularly fascinated by the radio dial that was a thin red bar that moved along the front which had all these radio stations from places far away.

But my real hi fi memory comes from the early 1970's by which time the HMV really had become a piece of furniture only and my brother and I got an Akai music tower. It came in grey steel and had a cassette tape machine as well as the turntable and FM tuner. It was the first time I had ever seen an LED light; it was a single strip of five buttons that went from green to red and was designed to assist recordings levels. Amazing! All my mates were jealous.

i only got into the high-end by accident when in the early 1980's as a student I moved into a house share with a guy who managed a hifi shop in Moseley, Birmingham. In order to pay the rent I ended up working there on Saturdays for no money. Mainly I made the tea, but gradually got to love the Linn/Naim sound. After a year in my post- uni job I had saved up to buy a Rega Planar, Kef Coda speakers and a Creek amp. It soon got upgraded to Linn/Naim and the rest is history.

My folks had a McMichael radiogram which my mum hated as it looked like a coffin on legs. (She wasn't wrong, but it sounded pretty good then).

My first effort, around 1970 , included a Dulci amp -  probably a 207, looking at the pics online. The speakers were made by a bloke who had a shop in Tottenham Court Road, the centre of the 'hi-fi' world as far as I was concerned.  I also bought the turntable from him. It was a Garrard auto changer,  plinth and cover sold seperately.  Also extra were the audio cables and 5 pin Din plugs, soldering iron and solder. Hours of Fun!

I got into hi fi in the late 70's when as a young apprentice I visited a pub in Newark during my lunch which happened to be next to the now defunct Newark Hi Fi.

One of the lads I was at Newark tech with was friendly with the owner and I was hooked as soon as I heard a vinyl copy of Rushes 2112 played on one of the shops demo set ups.

Saved hard on what was about £22 per week and did lots of overtime and became the proud owner of a Dual CS 504 turntable, JVC S11G amp and a pair of Wharfdale book shelf speakers (not sure on the model), later changed the cartridge for a Dynavector 10X2 and added a JVC KD10 cassette player.

Happy days

We lived very close to the Decca factory and found that a neighbour worked for them. My Dad subsequently picked up a Garrard motor unit, Decca arm ( similar in looks to an Aro) and Decca London cartridge. This was run with a Decca valve and pre amp into Kef's ( I think).

What emanated probably changed my perception of recoded music forever! Listening to Yes and Pink Floyd late into the night, with mates (when my parents were out), still haunts me today.

I only got to hear something better when I auditioned a 32/Snaps/110 and Kan's via a Linn.

Mum and Dad had replaced the radiogram 78RPM only, with a record player Garrard Auto changer, speakers were the lid and second stereo was the bottom on the case, so both freestanding non enclosed speakers on the end of their bell wire base. I t was enough to peek my interest in recorded music.

My actual first "HiFi" was a an SP25 with RIAA box into Mullard 10-10 valve amp into Sinclair Q14s.

GAS

Great American Sound

Son of Ampzilla Amp & Thalia Pre Amp, Polk Audio Speakers, and Thorems TT!

That was the 70's

Then came Linn LK 1 & 2, LP 12, Nakamichi 680, Kans!

Hustled up 3K in 92 and picked up a pair of Briks which I still own! 

Finally went Full Blown Aktiv Karin, LK 280's , Linn XO with Bingo Card and Dirak PS, fronted with LP 12 K9 Ittock.

Attempting Active now!

Cdx2/282/HCDR/3 x 250.2/Fraimlite/Passive Tri Amped Briks!

Next purchase SCDR &Snaxo!

My first quality playback system was purchased before returning for my junior year of college.  It was a Zenith Circle-of-Sound stereo and sounded quite wonderful in our dormitory room.  Went to sleep every night to a stack of vinyl on the spindle.

My first "separates" system was purchased while in the US military circa 1973 with money earned at my night job at 7Eleven.  Pioneer SX-525 Receiver, Pioneer speakers and Garrard turntable

First "high-end" system was in 1986 Superphon Revelation Basic Dual-Mono preamp made by Stan Warren (the S in the original PS Audio), PS Audio 2c amplifier, Spica TC-50 speakers

I could live with today any of those systems (and others I have owned), but also pleased with what I currently use: MacBook Pro or Wadia 171i Transport > Wadia 151PowerDACMini > Ergo IX speakers 

My first system as a student. I still remember the microphony from the valves. The Leak pre-amp and amp I kept for sentimental reasons through several house moves until the last one in 2014. Also kept the column speaker until then as a silent room feature!

Roger

2 different systems come to mind for me.

my father's Garrard turntable, Leak valve amp and HUGE Tannoy speakers on which I played my elder brothers albums various, but sticking in my memory are such as Ziggy Stardust, Tubular Bells and Pink Floyds, Animals: I can still hear the middle section of 'Dogs' giving me goosebumps....

10 years on (mid-eighties) I had resources/credit enough to buy my own first 'stereo', a fairly classic LP12/Ittok/K9, Nait (chrome bumper, half width & wonderful!), Kan's (via a disastrous initial choice of  Heybrook HB2's which my kind dealer took back at cost when I swapped for The Kan's).

Sonic memories can play tricks, but still some unrepeatable experiences from those 2 fine systems.