Tell us about your first stereo system...

[Scott J]

I ran across this photo of my very first stereo system. It's a 'Realistic' portable 8 track player (an early incarnation of the boombox?). I bought it used at a garage sale in 1976. The right speaker didn't work so well, so in order to get true stereo, I had to turn the 'balance' knob almost all the way over to the other side.

Looking back at it, it's comical, but at the time I was barely 15 years old, and this was a nice stereo to me. :laugh:

I'd like to hear about other's first stereo systems.

[Steve Hoffman]

Webcor mono phonograph, 4 inch speaker and one tone control, 3 speeds with flipover needle, bought with Mom's Blue Chip Stamps, 1963. I remember playing "I Feel Fine" on it many times. Thanks, Mom!

Zenith fold down stereo (the dark green groovy one going on eBay now for big $$), May 22, 1966 (I wrote the happy date in my diary). First record played on it? My new Capitol orange and yellow swirl 45 of "Time Won't Let Me" by The Outsiders. I turned the bass control all the way up. Thanks, Dad!

Concord receiver with built in Garrard table on top from Gemco, white box 12 inch three way speakers, January, 1970, University Stereo. $200.00. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Upgraded to Sony receiver 60 watts, Garrard Zero 100 table, Summer, 1972, JBL 100's, Pacific Stereo. $$ for painting the house.

Fall 1975, AR3A speakers, Pioneer 1010 Receiver 100 watts (Rogersound Labs), Pioneer 12D turntable, Shure V15 cart.. Used until 1991. Pioneer receiver still in use at DCC's Marcia McGovern's house.

[Tullman]

1965? Sears mono suit case style phonograph with one crappy speaker mounted in the front. I can't begin to tell you the vintage vinyl that cast metal tonearm and worn needle destroyed.

[dinchart]

Garrard turntable (can't remember which) & E.J. Korvettes' house brand amp & speakers. What's Korvettes, you ask?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7i5KdtfJM8

[TONEPUB]

Small integrated that I built from a schematic in the RCA tube manual, pair of AR-7s and a Pioneer 8 track deck!

[charlie W]

I had a GE turntable with 2 detachable speakers on stands that I was handed down to me when my brother bought his audiophile system.

[Michael]

...late 50's early 1960's Admiral Mini Consul Stereo (White Wood)...don't remember the model number (wish I did) I'd love to find one today! Ah, such memories.:love:

[progrocker]

Realistic am/fm, turntable, 8 track; all strapped together in a single glorious chassis.:D

Circa 1972.

[gener8tr]

Pioneer all-in-one console with a turntable, 8-track (which never worked from day one), cassette deck and AM/FM radio. I received it for either my birthday or Christmas 1979. I was 11 years old.

Matter of fact, I'm positive it was Christmas 1979 because a local radio station was playing the greatest hits of the 70's the entire week of Christmas until New Year's as the 70's were coming to an end and the 80's were about to begin (please do not comment on that) and I was taping like crazy! I remember recording a bunch of Donna Summer, Anita Ward, Queen, Kinks, Blondie, Lennon, etc. etc., etc. Funny how your brain can take you right back to a specific point in time. Heck, I even remember the brown and orange shag carpet and the maroon-colored mohair couch and chair in our basemen. I loved it down there. Actually, I wanted to move into the closet beneath our stairs. Don't ask me why, I've just always liked cramped quarters?

Anyway, back to the stereo... Although I loved having my own system, I still played my father's Sansui much more often as it was WAY louder than the Pioneer console. I still have the Sansui. :)

[Scott J]

Pioneer all-in-one console with a turntable, 8-track (which never worked from day one), cassette deck and AM/FM radio. I received it for either my birthday or Christmas 1979. I was 11 years old.

Matter of fact, I'm positive it was Christmas 1979 because a local radio station was playing the greatest hits of the 70's the entire week of Christmas until New Year's as the 70's were coming to an end and the 80's were about to begin (please do not comment on that) and I was taping like crazy! I remember recording a bunch of Donna Summer, Anita Ward, Queen, Kinks, Blondie, Lennon, etc. etc., etc. Funny how your brain can take you right back to a specific point in time. Heck, I even remember the brown and orange shag carpet and the maroon-colored mohair couch and chair in our basemen. I loved it down there. Actually, I wanted to move into the closet beneath our stairs. Don't ask me why, I've just always liked cramped quarters?

Anyway, back to the stereo... Although I loved having my own system, I still played my father's Sansui much more often as it was WAY louder than the Pioneer console. I still have the Sansui. :)

Pictures Frank, we want pictures. :winkgrin:

[gener8tr]

Small integrated that I built from a schematic in the RCA tube manual, pair of AR-7s and a Pioneer 8 track deck!


And 30+ years later that would still make an EXCELLENT first system (if you could add a turntable and CD player).

[Steve Hoffman]

Yeah, Leo Fender built all of his guitar amps from schematics in the RCA tube manual as well and those are still going strong..

[Doug Sclar]

Webcor mono phonograph, 4 inch speaker and one tone control, 3 speeds with flipover needle, bought with Blue Chip Stamps, 1963. Thanks, Mom!




This was very similar to my first stereo, but not until I modified it. I inherited it from the folks when dad got his first component system, consisting of Lafayette receiver and Criterion speakers. Now that I think of it, I think my Webcor had a 6" speaker.

I took a Radio Shack stereo cartridge and ran the left output to the Webcor amp. I ran a cable out of the Webcor to my Melody guitar amp for the right channel. I had no RIAA eq on the guitar amp side, but made up for it with the simple eq on the amp. :D

After that my first store bought stereo was a GE drop down changer with swing out speakers and an AM-FM stereo tuner. This was the summer of 68. I checked out many many of these types of units in my price range and this was by far the best sounding of them all.

Btw, I still have the reciept for that one. I found it at my folks house a few years ago.

My first 'real' stereo was in 1970. I was living in the dorm and used my food money to buy a pair of AR7's, a used 40 watt stereo Kenwood integrated amp, and a used Garrard SL-95. Total cost was under $250.00 IIRC.

In 1972 I bought a Marantz 2270 and a pair of AR3a speakers. I also got a Thorens TD-150 TT. I can't remember what cart I used, but it may have been an ADC. That was a pretty darn nice system for a 20 year old kid. :D

I think one of the first things I played on it was 'Red House' from Hendrix in the West. Man did that sucker sound good.

After that I went the separates route. I got a Crown IC-150 and a Marantz 500 amplifier. Unfortunately the amp caught on fire, so I ended up with a Crown DC-300A. Oh, I was running RTR 280 DR speaker with the matching electrostatic ESP-9 tops.

Finally in 76 I got my Dahlquist DQ-10's. I've had a slew of amps after the Crown. Mainly I went to the Spectra Sonics 700's, a Quatre DG250 and a Threshold 400. I ultimately ended up with a Threshold Stasis 3 which I severly modified. It has been my main amp for over 25 years now. :yikes:

[gener8tr]

Pictures Frank, we want pictures. :winkgrin:


Sorry I don't have any pictures of the Pioneer console, but I think you all know pretty much what I'm talking about.

I also left my digital camera at work or I'd snap a current photo of the Sansui... However, since we're taking a trip down memory lane, here is the Sansui and Kenwood speakers as they sat from 1978 - 1981. My parents obviously didn't know how to set-up a proper soundstage, but it still sounded good.

MANY KISS records got played on that system.. OH BOY DID THEY!

I appologize for the poor quality B&W, but it's all I have right now, but check out the 70's motif! :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v710/gener8tr/Sansui-1978.jpg

[Joe Nino-Hernes]

My first system was an AKAI receiver, AR-2 speakers and a Philips 212 turntable.

[Oyama]

I ran across this photo of my very first stereo system. It's a 'Realistic' portable 8 track player (an early incarnation of the boombox?). I bought it used at a garage sale in 1976. The right speaker didn't work so well, so in order to get true stereo, I had to turn the 'balance' knob almost all the way over to the other side.

Looking back at it, it's comical, but at the time I was barely 15 years old, and this was a nice stereo to me. :laugh:

I'd like to hear about other's first stereo systems.

Believe it or not, I had that exact same 8-track player! I remember playing The Archies - Suger, Suger, over and over on that thing! Brings me back a lot of fond memories... :cool:

[jt1stcav]

After saving a year's worth of my paper route profits, in '73 I bought my first stereo system at Caldors in CT; a 10 watt Precor Model 1018 AM/FM stereo receiver with a built-in BSR automatic record changer and twin-matching full range speakers. Also bought a Realistic top-loading stereo cassette recorder so I could record all my latest Fleetwood Mac and Kansas LPs!

[MMM]

I started out using whatever was in the house. I loved our Philco TV/Stereo combo console. I even used it to watch TV in stereo, by using a stereo VCR to tune the television (making it remote control!), and have the output going to the stereo. There were also radios and whatnot in the house, but I loved the Philco.

For my own personal "equipment", I was given a Toshiba "Walkman" around 1987, with digital bar graph tuner and cassette player w/Dolby & chrome/metal tape Eq. Also a 3 band equalizer. It was like the "Cadillac" of Walkmen at the time. I got a Sony DT-4 Discman a year or so after, with a tuner, but barely used it until 1992, when I started buying CD's more. Around that time, I got a set of Sony MDR-V6 headphones, which I used mostly with this stuff.

My real stereo started getting built gradually in 1994. My parents bought me an Adcom GCD-600 disc changer, which is still used in my main system now (though I bought a Muse D/A converter for it about 2 1/2 years ago). At one time I even connected headphones directly to it by using the variable output and an RCA to 1/4" jack adaptor. All the equipment that followed is what still makes up my main stereo now, except for a Denon turntable that got retired after I got my Rega (I still have it though). If you look in my profile, you'll see the equipment listed. The AIWA was also a gift from them. I was especially proud of buying the speakers and amp back in 1996 - they were not cheap, especially for someone my age at the time. I was able to buy the JBL L7's with graduation $$$ I collected. I bought my Adcom 5500 amp a month later, though I had to get a personal loan for it.

[JBStephens]

Ooooookay.... this is a test, right?

1. Cheezy plastic thing with plastic platter with little rubber bumps on the yellow platter, Victrola-style tone arm with tin foil reproducer and holes in the baffle to let the sound out. Repeatedly impaling the reproducer foil with a pencil spelled death to the reproducer.

2. Upgraded to ceramic-cartridge phonograph that said GABRIEL with a real speaker and volume and tone controls. Four-inch speaker, blue cardboard-type case. The wire broke off the cartridge. I soldered it back. My first audio repair job, age 7. Favorite record - Theme from Batman on 45. Tenure ended by way of wayward vomit. Leo the Lion ended at the same time in the same manner.

3. Upgraded to Sears mono phonograph. 4 x 6 speaker, 1.5 watts audio power, hideous olive green. Noticed that it sounded much better with the lid closed. (Lid created closed cabinet.) Complained to father about distortion. Wanted father's system. (See Avatar).

4. Father would not part with system. As consolation, given first real stereo, Realistic receiver, Optimus 8" 2-way speakers, Lab-something puck drive turntable. 20 watts per channel, slider volume controls, the dial pointer changed from yellow to red on stereo stations. That thing was a dream come true to an audio-kid! And that's where it started. Then a new turntable, then bigger speakers, then terrifying parents by climbing out on the roof during a sleet storm to put up an FM antenna, etc. etc. etc.

Is this a fun hobby or WHAT?

[drh]

When I got interested in 78s in the mid-'70s, Dad set me up the guts from the RCA Victor hi fi set that had given way to our shiny new KLH compact stereo a few years before. Mono tube amp in what had been a pull-out housing with the 45 RPM turntable on top; 33/78 RPM Voice of Music turntable with flip-over crystal cartridge in an uncounterbalanced gold plastic tonearm. Probably about a 12" full-range speaker with a cut down cardboard grocery carton for an enclosure. Not long thereafter, I got the first sound system that was truly my own and complete in itself: a Pathe Pathephone 100, on which I would always play a few 78 sides as I got dressed and ready for school. I still have it to this very day (see first photo below), and it still works just fine. By the time I finished high school, it had been joined (L to R in the second photo below) by an Edison Amberola 50 4-minute cylinder player, an Edison Standard B 2-minute cylinder player with morning glory horn, and an Edison C-250 diamond disc player. I still have the standard but will probably sell it soon because I've bought a better machine; sold the Amberola several years ago, and sold the C-250 to finance a better C-250 I'd bought on eBay, which is the one I've pictured elsewhere on the forum. The second photo shows my boyhood bedroom with my machines sometime in the late '70s. Also visible are the remains of my pre-phonograph hobby, building model airplane kits....

[Scott J]

Believe it or not, I had that exact same 8-track player! I remember playing The Archies - Suger, Suger, over and over on that thing! Brings me back a lot of fond memories... :cool:

I used to carry around my 8 tracks for the Realistic portable in two paper grocery bags. I wish I had a photo of me doing that. :laugh:

My parents had a really nice Garrard stereo system in the house, but with several Brothers and Sisters under the same roof, I was pretty far down the food chain. I was lucky to get near it, let alone actually use it.

So my Realistic 8 track player pictured in my first post wasn't much, but at least it was mine.

[ledsox]

1979
Technics intergrated amp with the horizontal stereo meters. Very cool in the dark. Disposed of before my move last year.
Technics SLQ2 TT- still going strong. Just put an AT440mMLa on it. Sounds better than ever.
Realistic speakers with the brown plastic grill. They will soon be serving me as speaker stands.

[Scott J]

In 1972 I bought a Marantz 2270 and a pair of AR3a speakers. I also got a Thorens TD-150 TT. I can't remember what cart I used, but it may have been an ADC. That was a pretty darn nice system for a 20 year old kid. :D


I wouldn't mind having a pair of AR3a's, and a Thorens TD-150 as a part of my current system. :righton:

[motorcitydave]

circa 1975

Marantz turntable (not sure which model)
Marantz 2270 reciever
Utah bookshelf speakers (not sure which model)

This was the family stereo, not mine per se.

[XMIAudioTech]

First audio 'system' of any kind?

A 'Masterwork' blue & gray box-type kiddie phono I got for Christmas in 1968...

First real STEREO playback hardware was a Sears turntable/amp combo pulled out of a dead late 50's-era console, repaired by my dad, and installed into a homemade plywood cabinet. The amp was a little tube job with a 12AX7 and 2 50C5s. The speakers were salvaged from the console, bolted onto plywood sheets and installed into my bookshelves in my bedroom. I had this system from ca. 1972 until around 1977, when I began spending more time playing with the folks' Wards 'Airline' AM/FM/8-track with a BSR vinyl-grinder on top.

I acquired the Airline el-crappo system somewhere around 1979. It died shortly therafter.

I began to get my hands on real gear in the 80's. Some of the equipment I had in my stereo system between 1980 until I joined the USAF in 1988: (items in bold I still have today) :)

Panasonic reel to reel deck
Zenith cassette deck
mid-60's Fisher SS receiver
Dynaco PAT-4
Dynaco ST-35 tube power amp
Eico ST-70 tube integrated amp
2 home-built SS monoblocks I traded some ham gear for, they didn't last very long...
Dynaco FM-3 tuner
Late 60's Pioneer solid state tuner
BIC 940 turntable
Heathkit AA-100 tube integrated amp
Akai M-7 reel to reel deck
Radio Shack Optimus-?? speakers
Several types of vintage speakers from the 70's some good some crap
Koss heaphones
Calrad headphones
Sansui SS-20 headphones
Akai 1710W reel to reel deck (used to be my dad's)

-Aaron