What was your first high-end component ever?

puroagave said:
I owned Duetta Sigs around the same time. I started with Rowland Research Model 3s (great amps) and moved the up the Krell range starting with a KSA-80B.
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I owned Krell amps and int amps later in life.... Never heard the Duetta Sigs though.
 
Showing my age here: Apt Holman preamp, SAE MK IV power amp, Thorens 125 MkII turntable, IMF TLS 50 speakers, and Monster cables galore.
 
AVphile said:
Showing my age here: Apt Holman preamp, SAE MK IV power amp, Thorens 125 MkII turntable, IMF TLS 50 speakers, and Monster cables galore.
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The Thorens 125 MkII turntable with TP 16 tonearm is a classic! Of course the SME 3009 Series II tonearm was even better.
 
My first real high-end piece was/is a Linn Unidisk 1.1 w the Dynamik power supply upgrade. Still sounds wonderful. I run it thru a Naim Superuniti, and a Naim NAP 250, which power my refoamed and recapped Kef R107's.
Very nice sound-stage, clarity, imaging, detail etc.
I'm in the process of setting up a TT/cart for my LPs.

Dave
 
First system:
Marantz 2270 receiver
Infinity Column II
Kenwood turntable with Denon 103

I wish I had kept the Marantz, it would make a nice office system

First super component:
Audio Research SP6b

Took it home, listened to it for a while, decided it was too expensive, brought it back, lasted 30 minutes and I went back to the dealer to buy it.
 
Had hand me downs denon receivers/Klipsch speakers from the 90s.

My first actual bought HiFi gear were the maggy mmg’s I believe in the early 2000s. Always been around HiFi in some fashion and committed myself to only buying not so HiFi till i was more settled in with a new house and now my growing family. As of 2020, I have B&W 702s2, H390 and Torus RM20. Need it to be as simple as can be...that’s how I do things. :)
 
Welcome to Audio Shark

Low325 said:
Had hand me downs denon receivers/Klipsch speakers from the 90s.

My first actual bought HiFi gear were the maggy mmg’s I believe in the early 2000s. Always been around HiFi in some fashion and committed myself to only buying not so HiFi till i was more settled in with a new house and now my growing family. As of 2020, I have B&W 702s2, H390 and Torus RM20. Need it to be as simple as can be...that’s how I do things. :)
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Carver, I believe an integrated, and with a CD player but not sure the brand, it may of been Carver or Sony. Klipsch Forte’s where the speakers and cables did not matter during the late eighties and early nineties.

This electronics were bought at the air force base, and speakers naval submarine base.


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I got devorced in 1988 so I spoiled myself with a Carver 2000 receiver, Denon DCD-1700 cd player and Klipsch Forte' speakers. I still have the Carver and Denon in the original boxes. Sold the Klipsch about 10 years ago to a friend. It was a fun system for Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Zepplin and my favorite jazz music.
 
Darrel said:
I got devorced in 1988 so I spoiled myself with a Carver 2000 receiver, Denon DCD-1700 cd player and Klipsch Forte' speakers. I still have the Carver and Denon in the original boxes. Sold the Klipsch about 10 years ago to a friend. It was a fun system for Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Zepplin and my favorite jazz music.
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Jesus Darryl we weren’t that far off each other, systems and music that is [emoji3]


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I almost purchased a pair of highly inefficient, but awesome sounding, Infinity Quantum Line Source speakers in 1978 but they recommended at least 400 wpc to run them. That was a deal breaker. They were also pricey. I think around $2500? A lot of money back then. That and the price of a 400 wpc amp nixed the deal for me.
 
In the early 1970's a Mac integrated amp and a pair of Bose 901. The Bose was very short lived and went back to the dealer for a pair of Klipsch Hersey.
 
The first truly high end system I ever saw or heard was a system my cousin brought back with him after being discharged from the Marines, circa 1960. It was a full system as I recall but that was a long time ago and I can't remember all the components. I was only 10 years old at the time. I remember the speaker grills were a light tan color. The book shelf speakers looked like Advents. They might have been Scotts? But I'm not sure what brand and models they were. We listened through both the speakers and headphones. Headphones were used a lot back then. The system sounded awesome through headphones or speakers. I couldn't stop listening through the headphones. Neither could my dad. I do remember one of the records my cousin used to demo the system was a George Cates record. It was a Latin style recording with lots of percussion. The system was likely top of the line back then. Can't remember if there was a receiver or separates. I remember there was also a reel to reel tape machine.

My dad was no big music connoisseur but he must have been pretty impressed because within a couple weeks we had a new Sylvania console stereo which I wore out over the next several years.

That console stereo taught me how to play guitar. Some of the first record albums we owned were The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, George Cates percussion, early Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Buddy Holley, Eddie Cochran, and The Ventures. The Sylvania console was our main sound system for the next 7 years or so until my parents purchased (for me) a Sylvania 35 wpc receiver, Sylvania/Gerard TT, and 8" Sylvania "Air Suspension" book shelf speakers. Probably the closest thing to a high end system without being truly high end that was available back in the mid '60s. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It was replaced by a similar but larger and more powerful Sylvania system...50 wpc Sylvania receiver, 10" Sylvania "Air Suspension" speakers, Dual TT, and Sony reel to reel tape recorder. It was my HS graduation present (1968).
 
It's hard to remember that long ago, but I originally started with a Harmon-Kardon receiver, but quick changed it to separates with a Citation 11 Pre-amp and Citation 12 amp. I was running Cerwin-Vega speakers but replaced with ESS Heil. Lots and lots of changes over the years and now have all Audio Research with Vapor Nimbus speakers.
 
First high end piece was a McCormack DNA .5 amp followed by Audible Illusions 2A preamp, finally followed by the beautiful (for the time) Martin Logan SL3, finally replacing the very ho-hum Polk Audio speakers... Had to work and save for a while for each upgrade and it took some years but I enjoyed every minute of it. All through the 80s, I mostly listened to a fairly nice Denon system while visiting audio boutiques and listening to real high end and dreaming to own some of those components some day.
 
Used? IMF speakers
New? Perraux amp and preamp

But truthfully, it was the 1970’s and everything is now a blur!


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LP12 ( I don’t remember the arm but it was an s shape and some I think dynavector cartridge) Naim 135 with linn isobarik was in the 80s
It replaced thorents 125 ortofon with step up transformer sansui 818 and kef 104ab



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Other than the AR-XB turntable, I don't remember the electronics from the 70s, but the speakers were Pioneer CS-A700. I remember saving my money from a $1.80/hour minimum wage job to buy them.
 

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Audire Model 2 amplifier with a Soundcraftsmen PE-2217 preamp and ADS L-810 speakers. Can't remember for sure on the TT but it may have been a Connoisseur BD-2 with a Sonus cartridge.
 
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