The year 1972. Riding my bike to Pacific Stereo and Alco electronics (you california types may remember these stores of a bygone era). I will remember to this day walking into the high-end room (and having a salesman give me a dirty look - like a 12 year old boy is gonna have cash on hand to by a pair...) and stumbling upon a pair of JBL L-300's. The ones with the glass top... Remember? I thought I saw audio God right then and there. Since then, I have burned through countless equipment. All of it good. Some better than others to a degree but all quality stuff nonetheless. Have slowed down quite a bit in the purchasing and selling of gear and am enjoying the simplicity of listening to music. What a concept! The audio purist game, to me anyway, has always been about equipment first and the enjoyment of listening to recorded music, second. Every year - count on it - a new piece of equipment from the power cord to the speakers and everything inbetween comes along and purports to supercede, in some fashion, the existing. And guess what? There's nothing wrong with that. I enjoy seeing the manufacturers of fine audio equipment perfect their art year after year if, for nothing else, than the fact that somebody out there is striving towards the perfection of a discipline or an art. And you cannot deny the sheer magnificence, the level of detail and passion that is poured into the manufacture of certain high-end gear. It's a great hobby and (my chauvinist $.02 here) one of the last bastions of enjoyment and escape from bitchy females!!!! Amp On!
How, all this obsession started
I remember in 70's, back in Yugoslavia, collecting the "catalogs" Technics, Tannoy McIntosh...i "knew" about belt drive t-table, being sonicaly "superior" to direct drive, i "knew" that "Revox" was the best reel-to-reel, Nacamichi best casset deck, and Thorens "best" turntable. Even i never had to chance to acctualy see it, never mind listened. never. Remembre the old "Grunding" "quadrofonic" reciever, that our family friend had it (after years of working in Germany)and listening for the first time "The Dark side of the moon". Than me "bulding" big boxes and mounting "low" quality car speakers inside them, than all hookin-it up with the lamp cord and "phono" jack, into the headphones output (mono of course)of the Radio-cassete deck. ...so i had chance to "finally' hear what is "all" about. The "New Year" 79-80, my brothers friend invited us to the party...and he had "classic" Marantz reciever (brand new)Technic's T-table and Wharfadale -70 speakers! WoW! I was blown away! Only when i moved to US, six years later i was able to seriously consider buying my first Hi-Fi system! And i did, in 1987 went to the best stereo shop in Las Vegas (the upper-ear) and bought me a NAD separates, and Klipch heresy II speakers! Well, my first "ex" took care of that after the divorce. However i still have a Nad cassete deck i was able to "save".