It was the summer of 1964 -- I was 21 at the time -- and I had a summer job with the Coast & Geodetic Survey (now called NOAA). I was part of a crew in Alaska surveying the damage from the big earthquake that spring. The C&GS is a uniformed service, and was therefore eligible to participate in a military sales program sponsored by Fisher (the company owned by Avery Fisher). One of the officers on the crew had a sales brochure from Fisher, and I was really taken with the Fisher receiver -- I think the model number was the 400. I eventually decided, however, to buy two of Fisher's kits for their tube gear -- a 40 wpc integrated amp, and their tuner. The two units arrived after the summer job ended, and I was back in school at the Univ of Washington in Seattle. I'd never built an electronic kit before, and was really impressed with the quality of the instruction manual. I started working on the amp one evening after class, and got so engrossed I stayed up all night to complete the assembly. Lo and behold, the amp actually worked!! The tuner was completed the next week, and then, of course, I needed to get speakers. I bought a pair of Jensen bookshelf speakers from a stereo store in Seattle called "Electricraft" (now long gone). I was living with my parents while attending UofW, and the little system resided in their living room. It served me, and then my parents, very well for more than 10 years. From that first step into audio, my interest grew. I was in the Army during the late '60's and early '70's, and bought audio gear at the PX in Germany (Bose 901's; Marantz 2270 receiver; Garrard turntable with Shure cartridge; Tandberg 6000 open-reel tape deck). Since those days, I have owned a lot of mid and hi-end equipment, but my emphasis has always been on buying high VALUE audio gear. Today's edition of my system has evolved into a home theater system that is built around a high-end audio system: Bryston SP-1 pre/pro; Bryston 4B-ST and 5B-ST amps; Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers, with Vandy VCC-1 Signature center channel, and Coincident Technology Triumph Signature rear speakers; Pioneer DV-37 DVD player; VPI HW-19 Mk 4 turntable, with Rega RB900 arm, Shure V15xMR cartridge, and Lehmann Audio Black Cube phono pre-amp; REL Q201E sub; JVC S-VHS video tape deck; and Sony WEGA 36" TV. It's been a great hobby, and the music I've discovered along the way has been the REAL reward.
How did U get into this expensive hobby?
So I was up last night listening to my system and thought to myself, when am I going to be 100% satisfy with my set up. Just for once I like to listen without thinking well maybe if I can add this or remove that I can improve on this or that area. A mist all that I thought how did I ever got into this hobby any way? Well, the nightmare began for me when I was working in my college university's periodical section. We had over 3000+ magazines on file. The first stereo magz I ever picked up was the AUDIO annual price list which was about 300 or so pages of all major audio mfg. and models..also known as the audio bible; what ever happened to Audio magazine anyway? I remembered being so intrigued by so many brands that I have never heard of before and how the workmanship and industrial design seemed so much far superior than the average Kenwood and Pioneer back then (no offense to Kenwood and Pioneer owners). This was 10 years ago and I started by scraping every pennies I had to purchase my first NAD integrated amp. Although 10 years have passed, I am still scraping for money to own something new every now and then, but this time instead of pennies, it's dimes a nickels since my tasted have upgrade with my salery. It'd be interesting to hear how some of you fellow audigoners got started in this hobby. Upon adding to this thread, you'll find that you'll get a little grin on your face after spilling your guts out on how you began on this deep pocket journey and how far you have come. Happy Holidays guys and gals.