Never an audiophiliac but always a musicphiliac. But in 1975 while in High school went to a very small party at a house a friend was watching, Garrard TT, Mac amp & Klipsch rosewoods, with a little mind altering substance. Pink Floyd never sounded so good before. It was then I knew I had to upgrade my Montgomery Wards all in one with the quad 8-track.
When did you get hooked?
For me, it was 1971 in the Mekong delta.....a fellow soldier sponsored a night-time social gathering and had his modest stereo rig set up for the party. I'm pretty sure that a Pioneer receiver (SX-424?) was involved, but the speakers were definitely a lowly pair of Pioneer CS-33s. Paul McCartney's album 'Ram' was on the turntable and the song 'Uncle Albert' penetrated my alcohol/herbal-infused fog in a manner that made me realize I would never be the same going forward. It was definitely a thunder-clap moment, not a slow evolution or awakening, and a huge debt of gratitude is owed to the unknown soldier who started me on my long journey.