fun question; ah the pre-craziness memories. i purchased my first system in '88 or '89: it consisted of a denon 45 watt receiver, nak's entry level tape deck, a phillips cd player and a pair of klipsch kg4 speakers. i cannot even remeber the cabeling. i absoluetly loved it. in my pursuit of loud and louder music i must have replaced the horns in one the kg4's a couple of times--i kept turning the dennon up so loud that i was sending nothing but crap through my speakers! the kg4's were the best buy of the lot; i only replaced them within the last year. i dropped the nak tape deck a few years after i purchased it, no need. thereafter, the denon was first to go, in favor of a carver 150 watt offering. then the cd player was replaced with cal's icon mk ii. that configuration lasted until about 3 years ago. at that point i added cj's pv10al pre-amp and dumped the carver in favor of cj's mv55. that was my first move out of mid-fi and should have been my move into a padded cell. i'm now a cj/wadia/jm labs kind of guy. i can't even begin to guess what's next and/or when. tweaking is fun. and you know what, when i turn up the volume now the music does not get louder, it gets bigger. and i no longer send crap through my speakers.
Your first stereo system
What was your first stereo or hi fi music system? What do you remember best about it? What were its strengths? Its weaknesses? What music provided you the most enjoyment from it? What did you trade in first and why? My first system was from Lafayette Radio Electronics. It consisted of a very small integrated amp, two small book shelf speakers, and a turntable I don't remember much about. I was thrilled to have the tiny amp, it provided much better sound than an a.m. radio, in such a small package. My system was in the basement of my parents home, with the speakers on opposite sides of my round water bed! The first "up grade" was to a cool looking Garrard turntable with a clear plastic hinged cover. My favorite music of the time was by Jim Morrison and the Doors. That system did its best to light my fire, and the memory of it still does.