Can anyone tell me when XLR connections were first used on stereo equipment. (what years)?

Thank you all for your input. XLR has quite an interesting history. Can anyone recommend other stereo brands that used XLR in and out connections? Mid-fi  and no tubes is preferred. Thanks.

BAT, Balanced Audio Technology, is a great brand that makes all balanced equipment as the name implies.  They are built like a tank and make a great integrated.

FWIW, one of the founders of BAT was a customer of ours prior to the founding of BAT.

^ Steve Bednarsky?

@coltrane1 Yes. He had an in law that lived a block from me. Steve had two sets of our MA-1s and one of the first production MP-1 preamps. He was a friend of Victor, who called me one day saying the simulation he was running of the MA-1s didn't work. I pointed out to him that the actual amp obviously did so the issue was the simulation. It requires a schematic as an input, one which Victor made on his own. This was several years before BAT was founded. We still have Steve's warranty form for his MA-1 on file.