How old were you when audio gear first caught your interest?

Age 10. Lafayette, Heathkit, Radio Shack stores. Going in with my grandfather getting parts for HAM radios, seeing Cobra CB radios, audio receivers, tube amps, then seeing the SPEAKERS, drooling. I think the wide baffle 3-way speakers got me. Any time there was a trip to the mall seeing Fisher, and those blue lights.  

Then came a local custom Speaker store with kits to build speakers, I was hooked. Started building custom speakers at age 14 with whatever parts I could muster up. Later on coming out of high school, going into college worked at a local speaker factory during the day assembling speakers while going to night school. Way back designed and installed a number of ridiculous car audio systems for friends, and had a few myself.   Always had some type of system since, and its a been a great therapy session of music listening ever since.  

Born in 1950. I started taking radios apart at age 6 to see where the sound was coming from. Got a shortwave radio at 10 and listened to music from all over the world. Got some green Koss headphones that improved the sound. I also began music lessons at 8. 

Bought my first reel to reel from Lafayette Radio at 13 and started recording and editing radio shows to build my music library. At 16 I began working at Lafayette Radio and used my discount to buy my first system. Gerrard turntable and Lafayette amp, tuner, and speakers. 

I was 18 in the summer of 1970 when I heard a friend's real good HiFi system: Kenwood integrated amp with meters, Thorens TD125 TT and Large Advent speakers. I forget the phono cartridge. LP's listened to included Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, It's a Beautiful Day and Procul Harum's A Salty Dog. Sound was far better than the GE console at my house! 

I didn't buy my first real good system until 1976 when I had my first corporate job in publishing: Marantz 2270, Empire 698 TT/Microacoustics 2001E, Infinity Monitor 1A's.

That system lasted less than a year as I bought separates: an AGI 511 preamp and a GAS Son of Ampzilla amp from my local audio store.The Marantz 2270 was used as an FM tuner. Next the Infinity Monitor 1A's were replaced by DCM Time Windows. My local audio store sold them to me for $600 - $60 off list price - and delivered them to my house. This was the spring of 1977. I was already subscribed to The Audio Critic, which recommended the Time Windows for their Reference B system. 

In my teens, mid to late 701's, I had a dual TT, an entry level RS received.  My speakers where old cabinets my dad had in college, I added so RS drivers, SAE Parametric equalizer.   First album was Aerosmith Thirds Album.  It did not take long for the whole family to know every lyric on that album. 

I was working in a store in NJ in the early 80’s.   We took a lot of trade ins so i was able to curate a decent but finicky system.

These were trades I bought on the cheap:

Citation Receiver

Watson Lab Model 7 Speakers

Others purchased from the Rep as samples:

Ariston RD40 TT W/SME arm

Oroton MC2000Cartridge with matching SUT.