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

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.

.....And so the journey began.....

I was around 8 years old when my mom's cousin put a pair of Olsen headphones on me. played through unknown HiFi equipment. This was around 1964.

I was about 20, and it was shortly after I bought my first decent car - a white 1975 Cutlass Supreme w/vinyl roof and blue velour interior.  I installed a crappy Sanyo cassette player, Tancredi booster, and some horrible sounding Jenson speakers....the pursuit for improvement and perfection started there!