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

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!  

@vetsc5 You’re very welcome! This question came to mind in a fit of nostalgia for what with the perspective of time seems like a simpler era. I have an older sister that was obsessed with Neil Diamond and she often played Neil Diamond records. With her bedroom next to mine I always heard Neil Diamond. There was this one Phil Ochs record too- that started me on a discovery journey for my own music which was a via listening to the radio. My interest in music definitely predates my interest in the gear by a number of years