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

@mahgister -"thanks to a school system now forever erased from North America"

This 30+ year educator agrees. Now, schools teach to the test.

I was about 12.  My parents owned and operated a TV store, sales and repair, and I worked in the store.  By saving my modest pay, I was able to purchase a Zenith "portable" stereo record player that had two 5 & 1/4" speakers on the front face of the unit--about 4-6" apart, not great separation, but both my 12" LP records--Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra and George Szell and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra playing Beethoven's 5th Symphony--sounded fabulous to me.  While I worked my way through college, with the help of a two-year ROTC scholarship, I spent some of my earnings on a stereo system, and I still have some of the LPs from those days, after some of them made three round-trips across the Atlantic Ocean for my three tours of duty in Germany with the U.S. Army.

Born in 62.  First stereo from Rex Radio in Dayton, OH.   Pioneer SX550 receiver and some Utah speakers.  Realistic TT, Ugh is right.  Quickly upgraded to a Kenwood integrated amp.  That started the ball rolling.  When we heard that it was well like orgasmic.  Great question and thread

@zavato 

I can't even remember NOT being interested in sound reproduction.  My sister's first radio was transistor.  Mine was tube.  One of the first things I looked up at the university library was the Thiele-Small papers.  My first serious speakers were AR 2ax, and I still prefer acoustic suspension for bass driver loading.

When I was in college in the 70s, my stereo also featured a Tandberg R-R (the 3041).  All the Deadheads knew where I lived!  If someone wanted something dubbed, they had to bring 2 blank tapes for each - 1 for their copy and 1 for mine.  That's how I first got into jazz.

I was lucky to be introduced to music at a very early age, 2 or 3, where music was played live at home on piano or recorded music was played. I don’t ever remember not being exposed to music.

My Dad and Uncles used to meet and discuss music (with one uncle who played classical piano, unlike my Dad who was a Jazz and Ragtime pianist, the other uncle was a Jazz enthusiast, like my Dad, but didn’t play any musical instruments) with great enthusiasm for their knowledge of the who’s-who in the music of their day, from Gershwin to Ellington.

In the mid 60’s my Dad bought a Scott stereo system which introduced me to the clarity that a good audio system could provide. For the first time I could hear the separation of instruments and details in the music.

However, latter a cousin (closer to my age) owned a McIntosh system that set a different bar for what I would aspire to own. I was maybe 12 or 13 years old at the time.

It literally took decades to finally achieve that aspiration. After buying many decent systems over the years I’ve finally arrived at my dream system, which is all McIntosh. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment to have and enjoy it! I do that to the fullest but also introduce family and friends to what music can sound like coming from a combination of good components.

Thanks for the question and the opportunity to share.