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

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.

I was 12–used my first earnings as a babysitter to buy a little Phillips “suitcase” record player where the speaker latched on to the turntable. I think there was only one speaker. This was at the Ft Belvoir PX circa 1965. All additional babysitting money went to purchase 45s at Giant Music. I think they were like 49 cents. Finally saved up enough to buy my first album—the Beatles Second Album. I listened to that little Phillips for years. One summer during college I had a real job as a clerk-typist for an office in Crystal City. Used those earnings to buy a real stereo—Pioneer 15 watt receiver (my brother still has that), AR3a bookshelf speakers (placed in a bookshelf), and a Garrard TT with Shure cartridge. This was 1973. First album played on this new setup was Houses of the Holy and holy shi$ I was blown away! Next big purchase came with my first job after college, worked as a copy editor for a scholarly geophysics journal. Annual salary $8300 in 1975, went into a Crazy Eddie’s type stereo emporium in DC and bought ESS Heil AMT 1A speakers (my sister inherited those and used them until the foam rotted sometime in the late 80s), a Bang and Olafson Beogram 3000 turntable, and another bigger Pioneer receiver. Later added a Pioneer cassette deck and started my creative mix tape career in the mid to late 70s! I still have some of those mix tapes and it’s a real trip down memory lane to play them today, 50+ yrs later. Hearing the songs that obsessed you when you were 24 or 25 is really a trip. Thanks for the memories!