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

I was 11 when I won the 5th grade spelling bee and as a prize, received a Sanyo boombox.  thats what did it.  listened to it while i was in bed with it on my chest, so my head was smack dab in the middle of both speakers.  sounded awesome. didnt care about which song was on the radio, i just cared about the sound.  

@elliottbnewcombjr 

There were lots of kids that were very accomplished during our teens. I remember one young woman in our class who bought herself a brand-new Volkswagen Rabbit as soon as she got her license which in Connecticut at the time you had to be sixteen and thirty days old to take the written exam and road test.

Definitely in my teens, before going to University in Ann Arbor.  However I had a friend in Undergrad who took a job at a store that specialized in High End.  I still remember the racks with the McIntosh gear and all those green face plates and meters. A few times we hung out in the store after hours listening to our favorite recordings and needless to say the contrast between our starter systems and this gear was enlightening 

@faustuss 

Did you marry the girl?

@faustuss ,

What part of Connecticut?