Senior Audiophiles - Audiophile since the 60-70's?

I started in 1969 - My father gave me an old Bogen integrated tube amplifier, an old Garrard turntable, and Radio Shack speakers to take to school - Now that's a great Dad - paid to send me to school and made sure my audio needs were being met. I also always enjoyed listening to music with my Dad. Anyway, I went next to a Dynaco SCA-35 integrated tube, AR turntable, and brand x speakers. Next couple of years were lost with a couple of receivers, then I tried a Dynaco PAT-5 pre-amp and Stereo 120 amplifier. Then to a Radford pre-amp and Phase Linear 400 and Bozak Symphonies. Then I moved to Audio Research SP3A and D75A amplifier to D76 to D76A and Magneplanar Tympani 1Cs and, then in the late 70s, Audio Research SP4 preamp and D100A amplifier and then D100B. And then came the dark ages after my first divorce and my second marriage where audio became a dirty word. The dark ages lasted about 10 years but the torture did not affect my hearing! To make a long story a little bit shorter - I am now with Audio Research VT100 MKII and LS-25, Altis Audio Reference DAC and CDT III transport, Dunlavy SC-IVs, and a significant investment in cables, vibration control, etc., etc. (And third marriage....) Certainly my best system ever. I should have bought stock in Audio Research, obviously. Now I am looking at single driver speakers and SET amplifiers??? My favorite time period for equipment is now. The massive exchange (forums and reviews) of information on the internet on the vast variety of equipment is just fascinating to me. Also, back in the 70s when there were much fewer brands of high end equipment and models, many folks were very hung up about their system being the best - everything else was junk... One of the reasons I lost interest in the early 80's was because this "audio macho psychosis" was taking away from the enjoyment. Today, audiophiles for the most part are more astute to the variety of tastes and options available. They recognize and accept more readily that everyone's opinion is valid. The discussion of whether cables make a difference or power conditioning or vibration control is important does get a little old. My favorite music period was the late 60s thru the late 70s. Rock music was certainly more cerebral - went better with the drugs. I liked classical also but at that time I was not overwhelmed with the massive inventory that exists now. Now I almost get frustrated trying to learn and hear all the classical music available - plus all the different versions - conductors - symphonies - soloists - but then again that is the type of problem we enjoy having. However, regardless of whether you are talking about equipment or music, sharing your ideas, system, and music with fellow audiophiles is the greatest enjoyment!

Yep the old Magnavox console in the den in the 60's when I was growing up was the best. Spent hours listening to the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix. Got into some jazz with Charles Lloyd. Got inspired by the music to teach myself to play songs off the Dylan Blonde on Blonde album. Had a basement band with friends and got some heavy jam sessions going with "Gloria", "Louie, Louie" and "Get off my Cloud" playing a crappy bass through a Fender bassman, picking up drums at times. Hey, still friends with the drummer! (We've been friends 45 years!) After that it was always a matter of what I could afford, buying and selling stuff to keep going. The big dive into audiophilia started with Magnepan II's then Acoustat III's, a Linn turntable and Apt preamp. Owned that stuff for nearly 20 years. Then the upgrade bug hit me, but can't really say I've found the perfect sound yet.

You guys are making me feel young! I started in '97. That's 1997.

This is an interesting thread -- I thought everyone here was younger than me, but now I see that I have a few peers.
My audiotrek began around 1963 (age 11). My first "system" was a handheld AM transistor radio and I let Scott Muney, and Cousin Brucie introduce me to the Beatles and some of the other great '60s bands. I was too young to know the sound quality sucked; it was all about the music back then.

Later on in high school, I started experimenting with my first component systems, which I bought mainly at my local Lafayette Radio store. I remember looking through the catalog and eying all the cool-looking reel to reel decks that I couldn't afford. A little later, I moved on to Dyna solid-state amplification with an AR XA turntable and a pair of AR 3A speakers, which I really liked. Next I added a pair of AR 2AXs for rear channels in a passive "DynaQuad" setup. Oh Yeah, it rocked!

As the years turned, I tried tube electronics, and speakers from Infinity, Magnepan, and Acoustat. One of my favorite systems (had a great room at the time!) used Acoustat 2+2s with a tube preamp made by Dan Fanny (AHT) and his direct-drive tube servo-charge amps (based on the Acoustat amps). I had an AR ES-1 turntable with a Monster Alpha-2 MC cartridge and that combination really kicked butt. It's one of the few systems that I'd consider trading back for today. It was a full-range crossoverless electrostatic system that had good bass, a lush, dynamic midrange, and could play LOUD without self-destructing. It was clean, fast, and natural sounding. I have to wonder how great it would have sounded hooked up to the more expensive gear I now own.

I would have to say that the years from the mid 60's through 1985 were the best for me in terms of the music. In the mid '80s, the advent of digital playback screwed things up for a decade or so. Now, the quality of CD recordings and players is generally acceptable, but originality and creativity has been stripped from today's artists by recording companies who seem to strive for homogenity. And being raised in the digital era with digital instruments and recording technology has not helped today's artists in my view. Some bands seem to have no concept of what makes sound pleasing to the ear.

So I just bought a competent reel to reel deck and I have a nice collection of tapes from the late 60s and early '70s to go through. So far my sojourn back to the past has been extremely gratifying. And if the future of audio playback is something similar to MP3, then I just might not return.

Doesn't it suck that we have the technology in place to create a format/system superior to all others in history -- yet due mainly to greed and political issues we could actually end up with something inferior to what was available 40 or 50 years ago?

My Dad owned a TV & Radio repair shop in Brooklyn (Chief Radio & Appliances), so I have had good sound systems around for most of my life.

In the past, I considered myself fortunate to have (and to afford) one system. Today, I have a system in any room that can accomodate one. I am also drawn to vintage equipment, especially the items that I could not afford to acquire along the way (i.e.: Marantz).

1. My favorite decade for music was the 10 year period from 1965 to 1975. My next favorite 10 year period for music was 1970 to 1980.

2. The current state of audio finds that we have achieved technical precision, at the expense of musical excitement. It is not all audio's fault, though. Music from 1982-2002 is just not as good as the music from 1955-1980. Yes, it is a generalization. Yes, there are exceptions. But, am I the only one buying more re-issued/re-mastered music "from the vaults," than new releases? When you read equipment reviews from the British press and look at the choice of music that is used to base the review, audio's job has become reproducing the sound of computer engineered music.

3. I would not trade-in my current system for past systems, because I have usually traded up in equipment quality. The music is the key ... the music is what excites me ... and in a way, makes me whole. Today, when I play an album like Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" or the Stones "Let It Bleed" or any of the Sinatra albums from Capital, it is an incredible, moving experience ... made better by good equipment.

In terms of equipment, my system progression has been:
1971 - 1975: Philco tube Compact with a Voice of Music turntable;
1975 - 1981: SONY HTP 100 solid state Compact;
1981 - 1989: Pioneer 626 receiver; DUAL 1019 turntable; EPI 100 speakers;
1989 to Present: The equipment that has survived:
System #1: ADCOM Tuner/Preamp/Amplifier; SONY 555 ES SACD changer; Acoustic Research 302 speakers;
System #2: NAD integrated amp; Pioneer Elite PD65 cd player; AR 302 speakers;
System #3: Marantz 2216B receiver; Music Hall CD-25 cd player; AR 15 speakers;
Equipment that did not survive: 2 Onkyo & 2 Denon receivers; KEF Q 55/ EPOS 11/ B&W 302/BOSE 100/POLK speakers; Magnavox/Proton/Yamaha/SONY ES CD players.