I'll start.

I've been fascinated by all things audio ever since I was a kid. My parents told me that when I was two, I would sit in front of my dad's old reel to reel player and listen to music while watching the reels spin. My mother's cousin got a portable stereo reel to reel and I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

When I was ten, my sister bought an all in one receiver/tape deck/record player/8 track. It was horrible. Yet, I thought it was something. Then again, I was ten. A few years later, my sister bought a system consisting of Vector research receiver, VR tape player, Technics turntable, EQ and bookshelf speakers (I forget which brand). That really opened my eyes to the possibility. It was so much better than the Roberts all in one thing I described earlier, it wasn't even funny. My mission was to build a satisfying stereo system.

When I was 16, I bought a Sony stereo receiver from crazy eddie's when they were going out of business. I bought a JVC CD player (2nd generation player) and ADC EQ and Radio Shack Mach 2 speakers. This is ca. 1985. This system was a step above my sister's Vector research and I was as happy as a pig in poop. I lived with that system until 1998.

In 98, I began to shop for a surround receiver. I heard Denon and I thought it was pretty good. I was making a good living at the time and I could afford to splurge what to me was an outrageous amount of $2500 for a receiver. At this time, I met a friend of mine (he's the one who owns DCS stack and Nova Utopia speakers I described in another thread). He suggested that I didn't even have a clue as to what hi-fi sounds like and he suggested that we go to see a dealer to sample the possibilities. And so we did...

I walked in and they asked me what I was looking for. I said Denon receiver. They suggested B&K instead. B&K was better for $500 more. Then they said that if I were to buy this receiver, I would need new speakers. I said I was open to the possibilities. They asked how much I wanted to spend. I said $2500 (seemed reasonable if a bit extravagant). They had me listen to the Hales. I didn't like them. I thought they were too bright. They said that if I was willing to spend $3500, they had warmer sounding speakers. I said ok. They let me listen to Avalons. I didn't like them. They were warmer, but the bass was sloppy and the highs slightly exaggerated. They said that I would have to spend $4500 to fix that. I said ok. They moved up a model. I didn't like that either. I thought it was horrible. I figured for this kind of money, I would find something that was truly phenomenal. They suggested spending $6k to improve. I was getting aggravated. I said ok. Next model Avalons were better but the core issues remained. I told them that. They told me I would have readjust my thinking and my budget. I asked to what tune would I have readjust my thinking? They said $10k. I said ok. They let me listen to Rockports. I thought they were ok, but a bit dry and they didn't sing to me. So, the sales guy says: Oh, you want something that will sing??? Ok. He leads me to the "special room" where he's got the Krell KPS25s preamp/CD feeding the Krell FPB 600c and JM Lab Utopia speakers (the original ones). He turned that thing on and it sang. Oh my god, did it sing! It grabbed me and pulled me in. I mind melded with the music. I had never heard anything like that. I thought it was out of this world. The speakers weren't perfect. There were some integration discrepancies between the midrange and the woofer, but it didn't matter. It was involving and out of this world. I asked how much this marvel would run. He said about 90k for the whole thing, but he was willing to part with it for 70k. I thanked him profusely and bought the Denon receiver.

Since then, I split my home theater from my music system. I still use the Denon 5700 to watch tv, but I bought Cary SLP-88 preamp, Rega 2k CD player and PS Audio 200c amp. I am now looking to get a new system and I'm not sure how many components I would have to upgrade. I am considering Avantgarde Duos, Legacy Focus, Revel Salon Ultima and Sonus Faber speakers. I will probably wind up upgrading my amp and the upgrade will depend on the speaker I buy. I don't know if I'll be able to keep my preamp and CD player, but those will be the last upgrades I will consider.

Cool topic!

I'm a young fellow, so this will probably be shorter than most posts.

It all started when Mom decided that the family system - mine by default because I was the only one who really cared about it - could officially be my possession.

Sony STR-D665 receiver
Yamaha CDC-595 CD carousel
Paradigm 7se Mk. III 2.5-way floorstanders

Mom wanted a small upstairs system, so I started hunting on eBay for integrated amplifiers and CD players. It didn't take long for me to decide that I should get something for me and let Mom have our electronics (mwahaha), which I recognized as not being very good. So, I started looking for single-disc CD players. I kept increasing my budget until I decided I should just buy a brand new one, and my hi-fi adventures began...

I decided on the NAD C525BEE.

Now, we have:

Sony STR-D665
NAD C525BEE
Paradigm 7se Mk. III

Hmmm, something's wrong here. The speakers are great, the CD player is excellent, but what's the deal with the underachieving receiver? It was time to shop for amplifiers.

Meanwhile, however, I occupied myself with smaller projects because I knew it would be awhile before I could afford a new amp. I bought an NAD 4020A tuner (a relic from my youth). I also bought an Audio Alchemy DDE v1.2 and Apple Airport Express to create a music server system with my iMac G5 as the source.

This Summer, my car died, and I sold it to the mechanic for what was enough to buy a Rega Brio3 and a Magnum Dynalab ST-2 antenna.

I also decided that I liked the sound of my new DAC better than the one in the NAD, so I started using the player purely as a transport. Here's the system as of a couple weeks ago:

Rega Brio3
NAD C525BEE
NAD 4020A/MD ST-2
Audio Alchemy DDE v1.2/Apple Airport Express/Apple iMac G5
Paradigm 7se Mk. III

I asked my parents for an Oppo DV-980H for my birthday. After a few minutes of listening, I let Mom have the NAD. (A side project for me was finally setting her up with an upstairs system, which consisted of the old Sony receiver and Yamaha CD changer, and a new pair of Paradigm Atoms. Thus, the NAD is her first official upgrade, as it was mine.)

So, my current system is the same as the above, with the exception of the NAD being replaced by the Oppo (no digital cable required with this bad boy!).

The top shelf of my rack, previously reserved for a turntable, is occupied by an old TV because I've had to put my turntable dreams on hold due to budgetary constraints.

Wish list, in descending order of priority:

Furman PST-8D power conditioner (horribly dirty and unstable AC in my apartment)

Rega P2/Bias2, glass platter upgrade (vinyl still has my heart)

speakers....?

This disease cannot be cured, nor would I want it to be.

My experience started when I was about 10, with my mother's Magnavox console. I started playing trumpet around the same time. Mom bought Louis Prima, Tutti's Trumpets, Glen Miller Band, Ray Anthony and similar records. I played music and heard the great trumpeter Don Jacoby from about ten-yards. So live sound became a big part of my standard, early on. I've worn out a couple of copies of Tutti's Trumpets since I was ten. I've got four copies today.

In '65 I went to Florida State with a little GE portable for the dorm room. That lasted a year, until I moved out of the dorm and graduated to a Scott integrated tube amp, Garrard changer and Jensen speakers. (The record collection around this time included Charlie Bird, Miles Davis, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Chicago Symphony, Jefferson Airplane and, of course, The Beatles). A year or two later my brother sent me a Sansui receiver from the PX in Viet Nam. It didn't sound as good as the Scott, but I didn't know that and I made a lot of use of the receiver section that the Scott lacked.

Later, when I was working in Oklahoma for Arthur Andersen, I had a sound epiphany and bought DCM Time Windows from a high end dealer there. (She sold Linn, Beverage and, of course, DCM). I moved up to a Luxman TT, but stayed with the Sansui. I did upgrade the speaker connections and got a Grado cartridge. Colored as it was, that seemed like a giant leap forward. (The collection included a lot of James Taylor, Chicago, Harry James, Ry Cooder, the Cleveland Winds, etc.)

The Sansui finally crapped out in about 1984, so I replaced it with Bryston 1B and 2B amp and pre. About the same time I added Celestion SL-6 speakers. In about '91 I added a PS Audio Lambda CD player and their midline DAC. I was surprised when the PS equipment crapped out in 2001 and replaced it with a fairly basic Sony unit because my listening room wasn't very good and I wasn't listening much. (I was playing lots of trumpet gigs at the time and working at my jazz guitar playing). I was focusing more on jazz by this time, buying lots of Clifford Brown, more Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Wynton, Sonny Roland, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond and female singers, including lots of Rosemary Clooney)

About nine months ago I bought an Oppo universal player and about four weeks ago I bought a pair of Vienna Acoustic Baby Grand speakers, which represented another giant upgrade. (The Celestions actually had great imaging and very accurate midrange, which I demand for trumpet and female singers, but really lacked bottom end).

I expect to take delivery of a Pro-Ject RPM 10 TT tomorrow with a Sumiko Blackbird cartridge. Luckily I kept all my vinyl and it's in good condition. (I'm expecting a very nostalgic weekend).

I've still got almost every album I ever bought. Yes, CDs are still "albums", since they're collections of music. Since the early 1990s I've added tons of guitar players, like Wes, Jim Hall, Jimmy Bruno, Ron Eschete, George Benson, Tuck Andress, Martin Taylor, etc. I've added tons of female singers, with Karrin Allyson getting lots of play lately.

I'm undecided about anymore upgrades. After I totally break in the VAs and the Pro-Ject I'll borrow a Rowland Concerto integrated amp to compare to the Bryston amp/pre-amp combo. I was pretty impressed with the Rowland when I heard it at my dealer, driving the Baby Grands, but now that I'm hearing my music through the VAs, I'm not so sure that the Brystons aren't still up to the task. The 4-ohm load of the VAs agrees with the Bryston. I'll hear for myself in a few weeks.

I plan to start adding to the vinyl collection ,soon. I just bought a couple 180 gram albums, Eva Cassady and Bill Evans. Can't wait to hear them, tomorrow.

Dave

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Since then, I split my home theater from my music system. I still use the Denon 5700 to watch tv, but I bought Cary SLP-88 preamp, Rega 2k CD player and PS Audio 200c amp. I am now looking to get a new system and I'm not sure how many components I would have to upgrade. I am considering Avantgarde Duos, Legacy Focus, Revel Salon Ultima and Sonus Faber speakers. I will probably wind up upgrading my amp and the upgrade will depend on the speaker I buy. I don't know if I'll be able to keep my preamp and CD player, but those will be the last upgrades I will consider.

I just been checking out your PS Audio 200c http://stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/741/

Nice Amp

It's not a bad amp. Even though it shows its age, it's better than many less expensive (under a grand) amps on the market today.

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Hi Dave
I love the old Scott amps - some of them are very capable and if rebuilt with upgraded components can give a lot of modern amps a serious punch in the underbelly.

Do you remember which of the Luxmans you had? -- they were high quality decks, I had always admired them.

Yes, the Scott was wonderful. I gave it to an old friend (a former roommate at FSU) and he used it for years. We never replaced a tube in that bugger.

No, I can't remember the Luxman model. It was direct drive and cost several hundred in the 1970s. It had a nice long arm and was easy to align and get good tracking. I put on a PlatterMatter cushion which helped reduce resonance from the relatively light platter. It was a good looker, with brushed steel top and nicely finished wood sides. The Pro-Ject will be a big upgrade, but that Luxman did a pretty decent job.

BTW, I saw an announcement on the Stereophile News that Luxman is coming back to the USA.

Dave

Yeah, my "100Wpc" Sony is garbage. I have some very efficient speakers, but it starts distorting well before I feel it should. One of the nicest things about a hi-fi amplifier is that I know I can trust its output; The Brio is very muscular, and belies its 49W rating.

Go forth and conquer! I like that.

I've already started planning the $5k system for when I get out of medical school (in another 6 years).

hahaha

No, I'm just pre-med right now.

I'm glad I have a DVD player now; Hi-fi is indeed not a chick magnet. Actually, perhaps it is. If the pole of the magnet corresponds to the pole of the chicks, then it is a powerful magnet, although it exerts a repulsive force.

I think the field strength is something in the neighborhood of 5 Tesla.

It all started by cutting cardboard records of the "Archies" off the back of cereal boxes and playing them on my suitcase record player. It has progressively become more expensive.

What's more expensive? The cereal? YES!!! % wise i bet audio equipment has dropped in price, cereal has increased faster than many otehr foodds. It was on a business program. A box of cereal is getting into the price of being high end Wheaties, high end Total. Corn and Wheat are being priced way into the stratsophere. Audio equipment is dropping in price when viewed in preice/performance. All CE stuff does, on CEREAL isn't. Maybe CEREAL is more over hyped marketing BS than WIRES?........nahhhhh, can't be, can it? Well they do claim Wheaties "breakfast" of champions, if you eat it you will win? Just like some audio stuff, claiming to be this month's biggest breakthrough

I got into audio at 16 when, collecting for a paper route, a guy answered the door and had a great system playing.
I knew I had to have that system so when he stoped the paper for vacation I broke into his house and stole it.
That started my sound addiction. I realized waiting for people to go on vacation was not the most efficacious way of upgrading so I became a pot dealer instead while a junior in high school. Going to the monterey pop festival gave me both street cred and great drug contacts.

I was soon making enough money to buy great stero gear and hot girls(every teenagers dream come true)

I then opened a stereo shop where I would slip acid into all the customers drinks. Boy, did that work! I was riding high (so to speak)

I was already worth 10 million by the time I started Harvard but it still wasn't enough. Something was missing. I really enjoyed the criminal life but , somehow, I felt there must be some way I could rip off the public in even a more profound way (without becoming a politician).

Then I got it! I would make cables.
I have been happy ever since.

Sounds like you got even with all the kids that were laughing at you for delivering papers when you were 16!

high school: self built heathkits, fisher TT, shure cartridge, and koss headphones (no $ for spkrs). Later, large Advents. Great satisfying system. Later built Dynaco amps from kits. Took me up to middle age, got Vandersteen 2ci's, Denon CD, cycled thru TT's, including beltdrive Tannoy-Micro, can't find those anymore.
Still very satisfied with 18 year old Vandersteens. TT is still an Ariston from 1992, w/ Sumiko Blue Point 2. Added a sub last year, helps a lot. Adcom amps, Marantz cd, sony sacd.
Would upgrade more often if had the money. But I put my money into kids, mortgage, survival, and music. And that's better than hardware upgrade vicious circles.