I was 13 years old (1964-65), and was with my family at my mother's cousin. He had the biggest B&O system of that time, and it just blew me away. I was sold right on the spot, and the germ has never released it's grip on me ever since. Of course I realize that even my modest present system outranks that B&O by far today.

Yikes. Memory lane!

I always liked my home Magnavox somethingorother and loved to play records....but that was not Hi End!

So.....

Dear Stereophile Forum,

On September 27, 1971, I went to my friend Rick's 12th birthday party. I was in 7th grade.

There was a girl there named Megan who I, for whatever reason a 7th grader chooses, loved deeply and truly. I had met her on Labor Day and, unbeknownst to her, our love had blossomed over the proceeding three week interval.

At the party, we played that balloon game where each person has a balloon tied to his/her ankle and you try to stomp other people's balloons. Last person with an intact balloon wins the prize.

Megan and I were the last two.

It was turning in to a defensive struggle, so Rick's mom made us put an arm around each other's waist with the baloons in the middle. She felt warm and dewy! She was wearing one of those stretchy tops with the fabric that looks wrinkly.

This awakened certain feelings within my soul....or slightly lower.

After the party, as we all left, she asked if I'd walk her home....about a half mile up the big hill. (Literally and socially at a much higher elevation.)

I was nerv....ous!

The last hundred yards or so, she held my hand; then asked if I'd like to hang out for a while. (It seemed very late, but was likely only 8:45 or so. No matter, I felt very sophistimacated.)

She was an only child, and her parents weren't home.

She took me to the basement and then.....she showed it to me!

All of it.

Yup, her dad's Hi Fi!

McIntosh electronics (alas, solid state

Yep, once they let you play with the knobs...

Quote:
Yikes. Memory lane!

I always liked my home Magnavox somethingorother and loved to play records....but that was not Hi End!

So.....

Dear Stereophile Forum,

On September 27, 1971, I went to my friend Rick's 12th birthday party. I was in 7th grade.

There was a girl there named Megan who I, for whatever reason a 7th grader chooses, loved deeply and truly. I had met her on Labor Day and, unbeknownst to her, our love had blossomed over the proceeding three week interval.

At the party, we played that balloon game where each person has a balloon tied to his/her ankle and you try to stomp other people's balloons. Last person with an intact balloon wins the prize.

Megan and I were the last two.

It was turning in to a defensive struggle, so Rick's mom made us put an arm around each other's waist with the baloons in the middle. She felt warm and dewy! She was wearing one of those stretchy tops with the fabric that looks wrinkly.

This awakened certain feelings within my soul....or slightly lower.

After the party, as we all left, she asked if I'd walk her home....about a half mile up the big hill. (Literally and socially at a much higher elevation.)

I was nerv....ous!

The last hundred yards or so, she held my hand; then asked if I'd like to hang out for a while. (It seemed very late, but was likely only 8:45 or so. No matter, I felt very sophistimacated.)

She was an only child, and her parents weren't home.

She took me to the basement and then.....she showed it to me!

All of it.

Yup, her dad's Hi Fi!

McIntosh electronics (alas, solid state

I wrote a brief essay about how I got into hi-fi with some pics of my current setup.

http://hifihipster.com/2010/09/my-current-system-and-how-i-got-there/

Check it out

Quote:
I wrote a brief essay about how I got into hi-fi with some pics of my current setup.

http://hifihipster.com/2010/09/my-current-system-and-how-i-got-there/

Check it out

Welcome, Hipster!

Great rig and great pics!

Love the vinyl.

Hello there hifihipster,
Welcome to the forum

Thanks for the pics. Nice setup you have. I have owned NAD products in the past and they are some fine equipment.

The first time I ever heard a high-end system was my dads when I was 9 years old. He had a Thorens and a Dual turntable, Sansui reciever, Sansui 3-way speakers.

He loved listening to movie scores like Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, The Ten Commandments. etc.. He was also very hip to the Buckingham/Nicks, Chicago, BTO, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Collins.

I thought that was the most awesome system around. I miss him dearly. I wish he was around so we could hang out and listen to each others gear and go to CES events together. He was a very cool Father.

Mark Evans

Ah - at a church retreat center about 7th grade, I heard a stereo with large bookshelf KLH speakers - wow! the sound was so BIG.

Later - at the a/v club in 9th grade - a demo of a hobbyist's 4 channel system: front speakers were ESS Heil AMT-1 speakers, back speakers were Bose 901's, source was a Teac reel-to-reel. Double wow!

My Grandfather's system sounded like a real piano to me. It was 1952 and I was five. It was at least ten years before I heard anything as good.

I never saw it but my mother tells me they had the first TV on the block. It had a round CRT that faced up. The tilting lid had a mirror that reflected the picture into the room.