Going way, way back, I'd have to say love of music is really what kicks everything off. For me, it was playing 45's in the mid 1950's on a dinky tabletop record player I had access to. Then, it was doing the same and playing LPs on my parents' Grundig stereo console in the late 50's through the 1960's. Then, at a friend's house, I heard some of my favorite tunes on his home system, a Sansui integrated amplifier and a Thorens TT. Can't remember what speakers he had. A short while after that, he took me to Tech HiFi in Cambridge in 1973. There, I heard a pair of Ohm F Walsh speakers powered by a monster McIntosh stack, followed by a monster Phase Linear amplifier. That was nothing short of awesome! A pure orgasm for the ears and soul! There was no way I could have afforded a system like that as an impoverished college student in those days. However, I did walk out of that place with a Sansui 2000X, Phillips 212 TT and a pair of Studiocraft speakers. I really shouldn't have spent that much money, either, but I was already bitten by the bug! A year later, I upgraded those speakers with a pair of Ohm C. I still have the receiver. However, when it reached the ripe old age of 26, it became clear it needed some attention. So, I retired it. Don't know why I still hang onto it. Probably because it's like an old friend. The Phillips TT retired shortly thereafter. After re-foaming the Ohm C twice in their lifetime, I upgraded them in 2001. I have to say I know exactly what you're talking about with respect to that Dark Side of the Moon intro! In my dorm room, with that Sansui 2000X, Phillips 212 TT and Ohm C speakers and me and my college friends sitting on the floor in the proper state of mind, if you know what I mean, there were many a night when we thought we actually saw God! All for the love of music! Good Post!

I was stationed at Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan when I was 18 years old. I can recall walking through "The Animal House" (a.k.a. Dorm 725) on my way to my new room to meet my new roomate. All through the dorm you could hear all manner of music being played. I heard The Commodores, Bob Segar, Pink Floyd, and so on. In general the music was loud enough to fill those long hallways and I had to wonder where these poor airman got the money for systems that sound a hell of a lot better than the Sears AM/FM, 8-Track and Phonograph system I bought with money I made working at a gas station after school!

I walked in the room designated for me and on the wall was this huge Pioneer receiver turntable and a pair of HPM-100s. How on Earth are these people affording such a system like this?!? Later that afternoon, when I met my roomate, he explained it all to me! Layaway at the local stereo shop off base! For as little as $20/paycheck, I too could own a monster system!

I wish I still had the pictures, but, before I left the island in 1979, I had acquired a Sansui 9090DB, a Pioneer PL-570 turntable, a Pioneer CT-F-750 cassette deck and that same pair of HPM-100s I saw day one! \

Later, when I went back to Okinawa, I upgraded everything but the HPMs and the PL-570. The Sansui died and the cassette deck made way for the Nakamichi CD player.

Hearing a work buddy's system, which included a pair of new (at the time, late 1980's) Infinity RS6000A's. First time I ever heard Holographic imaging, long before I ever heard that term. I could *see* that the bassist was in front of the drummer, I could see exactly which tom the drummer was hitting, etc. Still blows my mind thinking of it. And yes, I bought those speakers from him, LOL.

I blame my chronic hifi addiction on Mom's old Motorola stereo console, although the music, rather than that stereo, was my true gateway drug. Mom was a huge jazz fan. She went clubbing often to hear it performed live, but she also used her stereo to enjoy her favorite music at home from the time I was in primary school. While she was enjoying her jazz at home, so was I. By the time I was in high school, I was jamming to songs from the likes of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Dave Brubeck while the other kids were rocking the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Kinks.

My own first "system" was a Sony portable R-R with detachable speakers that I set up on my bedroom dresser and kept fed with pre-recorded tapes. I didn't wade into the world of separate audio components until I was overseas in the army. Just couldn't resist the ability to pick up some decent equipment for well under half the stateside prices. It's been an expensive, but enjoyable, addiction ever since.

Dave Brubeck’s system in a chalet on top of Red Mountain, Aspen, CO. 1970, I stumbled into this chalet somehow, the guy was caretaker of the chalet including 10 racing Ducatis in the garage and a sound system including some huge midrange horn, maybe JBL, huge McIntosh speakers, all McIntosh tube electronics, monsters, some very hi end turntable, Joshua Light Show light panels, grand piano my brother played while it was hooked up to a time delay system. Yes, a time delay system.

geoffkait wrote:

Dave Brubeck’s system in a chalet on top of Red Mountain, Aspen, CO. 1970, I stumbled into this chalet somehow, the guy was caretaker of the chalet including 10 racing Ducatis in the garage and a sound system including some huge midrange horn, maybe JBL, huge McIntosh speakers, all McIntosh tube electronics, monsters, some very hi end turntable, Joshua Light Show light panels, grand piano my brother played while it was hooked up to a time delay system. Yes, a time delay system.

Hallucinate much? Brubeck's California and Connecticut properties are well documented. Neither of them ever contained the system described above. There is NO record of Brubeck ever owning any sort of property in Colorado.

It may not have been his personal property. The son, Darius Brubeck, studied with Darius Milhaud, after whom he was named and mentor of Dave Brubeck, in Aspen around that time if that helps you. Milhaud left Aspen in 1971, the year after I went to the chalet on Red Mountain.