Your first stereo

[sawzalot]

Harman-Kardon HK-350i FM Receiver , linear Phase something or other only 20 watts per channel but it worked wonderfully on my first quality speakers ADVENT-ONES I had a sony tape deck and BSR Turntable all hooked with my dads 14 gauge lampcord off of a 200 foot roll he kept in the garage, he was pissed when I chopped into that material , who knew.

 

[Jacksmyname]

Going from memory here, so I'm not sure about specs/prices, but here goes:
About 1964, junior high school.
Amp: Lafayette 10wpc amp, about $20. Measured about 5"x4"x2 1/2".
Turntable: Lafayette, about $30.
Speakers: One was bookshelf size, 8" driver I think, bought from a dept. store in N.J. called E.J. Korvette, $15.
The other one was a DIY. Scavanged the speaker from an old TV. About 12". Made the enclosure from an old desk drawer. Bought some grill material from Lafayette.
I was thrilled with it.
After high school, I would "upgrade" every few years or so, with Lafayette.
Integrated amps, AM/FM tuners, speakers, and Garrard turntables.
My upgrade trips usually were on the way home from work early Saturday afternoon, usually a cold, dreary day (don't know why the weather prompted my upgrade trips; it just did). I'd get home, set up the new stuff (remember how easy and quick it was to replace a component back then?), and then just sit back and listen to music for the rest of the day while leafing through audio magazines. And, of course, the Lafayette catalogue!
Great memories. Thanks for the thread!

 

[walter duque]

Going from memory here, so I'm not sure about specs/prices, but here goes:
About 1964, junior high school.
Amp: Lafayette 10wpc amp, about $20. Measured about 5"x4"x2 1/2".
Turntable: Lafayette, about $30.
Speakers: One was bookshelf size, 8" driver I think, bought from a dept. store in N.J. called E.J. Korvette, $15.
The other one was a DIY. Scavanged the speaker from an old TV. About 12". Made the enclosure from an old desk drawer. Bought some grill material from Lafayette.
I was thrilled with it.
After high school, I would "upgrade" every few years or so, with Lafayette.
Integrated amps, AM/FM tuners, speakers, and Garrard turntables.
My upgrade trips usually were on the way home from work early Saturday afternoon, usually a cold, dreary day (don't know why the weather prompted my upgrade trips; it just did). I'd get home, set up the new stuff (remember how easy and quick it was to replace a component back then?), and then just sit back and listen to music for the rest of the day while leafing through audio magazines. And, of course, the Lafayette catalogue!
Great memories. Thanks for the thread!

I bought a few things at that Lafayette store on Route 17 in Paramus.

 

[Rickster71]

1978 Realistic STA-78 22 watts http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1978/ it's on page 32 of the catalog.

 

[colin.p]

The first "decent" stereo I heard was a buddy's Memorex all in one cassette system with "real" speakers. I actually heard bass, that was around '69 and we listened to Hendrix, Deep Purple and so on.
I bought my first system in '70 or '71, which consisted of a Holiday amp and Garrard TT, purchased from Consumer's Distributing in Ottawa. The speakers were 3 way 8" Goodmans, I purchased at Ottawa Hi-Fi. I also bought a cassette player, but can't remember what kind.
I then moved on, a couple years later, to an Advent 300 receiver/pre-amp, a Phase Linear 200 amp, two sets of Advent utilities and a Thorens TD 160 TT (AKG P8 ES cartridge). I also had a Sherwood cassette player that I also bought later.
That was the extent of my "audiophile" experience as wife and kids and the cost of living put a damper on it.
Through the years, I parted company with most of the stuff and only have the Thorens and the Phase Linear left of that 'earth shattering" stereo, but the two of them are in the closet and are no longer used. Maybe one day...

 

[Jacksmyname]

I bought a few things at that Lafayette store on Route 17 in Paramus.

Never went to that one.
Back then, there was one in Plainfield, about 15 minutes from home.
Small old store.
They had a small listening room, with the "good stuff". Names that I remember are Fisher and Scott.
I'd squeeze into that room, and drool. While the components we bought that were Lafayette branded had the silver faceplates, the "good stuff" was black!
Wow! Black stereo stuff!
Remember?
Now, everything is black, and the high end stuff is.......silver!
Wow! Silver stereo stuff!

 

[3db]

I had a realistic turntable Lab 50 I'm guessing..semi automatic belt drive with a floating plinth, a pair of realistic minimus speakers with a 6" woofer and 3/4" dome (all cones of paper) and an relastic integrated amp putting out a whopping 25W/per channel.

OOps forgot a Toshiba cassette deck

 

[markw]

Never went to that one.
Back then, there was one in Plainfield, about 15 minutes from home.
Small old store.
They had a small listening room, with the "good stuff". Names that I remember are Fisher and Scott.
I'd squeeze into that room, and drool. While the components we bought that were Lafayette branded had the silver faceplates, the "good stuff" was black!
Wow! Black stereo stuff!
Remember?
Now, everything is black, and the high end stuff is.......silver!
Wow! Silver stereo stuff!

That's where I bought my stereo!!!
I later bought a Fisher 220T (big mistake) there. Only later did I learn about Disco Electronics, though.

 

[Jacksmyname]

That's where I bought my stereo!!!
I later bought a Fisher 220T (big mistake) there. Only later did I learn about Disco Electronics, though.

Hi Mark.
That Plainfield store was a kick. Was on E.7th St. I think?
That old building is long gone.
Disco Electronics!!!!! More memories!!
I also bought a lot of stuff there over the years. Car stereos (8 track and casette) and speakers, an Akai open reel tape deck, an Akai 8 track recorder (yep, made my own custom 8 tracks), wire, blank tape (casette and open reel), a couple of equalizers, the list goes on.
They had great prices. I'd go to all the local stores, decide on what I wanted, and then go to Disco to buy it. Saved some serious bucks.
Considering how cluttered that place was, it always amazed me that they could find the item you wanted in about 30 seconds.

 

[markw]

Hi Mark.
That Plainfield store was a kick. Was on E.7th St. I think?
That old building is long gone.
Disco Electronics!!!!! More memories!!
I also bought a lot of stuff there over the years. Car stereos (8 track and casette) and speakers, an Akai open reel tape deck, an Akai 8 track recorder (yep, made my own custom 8 tracks), wire, blank tape (casette and open reel), a couple of equalizers, the list goes on.
They had great prices. I'd go to all the local stores, decide on what I wanted, and then go to Disco to buy it. Saved some serious bucks.
Considering how cluttered that place was, it always amazed me that they could find the item you wanted in about 30 seconds.

It's (Disco) still there. They put on a new front, piled it high with even more merchandise. You have to walk through it like a rat in a maze, and the original desk is still there where it always was. It hasn't changed!!!

Yep, Lafayette was on 7th St. Pity what Plainfield has become, though.

 

[Jacksmyname]

It's (Disco) still there. They put on a new front, piled it high with even more merchandise. You have to walk through it like a rat in a maze, and the original desk is still there where it always was. It hasn't changed!!!

Yep, Lafayette was on 7th St. Pity what Plainfield has become, though.

I lived in Scotch Plains from 1962-2005, now in South Carolina.
Back in the '60's, Front Street in Plainfield was the place to go.
That changed many years ago.
I remember when they razed the building that Lafayette was in. Broke my heart.
When I was in my first band, age 15, it was a big deal for us to plan a trip to Lafayette, usually to buy a new mic or stand.
$6 for a mic, about the same for the stand. And they were very nice quality wise.
I also remember when Disco put the new front on.
Is the sales desk still all the way at the back of the original store?
Still remember squeezing through to get back there.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

My first stereo as a teenager was a Realistic Clarinette III by Radio Shack. It was an all-in-one turntable with integrated amp and small bookshelf speakers. I think they were one-way speakers with something like one 6-inch speaker in each. Maybe an 8". I don't recall if it had a tweeter. I think not.

My first real stereo was a Yamaha CR450 receiver, 2 Polk Audio Monitor 7's, and I don't recall what the turntable was.

 

[emorphien]

My first system was an Aiwa 4 speaker stereo surround minisystem that I got in middle school. In early high school I added an Acoustic Research 12 inch subwoofer. I used that system for a reasonable while but replaced it in college (around my sophomore year).

 

[Whitey80]

For my birthday, from my parents in 1990, I got a Panasonic boom box with detachable speakers, 5-band, dual deck with a cd player on top. similar to the one here

A basketball nailed it dead on top while playing a cd in the driveway and hurt it pretty bad losing the top door altogether. From that point on, I kept a collection of different weighted washers in a cup next to it to put the proper amount of weight down on the discs so they would spin properly in the tray.

I had that until mid-2000's or so, when I went to a pawn shop and picked up a Pioneer Elite VSX49, a Pioneer DVL-909 universal disc player and a pair of RCA towers (can't recall the model, they were about 48" tall with dual 8" drivers, a 4.5 and a 3/4" in each, made in the late 90's).... All that stuff is long gone now, and many things have come and gone to get me to my current systems.

Edit.....
I actually STILL have the old RCA's at my shop, I forgot about that, I'll have to take a pic for ya'll, I was so proud of that junk at the time!

 

[cornelius]

My first set-up was in college - 1986/87:
Sony Discman D-50 CD player, JVC turntable/Grado Cartridge -->
Yamaha RX-300U receiver --> Boston Acoustics A70 mkII speakers.

Not a bad little system, I used it for almost 10 years (had to replace the portable CD player with a Denon) - would like to hear it today but everything is long gone - started upgrading and never looked back...

 

[emorphien]

My first system was an Aiwa 4 speaker stereo surround minisystem that I got in middle school. In early high school I added an Acoustic Research 12 inch subwoofer. I used that system for a reasonable while but replaced it in college (around my sophomore year).

Forgot I had a stereo boombox for quite a while before getting this.

 

[Ryan8886]

Around 1983...a killer Fischer all-in-one....turn table, cassette and tuner. Think it had a 5-band EQ. Speakers handled all of 12 watts.

 

[Pyrrho]

Early 70's. I ended up getting 2 sets. Power amp at that time was 140X2 which was major power. I ended up driving 4 JBL L65's with them. Now they are in good hands with Rick. That was a great system. Still working after 40years.

For a first system, that is quite nice. If my first system had been that, I would probably still have my first system. That would not have been cheap back in those days.

My first system involved a Scott integrated amplifier (later I added a Pilot FM tuner), P.E. (made by Dual) turntable, and some homemade speakers, which I modified over time. I don't remember any of the model numbers, but it was not nearly as good as your system. So I got rid of it many years ago.

 

[walter duque]

Pyrrho

Growing up in the backwoods of Austria all we had was Telefunken and Blaupunkt AM-FM radios with out turntables. They had a store in the big city that was selling Sony. I had 3 dreams when I came to the US. A Corvette, Sony Stereo and 40K which would have made me a millionaire in Austria at that time and them move back home. Well I got all 3, but never made it back home except for vacations.

 

[Jeepers]

In 1975 my first system consisted all of Pioneer gear; amplifier SA-5300, Tuner TX-5300 and speakers CS E-320.