OK, what's the first Audio/Video gear you can remember?

[markw]

This would have been a natural for a "vintage" forum, but here goes anyway.

My recall goes back to the early/mid fifties. My folks weren't really into that stuff so I'd say it boils down to three things. Most of what I note here didn't become apparent until much later in my life.

1) A big, hulking mahogany Du Mont B & W console TV, maybe 21" or so. IIRC, this would have been over four feet tall, three feet wide, and maybe more and had an actual tuning dial. No click stops but a circular tuning dial with a magic eye tuning indicator. Pop would yell when I gave it a good spin to go from the low to the high channels I was ahead of my time because between stations six and seven (I believe) it had the entire FM band. It was cool because it had a 10/12" speaker and even to my widdle ears it sounded dang good. This was condemned by my pop to rot in our cellar until I was in my mid teens and by then I thought it was obsolete junk. Actually, by then it kinda was so it was jettisoned.

2) A wooden Delco AM Radio. It was poorly designed because for as long as I can remember it always had a charred/burn spot on the top right over the output tube. Unbeknownset to me they replaced it with a Sony transistor AM/FM and threw it out when I was in the Air Force.

3) A burgundy leatherette covered Webcor one-tube phonograph. Used the motor as a dropping resistor for the tube filament. Felt covered platter, crystal cartridge, and a 4" speaker. Actually sounded better than it reads. I have fond memories of this. It provided Christmas music for many years until I got my first real stereo in the early 60's, when we gave it to my cousin.

So, get into the attics of your mind and clean off some of those cobwebs from your memories.

 

[XEagleDriver]

Beginning of the Journey

Started my audio journey about two decades later than you in ~1979 at the USAF Academy, where finally getting "stereo priveldges" after the end of your freshman (aka Doolie) year was quite a big deal.

Began by buying a TEAC turntable, a JVC KD-55 cassette player, and a JVC tuner from the "Cadet Store" in Vandenburg Hall. Speakers were a pair of inexpensive Jensen 3-Ways--which got re-furbed with better X-over and drivers from The Speaker Company after graduation in 82'.

Best of all, was an integrated solid-state amp designed and built by my EE father. It had a home made circuit board, hand built and finished wood cabinet.

Other than the amp (which my Dad still keeps on my behalf), all has passed on to the audio junkyard in the sky!

Thanks, for initiating a drive down memory lane!!

 

[XEagleDriver]

Beginning of the Journey

Started my audio journey about two decades later than you in ~1979 at the USAF Academy, where finally getting "stereo priveldges" after the end of your freshman (aka Doolie) year was quite a big deal.

Began by buying a TEAC turntable, a JVC KD-55 cassette player, and a JVC tuner from the "Cadet Store" in Vandenburg Hall. Speakers were a pair of inexpensive Jensen 3-Ways--which got re-furbed with better X-over and drivers from The Speaker Company after graduation in 82'.

Best of all, was an integrated solid-state amp designed and built by my EE father. It had a home made circuit board, hand built and finished wood cabinet.

Other than the amp (which my Dad still keeps on my behalf), all has passed on to the audio junkyard in the sky!

Thanks, for initiating a drive down memory lane!!

 

[sawzalot]

I remember some really old top notch stuff as a little kid the parents had a tv console that was about six foot long beautiful hardwood finish with a red cloth speaker covers at each end covering like fifteen inch speakers the middle part of the top lifted up on hinges and there was the most incredible setup the built in receiver,turntable,and an eight track player I remember the tuner knob was like four inches in diameter ,the tv was prolly like 25 inches,the thing sounded very good I remember it had to warm up for a minute or two before the orange receiver ready light would come on that would be followed by the sound very warm and deep rich sound it was nice,I think it was magnavox maybe rca Ill find out, mom and dads parties were always called the best one's ever, sunday nights were family movie night, five brothers one sister two live in uncles and mom and dad , if that tv could have taken pics back at us all sitting there they would be the best pics and times of my life,Ill look thru pics and find it and post it here,as a young teen I bought a harmon kardon hk350i and a pair of advent one speakers I later added a dual casette tape deck from realistic that got me thru my teens and early twenties.

 

[majorloser]

My first system was the Radio Shack Realistic "System Seven". It was two Minimus-7 speakers and the STA-7 receiver. I still have the speakers, but the receiver took a surge and fried one channel. Needless to say it's long gone.

I still have two pairs of the Minimus 7's and a pair of the Minimus 3.5 around here somewhere. Been tempted to try some of the mods for them.

 

[majorloser]

I really wish I had some of the old Heathkit gear.

http://www.heathkit-museum.com/hvmhifi.shtml

 

[markw]

Thanks for the repies.

But I'm not talking about our first hi-fi systems. Although, a "my first stereo" might be an interesting thread but that one recycles every year or so. Perhaps I should have said "radios, televisions, and phonographs" instead of "Audio/Visual", which has a different meaning today.

I'm talking about out first memories as children when we first became aware of moving pictures in a box. The stuff out parents danced to, or stuff on which our folks watched Eisenhower in the news and Jack Benny in B &W while we rode around on our big wheels or played army in the yard. The stuff where you looked at the picture and thought the words actually came from the pictures moving mouths. That Bakelite 5 tube AM radio on top of the refrigerator or that little suitcase stereo you had in your room on which you played those red and yellow records.

 

[jamie2112]

I got a cheap green and black Panasonic 8 track avr for my 9th birthday and from that point forward I was totally hooked on music.I also got Frampton comes alive and Moody blues Steppin in the slide zone with the 8 track and those were my first music I owned.........

 

[Rickster71]

The first I remember, was the console that my parents had.
An RCA with a turntable and AM / FM stereo, and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass playing.

Also an RCA black & white TV, we owned a tube tester and an attic with many cases of tubes.
I remember many nights, testing tubes and going into the attic with a flashlight looking for a certain replacement tube.

My first was Radio Shack; Mark it's the stuff you've seen, and it all still works.
Realistic STA-78 receiver, it had 22 watts per chan. 1977
Along with a Realistic LAB-300 turntable

 

[Adam]

An RCA with a turntable and AM / FM stereo, and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass playing.

I can remember my grandparents console that had a turntable, stereo, and 8-track player...with Herb Alpert playing! That music makes me think back to their living room.

 

[Seth=L]

The first thing I remember was my dad having a panasonic turntable/tape/radio with matching speakers. He eventually got an Onkyo CD player and Denon integrated amplifier with some AAL bookshelf speakers. He made a few more jumps moving up to adcom gear w/ Klipsch and finally settled with Martin Logan electrostats w/ Sunfire amplifier (he kept the Adcom preamp and CD changer he had from the previous setup.

Dad never wanted a TV, and until about 8 years ago he didn't have one. He got a POS philips HD set (that was literally his first TV). After that TV went south he purchased a 42" Plasma monitor (not a TV).

My story sucks because I'm not old as dust.

 

[markw]

Geez. Now I feel REALLY old.

I can remember my grandparents console that had a turntable, stereo, and 8-track player...with Herb Alpert playing! That music makes me think back to their living room.

Herb Alpert's "Whipped Cream" was my first stereo record.

 

[Adam]

Herb Alpert's "Whipped Cream" was my first stereo record.

That album cover alone would have gotten me in the car to go see the grandparents.

That's not the one that they had, though.

 

[Rickster71]

Herb Alpert's "Whipped Cream" was my first stereo record.

That album cover alone would have gotten me in the car to go see the grandparents.

That's not the one that they had, though.

As a kid, I memorized by that cover.

 

[Adam]

As a kid, I memorized by that cover.

Never heard it called that before.

 

[TheFactor]

I remember my parents had a coffee table with a built in turntable and AMFM stereo Made by Motorola and for me it was a 4 speaker Pioneer HT in a box that I still have

 

[MatthewB.]

As a kid my old man had McIntosh gear which he tossed out when he would upgrade. makes me cry to this very day. I guess since he was in the Navy in various ports around the world, he would get great deals on McIntosh gear without even realizing what he bought. Today he knows nothing about electronics or how to set them up and the only thing he still has up and running even after 45 plus years is a Realstic Reel to Reel system and a system comprised of gear I give him whenever I upgrade. Brings a tear to my eye thinking of that McIntosh gear in the trash, but then again they also sold a 67 Pontiac GTO in 1974 for 150.00

Being a kid in the 70's I have fond memories of 8-Track players and recall the last 8-track I ever listened to was Herb Alberts "Rise" back in 1980 on this portable player I had with one 6" speaker mono. Then cassettes hit hardcore and I've been upgrading since.

 

[res6jya6]

I remember my great grandparents had this old Zenith B&W that was about 21"... they used it up until the day they died (and I think it's still kicking in my Uncle's bedroom)...

And then there was my great grandfathers Motorola 6K22-1 phonograph... which is now in my possesion Beautiful sound... so warm and vintage!

 

[Davemcc]

My grandparents used to have a radio similar to this:

They kept it on their enclosed front porch for many years, well into the 80's. As kids, we used to go out and play with it, spin the dial and try to get stations to tune in.

My parents also had the usual 70's style Sears console stereo and console TV. Any real audio gear we wanted we got as teenagers and we bought it ourselves.

 

[res6jya6]

My old neighbor deals a lot with old electronics...

He's got tube amps from their earliest days... old radios from the thirties and fourties...

Even an original Edison Bulb.

I should go over there sometime and get pictures for all of you. It's very cool.