As A Youngster, What Unit Puqued Your Interest In All This?

Had to wrap some duct tape around my skull this morning to keep my head from exploding. So many woofers. So little time.

This complex journey can needs to be broken down into incremental steps, discoveries, and bone-jarring (literally) experiences.

1955ish. Admiral split chassis, 12" 4-way dual mono console stereo.

My dad probably walked into an appliance store and asked for the best thing they had. One day, my dad decided to see how many houses away we could get and still hear the stereo. If memory serves me right, the number was 7. Years later, when the parents were gone, I’ll put on Ina Gadda da Vida, turn up the bass and volume to 11 and feel the bass on the wooden floor.

First "Hifi" experience: KHL Model 20

A friend picked up one of these from David Beatty’s in Kansas City. At first glance I thought it was a cutesy little system that couldn’t hold a candle to my dad’s system. Then, he played Sgt Pepper. I heard a sweetness, clarity and intimacy that was missing from by dad’s big Admiral.

First "High End" system: Mac stack/AMT1a

I was loitering around Davy Beatty Stereo and was invited to hear the newest thing. The salesman cued up Blood Sweat and Tears and turned up the volume. I just remembered how "clear" it was. Later I would be able to describe what I heard as extended dynamic range compared to the KLH with more detail and space.

First "Scare the ever loving *%$# out of me" System:

David Beatty engineered and installed a JBL pro system inwall. They called it. appropriately enough, "The Wall of Sound". Here I was, in the store, minding my own business, when they put on Lincoln Mayorga’s cover of Peace Train. The salesman took it easy on me in the beginning and incremently cranked up the volume. When the kettle drums(?) hit towards the end, I felt a shock wave hit my chest that startled me and shook me to the core. I just wasn’t "right" for a few minutes after that.

Years later, I got into the audio business myself. Designing and installing Disco systems and supporting them on site, surrounded by alcohol induced, hormone explosive young adults exhibiting poor judgement.  This experience truly qualifies in a class of its own.

My uncle built a couple of Singer(?) mono amps. I started with a red and white record player in a box.  Years later it was my turn to build. It started with the Hafler kits and then came being in a huge local record store that was playing DSOTM and I heard those footsteps walking across the store.  Then building the Dynaco, Stereo 400. Speakers started with homemade, then ADS 400 speakers with a Velodyne sub, Bozak B’s, Duhlquist DQ-10’s, Acoustat Model X’s,  a bunch of subwoofers I built,

And this was the seventies and eighties.

At 4 or 5 years old my father singing to me some ave maria stella, i remember it till today ...😊

The radio listening at noon of folklore and small traditional chorus music which gave me for the rest of my life the taste for choral music...i was 5=6=7 years old...

A cheap small radio working with battery in 1964... I used it in the evening beginning of night under my blanket instead of sleeping ... I even remember Paul Anka song and few others that strike me at first... I was 13 years old...

After that a Bach concerto in the music course...

After that a friend who owned a true stereo system with big  Tannoy ... classical music...I bought my first Tannoy pair... They last  more than 40 years before i sold them because of their size and my desire to go back smaller... It takes me 9 years to reach a good audiophile level after this move...

As all people around me  at 15 or 16 years old i was liking the Cream , the Beatles and the Papas and the Mammas, especially for me because of the blending voices, but i stayed mostly  in chorus music and Bach listening mainly ... Some french poet singers too till this day Leo Ferré and Georges Brassens with Bob Dylan and Joan Baez  and Cohen .........

My life changed when i discovered Bruckner at thirty and Scriabin at forty and Jazz after ...

All my life in one page....

The gear was important only for the music listening never the reverse... Now i am done with audio... I succeeded creating at very low cost a system with no apparent acoustic defects..... Under 1000 bucks it is very hard if you are difficult about sound quality as i am... It takes me hard work...

Dalquist DQ10s

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Hello Blackbag20.  Here is the website https://harmslabs.com/

Do you know Steve, or are you from the Ft. Collins area?