Decisive moments your your audio journey

I visited Audio Innovations (soon to be Audio Note) factory in Brighton, UK.  Listened to the Voyd turntable and some AI monoblock tube amps through Snell E speaker. Joan Sutherland materialised in the big room. 

My first blind amp test in the 80's. At the time I was lusting after all the expensive stuff the magazines were pushing ... until it was proven without bias that I couldn't pick out any differences, much less the expensive amplifiers. Neither could the other three audiophiles participating. It has saved me a lot of money over the years.

My friend and I went to “Natural Sound” in Framingham, MA in 1975 or so and listened to their high end setup, which I vaguely remember had Mark Levinson amp and preamp, and I think Dahlquist speakers.  I think the speakers were big squares mounted on stands.  I think the whole thing at that time was $30K or maybe even more.  It sounded like the band was right in the room with us, it was so real.  Maybe its just a golden memory, but I have chased that type of sound since then.  That was a formative experience with equipment.

With music, hearing Electric Ladyland on LSD was pretty impressive, too, LOL. :)

Great stuff here many of which I can relate to. I've had many different revelatory moments listening to music along way. The initial one was hearing what good, tight & defined bass can sound like on stacked large Advents in too small a room that I covered all the walls w/ thick Karastan carpet samples I got from a friend to absorb unwanted reflective sound. My friends & family thought I was nuts but I loved it!

Next was building first one & then a second Hafler DH - 200 power amp to power  the Advents which was great but then I heard ProAC EBS speakers & understood what midrange & high end detail was about.

I heard & bought a Conrad Johnson Premier 4 power amp w/ EL 34 tubes & along w/ a Jadis preamp & heard real depth & imaging for the first time which was a game changer along w/ my ProAc's . I've been hooked on tubes ever since. 

Very recently I heard how great a quality,  modern horn speaker can sound w/ tubes & bought a pair of Volti Audio Rivals. "Live" music sound as opposed to accurate "hifi". 

For those of us who still listen loudly to rock, blues or jazz, tubes & horns are awesome!

It was in Ogden UT at a store called LaBells. They sold higher end audio. They had a large pair of cerwin vega with the 15”.  It was Christopher Cross “sailing”. It had me hooked. That was 1981 I think.