How did you get started in this hobby

A friend at university, Neil, introduced me to his system that was built around the NAD 3020. We’d sometimes go back to his after playing snooker. On the way there there we often passed what seemed to be a high end Hi-Fi store nr New Cavendish St.

I can’t recall Neil’s turntable, it might have been a Dual, but I do recall him playing me LPs of The Planets by Holst and the The Four Seasons by Vivaldi.

All pleasant enough though I might have preferred Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

I also remember him making me tea via a strainer and as for the spectacular nights view of Marylebone Road from his flat, well that was unforgettable.

Before too long I had ordered a brochure from NAD and I was off.

I’ve still got that brochure somewhere, for some sentimental reason I could never bear to part with it.

All of this reminiscing reminds me just how daunting those few steps into separates Hi-Fi were back then. Not only was there a world of music lying undiscovered before me, there was also the world of separates audio too.

Simply enchanting and bewildering at the same time.

  I started so far back, there was only one speaker to contend with. I was told that if I could fix the Magnavox upright console, it was mine. Couple days later, I was on the way. Probably only 10 years old, but this was a good start for me.

Rewind to 1975, I’d just inherited my Dad’s ‘69 Galaxie 500 and needed better than an AM radio for cruising around.  There was a magazine ad for a Pioneer 8 track player with Dolby.  I had to acquire it!  Along my search for the gadget, my interest was diverted to a Teac A-450 cassette deck, then a “Monster Receiver” (SX-1250), then a pair of Infinity QLS-1s.  Didn’t score the Infinitys but I wound up with a sweet little pair of JBL L65s which have consistently fit both my sonic wants and my lifestyle to a tee for more than 44 years now and utilized with a myriad of amps and sources I probably wouldn’t have given a second thought to if that picture of the hippie dude holding the Pioneer 8 track unit (“with actual Dolby noise reduction”!) in that copy of National Lampoon didn’t work its marketing magic on me all those eons ago.

It was back in the Jurassic Age of this hobby ..,, maybe around the same time as General George Washington was hunkered down with the Colonial troops at Valley Forge.

ok …. a little more direct timeline would be the early 70’s with a vast new experience in a university dorm listening arena, packed with beer, booze and broads. Add into the mix a roommate with the same refined audio tastes that demanded a superior tunes reproduction system , and t was hooked for life.

land our dorm room was thus the dorm floor Command Central gathering place many Friday nights

It quickly morphed into a MARANTZ 2245 receiver, ELAC MIRACORD TT, SHURE V15 cartridge and JBL L100 monitors banging out that bespoke California sound .

Hobby!!!???? For me this isn't a hobby. Its part of my life. I can't remember when I didn't love music. I spent my allowance $$$ on 45's when I was 8-9 yrs old. In my 20's we moved around a lot and the 1st thing to go into the P/U truck was my stereo and my drums.. It was the 1st thing set up when we arrived at the new place. I started an all out assault in about 2k because I wanted to see where it lead. How much better can the music sound? This is the best I've had and it sounds great. I'm often surprised at the idea that this is a hobby. Its little wonder that many drop out of this hobby after a while. Thats the nature of hobbies. I've had lots of hobbies...golf, motorcycles, hunting, models, poker, etc etc. They all went by the wayside. music never has. As REO said, "Can't you see I'll always be a music man"