That was me at the Puyallup Radio Shack in 1972. I was about 15, rode my bicycle, spent hours quietly studying every single thing they had in there. Learned about amps, speakers, sensitivity, just a huge amount of stuff. I don’t remember anything about the store staff other than as long as I was careful and didn’t disturb anyone they left me alone to mess around. So I was able to hook up and listen to everything, including trying all the cool stuff I was learning about how speaker placement affects sound.
That is where I got my very first stereo, a receiver with record player on top and some speakers, whatever they were I don’t recall.
Few years later I was able to drive to Tacoma where they had Jafco, then the biggest best selection this side of Seattle. They had the rooms with walls of speakers and amps and stuff and a Space Shuttle control panel you could switch from one to another.
Once again the staff was skilled in benign neglect and so I was free to master the control panel. I would always respectfully step aside for paying customers and when they wanted to hear something the sales guy didn’t know would just quietly say Q2 or whatever. This worked out great as they get the demo done faster and I get back to listening and messing around. Win-win. Heh.
My budget back then was from a paper route and driving flat-bed loads of lettuce to Associated Grocers in Seattle. So it took me a while but eventually the JBL L25 Jubal went on sale and so that is how I got those garish orange speakers that lasted me all through high school and college. Also Pioneer TX-9100 tuner and Kenwood KA-8004 integrated amp. All from Jafco.
Careful readers will note both dealers who were nice enough to let me while away the hours were rewarded with me giving them pretty much all my money.
It was not until a good 20 years later that I ran into another great shop, Corner Audio in Portland, OR. Joe was the first one to help with more than just benign neglect. He let me bring some of my own components in to compare. He introduced me to tubes, turntables, and even some new music. Harry Belafonte at Carnegie Hall. Santana Abraxas. He had some simply amazing Lineaum Model 10 speakers, so good that after hearing them one time my wife was bugging me to buy them. How often does that happen???!
There have been a lot of shops over the years. And I haven’t even mentioned what was by far the best of them all.
That is where I got my very first stereo, a receiver with record player on top and some speakers, whatever they were I don’t recall.
Few years later I was able to drive to Tacoma where they had Jafco, then the biggest best selection this side of Seattle. They had the rooms with walls of speakers and amps and stuff and a Space Shuttle control panel you could switch from one to another.
Once again the staff was skilled in benign neglect and so I was free to master the control panel. I would always respectfully step aside for paying customers and when they wanted to hear something the sales guy didn’t know would just quietly say Q2 or whatever. This worked out great as they get the demo done faster and I get back to listening and messing around. Win-win. Heh.
My budget back then was from a paper route and driving flat-bed loads of lettuce to Associated Grocers in Seattle. So it took me a while but eventually the JBL L25 Jubal went on sale and so that is how I got those garish orange speakers that lasted me all through high school and college. Also Pioneer TX-9100 tuner and Kenwood KA-8004 integrated amp. All from Jafco.
Careful readers will note both dealers who were nice enough to let me while away the hours were rewarded with me giving them pretty much all my money.
It was not until a good 20 years later that I ran into another great shop, Corner Audio in Portland, OR. Joe was the first one to help with more than just benign neglect. He let me bring some of my own components in to compare. He introduced me to tubes, turntables, and even some new music. Harry Belafonte at Carnegie Hall. Santana Abraxas. He had some simply amazing Lineaum Model 10 speakers, so good that after hearing them one time my wife was bugging me to buy them. How often does that happen???!
There have been a lot of shops over the years. And I haven’t even mentioned what was by far the best of them all.