Radio Shack Optimus CD-3400 portable cd player.
http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/480/#RhZKQv396MtTLqMk.97
http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/480/#RhZKQv396MtTLqMk.97
Your first component that was "special"
I got into hifi 40 years ago. I had a Pioneer receiver, Kenwood table, various entry level cartridges (ADC, Stanton, Empire) and Studio Design speakers. I wound up buying a Shure V15 Type 3 cartridge. That was the first piece of gear I bought that was way beyond ordinary. I had kept the cartridge until about 2o years ago- I sold it because by then no decent replacement stylus was available. Wish I still had it.
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For me it was two components. Back in the summer of 1976, I bought my first audio system... Harman/Kardon receiver, BIC turntable, and a pair of Advent bullnose speakers. I upgraded the BIC turntable for a B&O turntable. WOW!! what a difference, the B&O company were at their peak and this turntable was my venture into upper level audio. The next component I added to the system was a Nakamichi 500 Dual Tracer cassette deck. It was the most advanced two-head cassette deck ever made. The Nakamichi 500 is of special significance because of newly-developed focused-gap type record/playback heads designed by Nakamichi to give a far better head-saturation level than is found in other two-head systems. A young kid from a small coal mining town, this was the best audio system anyone would've been proud to own. For me to have been able to add a B&O table and a Nakamichi cassette deck, I wish I had the foresight to have kept these two components. However, I am truly happy with the system I have put together for the past four years. |
I could say my Stax SR-40 electret head phones. My first amazing transducer, Shure V15 III notwithstanding. Circa 1980. Still enjoying them. Or the Linn Basik I bought last year that re-infected me with the stereo bug and introduced me to vintage bargain hunting. But, truth be told, it was a small sample of really good pot that an old biker gave me as a tip in 1969. When I got home I went out on the roof and smoked some. Nothing. Climbed back in the window and put Led Zepelin (1) on my Magnavox portable record player. http://https//s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/94/64/29/946429236679894d29bfd5254d2332aa.jpg Half way through "Good Times Bad Times" something happened that changed my relationship with Rock 'n Roll forever! I took the removable speakers off the Maggie ;^) and used them like head phones. What a memory! |
An NAD 3020 integrated amp...... a super low-key 20 wpc amp that blew away my flashy 70 wpc Japanese reciever. As a 19 yr old college kid, it was tough to buy something that didn't look awesome, but I soon came to love the NAD look, and now equate that to fun listening. I quickly traded up to the 3150 amp and it's still powering my workshop system today, 32 years later! |
My very first system roughly 45 years ago - was a Luxman 1500 receiver, a pair of Bose 301's and a Lenco L85 turntable -- all financed with my college grant money & this served me well for many years -- but the piece of equipment that started me down the path of financial "unfreedom" and "upgradeitis" was a pair of ML Purity speakers. I fell in love with the electrostatic sound -- and moved up to the CLX after a few years -- once that happened -- I was "forced" into upgrading everything else in my system in order to try and squeeze the very best sound out of the clx speakers. A journey that has been a lot of fun, very rewarding but never seems to want to end. I would have to say that 'Special" is a moving target -- as all of these were very special when i first got them -- and there are varying degrees of special -- there's " WOW " -- then there's " HOLY SH_T" and then there is "I'M DONE" -- which isn't true - otherwise i wouldn't be looking at Audiogon anymore. |
....MHO, I think the 'digressions' ('L' trains and reverie of days gone by) are some of the finer moments we can share....so, have at it. ;) The item that changed audio for me was an Audio Control EQ (model number ?), the one that came with a calibrated mic and RTA. Lead me to investigating setting up system response to 'flat' within the listening space. Tried it, liked it, haven't gone back since. Now I've just gotten a bit more sophisticated about it....*G* Better mic, better Behringer eq, let the 'puter do the 'heavy lifting', all that.... |
almarg wrote: "A Grace F-9E phono cartridge, purchased in 1979. I then proceeded to use various incarnations of that cartridge (the original version, the ruby-cantilevered version, and a Soundsmith-retipped ruby-cantilevered version) for the majority of the next 35 years. Regards, -- Al" +1 There have been many "special" components in my (very) long involvement with this hobby but, like Al, I bought a Grace F-9E in the late '70's and still love the sound. Right now I have 3 F9 bodies and 4 styli, including a Soundsmith Ruby OCL, 2 original 9E styli and one original Grace 9E replacement stylus. They kind of circulate among a fixed-headshell SME Type 2 Improved, a Grace 707 MkII, and a SME M2-9. LarryRS |
Like vicweast and inna mentioned, my choice would be my Nakamichi 581Z cassette deck. It wasn't the most reliable deck that Nakamichi ever designed and it spent quite a bit of time at the factory service facility in California in the '80s and '90s. But when it was at the top of its' game it never ceased to amaze me with its' ability to make virtual carbon copies of my treasured vinyl collection. Over the years I made hundreds of tapes with it thus greatly reducing the wear 'n tear on my favorite LPs'. It's long gone but I have a Nak DR-2 that's far less fussy and the tapes recorded on the 581Z sound just as good when played on the DR-2. FWIW, I'll always have a Nak deck in my system. |
Hifijones, exactly. I have some very valuable to me records that are almost impossible to find. Accidents aside, no record with any turntable set-up will tolerate so many plays. As I said somewhere else here, I have one Maxell Vertex tape that I played at least 500 times, and dozens more with 200-300 plays on them. The same sound, no bleeding thru or anything. Now, despite using best tape and over $1k interconnect, my tuned and aligned deck cannot fully compete with Nottingham turntable but it is not far and with some recordings very close. One day I will have high end two track reel to reel deck in the system as the main source but I will keep the Nakamichi as well. |
Ayon Ayon CD5S 5s - My first CD player that provided full scale 3 dimensional organic sound that lifted my entire system to a new level providing ultimate cd playback and streaming audio (2016) Brinkman LaGrange turntable with Brinkmann arm re-defined the potential of vinyl (2010) Apogee Duetta Loudspeakers (1994) - a replacement for Quad ESL 63 and a massive upgrade Audio Research VM220 mono blocks - the first amp that made the Apogees sing! 92010) Stax/SrMT1/Lamda Signature Pro bought used 2003 |
@brettmcee, I lived in Burbank for years (over by the NBC studios. Have you eaten at Don Cuco's Mexican restaurant, right around the corner from Bob's Big Boy?), and found Tom Carione to be an excellent tech. He's at Brooks Berdan Ltd. in Monrovia, in the shop on Wednesday and Saturday. I too own both an Electron Kinetics Eagle 2A and Dahlquist LP-1, and would not hesitate to have him work on either. |
I bought one of the first pairs of Infinity Servo Statiks from Woodland Stereo in the 1970’s. The crossover began to act up so I took it in to Walt Lewsadder, the owner of Woodland, who assured me that the folks at Infinity (Arnie Nudell) would repair it without cost. They had it for several months. I finally got tired of waiting. Walt offered to give me my money back, so I took it. Walt told me later that he took that pair home as his personal speakers. I think he regretted selling them in the first place. When they worked, they were amazing! |
It’s kinda sad but the Ambience switch on my little Panasonic dual cassette deckback in the 80’s... I was was fascinated and hooked! ...but after that, a pair of second or third hand JBL 4408’s. They just ‘jumped!’ when I played some Genesis (“No Reply”) through them. They led me to JBL 4312a’s which, when you set them up right, are wickedly 3D/holographic and just tons of fun on 60’s and 70’s rock. I knew I had been missing something when I was playing Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here album and for the first time I could hear height in the reproduction! Couldn’t believe it. |
My Dad had a Sansui CA 2000 and BA 2000 amp when I was young, I always wanted that combo. When I was 15 I picked up a like new Sansui AU9900 integrated amp. It replaced my JVC receiver and was the first real component I owned. It served me well and I gave it to my brother when I got separates who still has it. |
When I was a kid, my neighbor bought a solid state amp and gave me his tube integrated -- I can't recall the make -- but it was a wonderful push-pull design that opened my ears to the pleasures of tube amplification. It was much better that the SS amp my neighbor bought for himself. So, I have known since I was a kid that tubes are superior. Then around 1991, I bought a used pair of Infinity RSb speakers at an estate sale, and they opened my ears to the pleasures of ribbon tweeters. |
