Do You Remember Your First Time?Is It As Good As You Dreamed?


My old man was a bonafide hillbilly preacher.The fallen angel was a musician so music was forbidden in my house..As the oldest son I was "home schooled"& groomed to follow...
His vocation was painter & he had a turn key apartment business prepping move outs for new occupancy..He also performed maintenance at several complexes..
 Around my 12th.summer while in forced servitude to the old man,we went to a unit for a sheetrock repair..When the youngish tenant opened the door a sound unlike any I knew existed was floating around the unit...HUGE turntable & massive big black box with a beautiful glass front & big blue meters dancing to the sound of Brown Eyed Girl(IRONIC that it would be a former member of the old mans faith singing!)..The speakers were massive,each sitting perfectly in the corners of the living room..We went about our business & after a blissful 40 minutes we were done...That day I heard the Allman Brothers,Led Zeppelin,The Stones & CCR & I can still close my eyes & picture my old mans face as the Hammer of the Gods No Quarter pounded out!
By the age of 15 I was living on the road & at 18 in the Army...I always swore someday I would sit back while catching a good buzz & listen to sounds that I could float away on.Over the years I've had a few decent budget systems but only now,in this day & age has the budget gear gotten so good that a broken down retired ole army dog such as myself could have sound that truly transcends the environment..There are times when the system & room really does vanish, leaving what Sir Elton John called "solid walls of sound"..I can hear people sneeze from what appears to be the hallway outside my apartment during a classical concert,the squeak of chairs as members shift..Guitars & vocals that float around the room like ghosts...Cello's so dark & haunting they could devour your soul.
It may be a "budget system" but there is nothing budget about the sound,the perfect companion to 12 year old GlenDronach or Macallan Highland Scotch & yea,it is everything I ever wanted...

freediver
@freediver excellent story and background on your journey.  Sorry about the ups and downs with your father.

More than anything, a most profound THANK YOU for your service to the nation!
I was kinda hoping for audience participation,after all I did ask 2 questions in my title..
Audio did not happen to me; I sought it out starting at various dealers in the late nineties. The really nice gentlemen at Audio Insight, a Dallas area dealer long since closed, entertained a kid in his late teens with an audition of Hales Revelation 3s with Classe amps and a Wadia CDP in a really nice and large listening room. And it was awesome. My hands were gripping the chairs armrest during the audition, and I was eager to buy them along with used amp they had on consignment. The realization was better than the dream, for sure. I still have the speakers (in the closet) and the amp doing computer audio duty.