Your first component that was "special"

My cables! 

If I used  most of todays commercial offerings my system would sound mediocre.

Regards.

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.