What were some of your early Hi-End audio gear/influences?

Sad to say, but when I heard Bose in college, I was hooked on hifi.

Let's see. I know I had a pair of AR speakers that were small bookshelf speaker/monitors that had an unusual shape- the outer edges were tapered. I also ran another pair of bookshelf speaker with them, with impressive results, but I can't remember the name, nor the receiver I used, but it was pretty good. (God knows what strain I put on that amp).
Unfortunately, I sold it to a deadbeat who never paid me.

And, a pair of BIC SoundSpan speakers that weren't bad in retrospect.
I believe there is another speaker maker using a similar design now.

And, a pair of Tamanton speakers that were built in Williamsburg, Brooklyn-very close to a pair of Vandy 2's, but a bit less expensive. Unfortunately, Anton got out of the business. Though it was nice to meet a speaker designer and his wife (and child). I hope they are doing well.

Lots of speakers later, I eventually heard of Vandersteen.
They were a ground breaker that I always remembered. Though Magnepan, Shahinian, Quad, and even Ohm piqued my interest.

After 30 years of building my business, I finally got to the point of getting back into stereo.
That Vandy sound stuck with me, and I was happy to find them still in business.
My Treo's are one heck of a speaker.
Bob

Lots of live music in my early(formative) years, then- the first Dynaco kits, as a teen(thank you, David Hafler).

I agree , the large Advent sent me down that same road. It is on the list of the 12 most significant speakers of all time!!
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-12-most-significant-loudspeakers-of-all-time/

The first system I cobbled together was a little Pioneer reciever,Polk SDA  speakers,and a Technics table.I thought it sounded great until a friend brought over a 100 watt integrated(brand?).Those SDAs woke up and really sang.

In college, a friend's AR-5's and AR turntable, driven by a Tiger .01 amp, which was a kit (can't recall the pre-amp).  The quiet background, clean sound and bass extension got me hooked on good gear.  My subscription to TAS started with Issue No. 6.

43 years ago I bought my 1st system: Dahlquist DQ-10a's, Harmon Kardon TT with Rabco straight-tracking arm, Soundcraftsman pre-amp and Dynaco ST-400 amp.  Heaven.