1973

Let's face it, in 1973 "Hi-Fi" translated into bone crushing bass. (Had the term "audiophile" even been coined?) My approach, my first year after passing the Bar, was to trade my AR3's for a pair of Tannoys the size of small refrigerators and a massive McIntosh power amp tweaked with an equalizer set with the ubiquitous U-curve.

I was in the Peace Corps in a remote town in Ethiopia with no electricity, running (or potable) water, medical service or regular transportation (a DC3 would occasionally come and land on an open field).  The inside walls of my house were sprayed with DDT to prevent malaria-carrying mosquitoes, a bit of a devil's bargain.  But I had a small battery powered cassette player that was my musical salvation.  Ten years later and settled back in the U.S. the system-building started in earnest, and now, 37 years later, it sounds fabulous!
Jim Heckman

Lived on Pennsylvania Ave. NW Wash., DC, in between jobs at Goddard Space Flight Center. Chilling and binge watching Watergate hearings. 🤥

In 1973, I was in my last tour of Vietnam, with some time in Laos and Thailand thrown in for good measure!

In 1968 I was on a career path to become an F-105 pilot in Vietnam. I was even in ground school in AF ROTC. But it was not my destiny.