Your first “high end” system

Rega Planet, Bryston B-60 and a pair of Definitive Technology towers I can't recall the model. This would be late 90s.

It's all relative, ain't it? One person's high end is another's entry-level. I've listed my journey in my profile if you want to make the call on where it becomes high-end!

Right. Its been many years since I read Robert Harley's Complete Guide to High End Audio. But I could swear he says in there that high end is defined by an emphasis on sound quality and nothing else. High End does not mean expensive. 

My first system was bought with lawnmower and paper route money. But it was bought only after many hours of studying and scrutinizing and comparing speakers and amps and record players side by side. Hard to remember now, because soon I was able to upgrade it all with the big bucks I was earning at McDonald's. But that first system was probably a Radio Shack receiver with a record player on top, and (Realistic?) speakers.

Dynaco PAT-4 and FM-5. Lil Tiger .01 monoblocks. All built from kits.
JansZen 410 spkrs. (Still listening to now.) Garrard & Teac for sources.
Looking for a 4 channel USB interface to digitize and mix RTR tracks

Back in '83 I was fortunate to find a whole system for sale with a $5K price tag (original price was $10K). JBL 4343 speakers, a rack full of SAE including parametric EQ, tuner, 2 amps and an electronic crossover. Setting atop all this was Technics model 1400 custom made table from Japan (I have never seen anything like it since), mounted with a Shure V15 type III cartridge. Was the biggest single leap that I took until a decade later.