Thinking about the good old days...

Back then, once your system achieved the level of dynamics and tone that suited your tastes, it became all about the music.

I spent more than a few happy years with a Sansui 5000 series receiver (i.e.,
pre, amp, tuner), Phillips 212 turntable (later upgraded to Thorens TD160), and DIY speakers consisting of large, ported, birch-ply boxes with heavy front baffles, 12-inch Jensen Triaxial drivers, and add-on Phillips dome tweeters. Nowhere near what I have now in terms of extension, clarity, drive, and sound staging, but it sure got the tone right and had sufficient dynamics to sound good from low-level dorm listening to rock-out parties. I still have the speakers and would like to find a reason to have them reconed so I could give them a spin again!

Thanks for the post, it was fun to think back to a simpler and, in many ways, more satisfying time of life.

Oh Yeah, I’m 72. Retired, physically limited, home too much, too much time on the computer obviously. Beats watching the news.

I remember the tough decision, 1964, age 16,:

Mono LP $2. or Stereo Version $3? My budget was $6./week, so 3 albums or 2 albums. Played on my brothers POC portable suitcase flip down TT

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/514747432383927703/?autologin=true

Got some wedding money, 1967, age 19, off to Sam Goody’s near Grand Central, big escalator upstairs: we got a Fisher 200T transistor receiver, AR2x speakers, and a not too special TT.

I got robbed one Christmas Eve, I missed those AR2x’s the most!

https://www.ebay.com/i/333632804579?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&am...

Prior beat up LP’s, some new LP’s but college student, married, child, paying my own way, borrowing money, working part time, so not much new stuff for many years. Cousin Brucie all night long when studying/doing projects at Pratt Institute. The Night Bird, Alison Steele

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Morrow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Steele

anybody remember "Money Talks, Nobody Walks, Denison Clothes, Route 22". over and over all night long.

I’ve got 3 of those fisher 80z mono amps, used them up until 2 years ago. all working perfectly. I added front toggle power switches and replaced 3 burnt resistors over their 62 years, that’s it, dead quiet still.

they came out of a Fisher President II I inherited. That’s what threw me into higher awareness of possibilities.

http://www.fisherconsoles.com/President%20II.html

It was new in the very brief period of Live Binaural Radio Broadcasts, just prior to Armstrong’s multiplex.

Console was dual mono: tune in fm mono tuner, CBS, left side of the stage. tune in am mono tuner, CBS, right side of the stage. Snap the console to ’Stereo Radio’, listening to live binaural broadcast. does anyone here have any experience with that?

current speakers are new enclosures with those drivers from that console, also 62 years old, horns original, re-coned 15" woofers twice.

It had a 2 track stereo tape deck, Viking, and I inherited some tapes as well. Wow, those 2 tracks are still the best source I have, now moved to Teac 4 track X2000R and new dual arm TT this year. Bought about 500 pre-recorded tapes on eBay, not much money, these things are 50-60 years old, still sound awesome.

I tested all of the tubes from that console every year just before thanksgiving. Paper bags, off to the electronic store, big tester, flip charts, people behind me waiting a looonnng time, my feet and back hurt it took so long.

my wife got me a birthday present, a compact tube tester, awesome

https://www.ebay.com/i/224025403851?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&am...

Inherited a Thorens TD124 with SME 3009. Rubber in arm shot, I wrote SME, they sent me new rubber and instructions.

Got Fisher Tube receivers along the way, a few 500c receivers and one 800c (same, added AM tuner)

8 Track in the car primarily, then dual cassette, then wait till CD players became affordable.

now, any chance I get, I go for high quality vintage, mixed with new when needed.  not memories of my personal equipment, but memories of the era, pieces I certainly could not afford then.

Tube Tuner/Preamp 1962, McIntosh mx110z

SUT, Fidelity Research FRT-4

JVC large plinth TT81, new arm, vintage acos lustre gst801 arm

R2R Teac X200r

Office all vintage

B&W bookshelf speakers, Velodyne Sub, Carver Cube Amp, traded Bill my fisher 800c for a vertical tt Mitsubishi LT-5V, got it going perfectly

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mitsubishi-LT-5V-Turntable-Original-Magazine-AD/133531898298?hash=item1f171...

You all are bringing back the memories! First Album - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and second - "The Doors" in like 68 or 69 in Grand Rapids, Michigan..

First real speakers were smaller Advents. Traded up to Large Advents in early seventies In Elkhart Indiana and thought I was in heaven.

Kenwood and Onkyo integrateds. Luxman turntable with Shure V15 Type IV cartridge. I wore that baby out! Still have it, as a keepsake, I guess.

Radio Doctors on Third and Wells In Milwaukee, Wisconsin. $5 per album. One Saturday a month I would buy 4 albums and then meet my buddy for beer and listening while watching football.

Then the glory days ended and I moved on to California. First CD player  was in the 80's and I thought it is was not near the quality of the Luxman and Shure for vinyl.

The on to New York and Ohio with no upgrades still using the Luxman and Shure..

Finally got back to Indiana and then heard my first Magnepan speakers, which started my true audiophile madness - six different speakers in about nine years.

I guess my holy grail would be the Advent sound in a modern day speaker. Just something about those Advents was so smooth and the bass!

Dsper

@dsper Ever shop at Dodd’s Record Shop, or....Believe in Music (records and paraphernalia) back in the day in GR?

In the very early 1960s, I worked for a radio, TV, appliance store in downtown Fort Worth.  They were also dealers for the various Fisher "hi fi" consoles.  At some point, we also began carrying Manny of the Fisher components.  And, at the ripe age of 19 or 20, I got to demonstrate and sell those products.  Dang, that was fun.