Roots, ie: how did your music/sound/audio life/listening begin?

My family always had classical music playing on a Grundig console radio in the living room and we never forgot it. I got a crystal detector radio set consisting of a mounted crystal with a metal whisker that pressed down on it attached to a bunch of wires running the length of the attic - no power supply but a headphone - got some great local stations.

After that it was a small Ford Philco radio with tubes (so I could groove on Buddy Holly) that eventually started melting. In high school I received a Sears Silvertone portable with a ceramic cartridge. Small beginnings.

Now when listening to certain passages of music it is like certain smells or textures that bring back memories with amazing intensity, My father-in-law could never listen to the stereo we got him because it made him so sentimental and teary. I’m not quite that bad but I do get carried away. when listening. Powerful stuff.

So  I am finally retired and have been mulling over participating in some discussions. Mine is a long and rich story that is to me at least interesting. Where to begin. Not at the very beginning but I'll start at my first introduction to true audiophile HiFi. Understand that I am not a rich man, lower middle class my whole life and had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, I was fortunate that a friends father got me a job working for a wealthy family in central Illinois as caretaker for their estate. I got $2.25 an hour and worked 52 hrs a week. The Laird of the estate was an audiophile and it was 1970. One task assigned at certain times was to oil the speaker cabinets in his studio which was converted from a garage on one wing of the house.

On the bottom the speakers  (all custom built cabinets mind you) were a pair of beautiful walnut cabinets 3 feet tall and 10 feet wide if my memory serves me correct. Built as a wondrous pair of horns the wood curving gracefully to the sides. I would stand in stocking feet on top of these speakers to oil the walnut speaker cabinets above the horns. these cabinets were at least 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. As I recall when I asked what kind of speakers he said custom with Western Electric drivers. He listened to a lot of Mono as well as stereo music and you could hear it all over the estate but in that room it was glorious.

Enough for now. Let me know if you would like to here more.

by all means, play on !

Winter 1965 Northern Ohio. Big truck showed up w Mac tuner/pre, Amp, Bozak ( half concert grand ), idler Dual table with a Shure…
Young persons guide to orchestra / Peter and the Wolf. i was 4. hooked since.