Is your now then?

My dad was an audio nut. And my first encounter with high end sound was the Heathkit mono system he soldered together on the kitchen table in the late 1950’s. He took me to a couple audio shows at the Ambassador Hotel in downtown L.A., where I heard my first stereo. I was truly impressed by the bass that came from a rig’s 36" woofer-ed Bozaks. At any rate, I always had a system, mostly hand-me-downs from my father. The only time I didn’t have a system was when I went away to college. And lemme’ tell ya, my biggest pleasure whenever I went home was switching on my tubed Kenwood stereo receiver.

But to get to the subject at hand, there’s no question that my current system -- SOTA Sapphire, Sony SACD, Mytek, PrimaLuna, NOLA, all strategically set up in a dedicated room -- is by far my most enjoyable.

My first experience with quality sound was a pair of klipschorns that had been painted around four times and now i have the true vintage sound that i have always lusted after and you can not compare that sound to the new stuff at all, no contest, the vintage stuff will always win in performance, quality, sound, timbre, bass, and dynamics.

I was into audio since the 70's but my first quality system was in the early 90's. That system consisted of a Yamaha B1 power amp, Superphon preamp, & Empire troubadour turntable. What impressed me the most about that system was how well it imaged & I didn't get that until I changed the speakers from small Ohm's to Epos 14's. Suddenly, I had an actual soundstage in front of me. That system is long gone but soundstage accuracy is still important to me, which my current system does very well.   

What was your first significant experience with quality audio (then) and how does it compare with your present system (your now).
Do you think we strive to return to the past and remain in those influential times? Are our choices psychological, nostalgic even....?

God no- on all counts! As a kid in the 70's I spent endless hours researching and shopping, eventually building a classic "vintage" system of JBL, Kenwood, Pioneer, and Technics. This was wonderful for back then and better than anything I heard all through college and for years afterwards.  

Therein comes the problem. In the beginning I was in band, and comparing components to real live acoustic instruments. 20 years later the system itself had somehow become my standard. It wasn't nostalgia, I still had it! 

When shopping my ears were so attuned to this sound I was actually turned off by gear I now am quite certain was actually a whole lot better. Will spare you the gory details of how I eventually broke out of this cycle, and skip to the punchline.  

After buying some much better Linaeum Model 10 speakers it took me a while to find a buyer for the JBL L7 speakers. The ones that had replaced my vintage L25 Jubals. Many weeks went by listening to the Linaeum, long enough for that JBL sound to be a distant memory.  

When a buyer turned up and I had to hook the JBL up to let him hear, the volume was turned way down low at first but even so it was like an ice pick in my ear. No kidding. Physical pain. The buyer was a co-worker, and I was earnestly trying to talk Ron out of buying them.

That is how much disdain I have for systems then vs now. Now is so much better, it is like the Enterprise Holodeck compared to a flickering old silent movie. No going back. Never again. 

There are usually latent motivations, such as a connection to a parent, or saving money, that make such discussions fraught with disagreement. My rule has been nostalgia is the enemy of SOTA. I like the feel of nostalgia, but I love the sound of contemporary systems. I have tried a fair bit of nostalgia gear, and kept none of it. Usually it lasted in the rig 1-2 days, as the performance was so compromised. Today is not about hearing worse sound from back then, imo.  

ghprentice, the average audiophile has no idea how many such levels there are. Several years ago I stopped trying to count the performance levels. There is no limit to improving systems. I have broken through so many "sound barriers" that I no longer pay attention. But, like you, if I make change, it must be perceptually dramatic and I never go backwards for any length of time. That was then, and this is now, and now - if you are willing to go beyond budget audio -  sounds a LOT better. YMMV (Remember when people used to post that, too, rather than try to impress the world with biased definitive statements?)    :) 

I struggle to think of a single speaker from 15+ years ago, aside from something truly exotic, not just popular, that I would wish to own. I wouldn't listen to it. I do not show love to pieces of equipment; I use them and dispense with them. Never had one complain about it yet!