Is your now then?

1972, when I was living in Manhattan: AR 2A speakers, Garrard Zero-100 turntable, Sony receiver. 
Since then, I have owned a ton of equipment. including three
pairs of Maggies, three SACD player's, both the original and the 
new Technics SL-1200 turntables, amps from B&K, Adcom
and Conrad-Johnson, and a prized Apt-Holman pre-amp.  

Is my now then? It is now.
My first experience with hi-fi was as a child being taken around Seattle as my parents shopped for a stereo system. This was in the early/middle ‘70s and they eventually acquired a Macintosh ss amp, preamp, tuner and speakers, B&O turntable and Sony cassette deck.
I drove that system hard in my teens, eventually blowing the speakers. Mile Nestorivic, recently moved to the area, swung by the house and retrieved and fixed them.

As I got a bit older, I started paying better attention to what I was hearing music on and had my parents system as my basis for comparison. I learned I like tubes after hearing a Marantz system, and that sound stuck with me.

I bought what I could afford when I was single, and less when I got married. Phase Linear, Carver, (Bob was a client of my father), dahlquist, entry level Nakamichi tape and CD players, “build your own” speakerlab kits (those were fun), etc… always knowing that there was better out there…. Just out of reach.
Fast forward 30 years, divorced and with means, I thought I’d revisit my youth so I purchased a Marantz 7, 8b & 10b, a Thorens td125mkII, along with a modern Marantz sacd-30n that streams as well, and a pair of Klipsch Cornwall IV’s.
To me… it sounds glorious. But I know there is so much better. And there always will be. That’s the nature of the game.

That’s why I purchased a Luxman class a integrated (second hand, arriving tomorrow!).

Because chasing that “ sound in our heads” is also the nature of this game.

thrive!

When I was in college from 1970-74 it was JBL Century 100 speakers. a $400 Pioneer Integrated Amp (can’t remember the model) received as a present, and a Dual turntable. I’ve tried to keep the system simple as possible, adding only a CD player and power conditioner, and upgrades of the original components and wiring.

Mike

My first "job" was working and the Pacific National Exhibition in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada. I was paid $1.17 / hour to clean up after the farm animals. I used the money ($200.00) I made to buy a pair of big German speakers. To me they were everything I was missing in my life listening to AM radio.    

I have been on this journey ever since.

First stereo was in 82, an AKAI system (turntable, tuner, dual casette, equalizer) with "Hitachi" speakers, it was a complete package and if I recall around 1100$.