Decisive moments your your audio journey

When I tossed my Realistic Receiver in the bin and built a Dynaco ST70 (paired with a PAS 3x I bought used).  I bought these components because they were cheap and I saved money by soldering it up myself.  When I turned it on, I cried.  Even through a modest pair of Bang & Olafson speakers the difference was profound.  Thus it began.

Someone else brought up Grado headphones. Snapping a set of of SR60s on an unsuspecting person’s head is pure evil.

1975 seen Yes in Chicago. Sound was unreal.

Most recently, when the Carver Crimson 275 fraud burst just in time for – I'd been considering it. The exposé of the 15 watt output transformer in a claimed 75 watt amplifier made me go back and look at how much over-the-top hype (too kind a word) I'd fallen for.

For me, it was a Sansui 1000X my sister gave my parents as a Christmas present in 1971.  I spent hours listening to the radio with headphones I'd saved my allowance months for (I was 10).  I've been on the "how do I get the music to sound better" path ever since.