YOUR AUDIOPHILE JOURNEY WHEN DID IT START AND HOW DID YOU GET TO YOUR DREAM SYSTEM?

When I was in my 20s I bought an inexpensive amp and speakers that really sounded great together but I didn't know it because I thought all systems sounded that good. Later when I decided to get something newer, I couldn't find anything that sounded even close to what I had. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get something that sounded nice. Later in life I stopped by an audio store that sold some high end speakers and then there it was.... B&W speakers that sounded even better that my original speaker system so I bought them. I always enjoyed music and from there out I was hooked.

As a very young kiddo in the 50s, I listened to my aunt's tabletop record player and, later, as a young teen, to my parents' Grundig console.  However, I would say the audiophile bug bit me in 1971, after listening to a high school friend's 2 channel system (i.e.  Sansui integrated + Throrens TT + can't remember the speakers).  After that experience, my amplifier with built-in 8 track player and small bookshelf speakers just didn't cut it!  So, I bought what I considered to be my first "audiophile" level 2 channel system in 1972 at Tech HiFi in Cambridge (i.e.  Sansui 2000X + Phillips 212 TT + Studiocraft speakers).  That, too, was an irresponsible purchase.  That money should have gone to college expenses.  Quickly thereafter, I upgraded the speakers to Ohm C and the rest, as they say, is history.

I wouldn't say what I have now is my dream system, per se, but it is more than adequate for my 23' X 14' living room.  My dream sound system would involve building or buying a home with a dedicated sound room and filling it with new toys.

I started with a Knight Kit amp that I built at age 13 in 1962. I had some Radio Shack speakers and a turntable which I do not recall who built. I eventually over time bought a McIntosh system in the 80's and went through some Nakamichi stuff. My dream system came about when I retired and could afford  what I wanted and it is again McIntosh. 

It, literally, started for me at age 5. My dad was showing off his new Admiral dual chassis, 12" 4-way system and was conducting an experiment. How many houses away can we get and still hear the stereo? I believe the correct answer was "4."

It became "real" to me at 15, when my brother, while serving in Vietnam, bought a Pioneer/Sansui/Akai system at the PX and shipped it back over here with the purpose of flipping it, making a little money and buying an even better system. I got the system assembled and was immediately pulled into high(er) fidelity than my dad’s system -- and this "new" concept called "components." I sold my first stereo at age 15 (which unknowingly at the time contributed to a life-long career).

My first encounter with legitimate high fidelity was in the early 70’s when I received a personal demo of a new speaker -- AMT1s, connected to a Mac stack at David Beatty Stereo in Kansas City, MO. I didn’t have the "ears", nor the vocabulary at the time, but was blown with the clarity and detail, and sonic impact of the system.

Entering college, I became interested in playing guitar to go along with my keyboard (we called it organ back then). I also took a course in music appreciation. Being a mediocre keyboard player, and even worse guitar player created a profound admiration of talented musicians, and the equipment required to reproduce their sound(s) accurately at home. An appreciation course in classical music helped me become a better listener, and more appreciative of other genres. It also shaped my preferences in "progressive rock". I leaned more towards music that was unique in texture, tempo, sudden and unexpected chord changes, etc.

I also had a strong desire to build my own speakers. So, when the next college semester came around, I expressed this desire with my academic advisor. I was told that, yes, I can take wood shop, but I am required to build from a specific list of authorized projects. I wouldn’t be able to have an unlimited project until much later in the process, which would also require that I change majors. Hum. Okay, then., I asked the advisor if metal shop has such restrictions. He said "no," I signed up, and built my first speakers out of sheet metal. Yes, they did sound "a little tinny." (No pun intended)

After my career path as an "architect in training" came to an abrupt end in 1972-1973 due to inflation and collapse of building projects, I remembered that I was pretty good at selling by brother’s stereo. And, it was fun. So, I fell back (temporarily?), got a job at a big appliance/TV store, and quickly became known as "the stereo guy." I trained other salespeople and assisted in difficult sales situations where more knowledge and/or confidence was required. After spending the next 6 months trying to reenter the architectural career path, I finally gave up and spent the next 50+ involved in the audio industry in some way (including the present). Those sheet metal speakers were eventually replaced by a speaker system of my own design, which earned me a patent in 1990. I still work 1 day a week trying to keep good audio equipment from ending up in a dumpster. It is my "involuntary not-of-profit organization". I don’t make any money, but it can be quite rewarding in other ways. Being involved in this forum is a previledge that I never take for granted.

@frankmc195 looks like  you had early synergy. Then found it again