i bought my first "hi-fi" in 1957, an rca with blonde wood cabinet and metal legs in the "moderne" style. it was purchased with the $$ i got from selling a huge lionel model rr setup. (yeah, i know, the stuff would be worth a fortune now.) the first record i bought was the platters on a 45 rpm with the big hole, singing "the great pretender." my first lp was van cliburn's tchaikovsky's first, which won him the big prize in moscow and propelled him to stardom. my phonograph purchase was followed the next year with a gift from my folks of a viking 1/4" reel-to-reel that played pre-recorded stereo tapes. i used the tinny little speaker in the tape deck for one channel and the rca phono as the other. from this less-than-modest "system," i became better aquainted with the world of classical music, since there were more prerecorded tapes in that genre than any other. in college, starting in '61, i was introduced to much more classical work and better "stereos." then, a fraternity brother built a dynakit amp and pre-amp, which i heard first in '63, playing bob dylan's first album. it was that little system and that album that really hooked me; i remember the experience with great vividness even after 37 years (my god, can it really be that long ago?) i continued to buy records, playing them on my roomates' stuff until i was married in february of '67, during the semester break of my second year in lawschool. my wife and i purchased "our" first "real" stereo setup a couple of months after our marraige. i still have it. it was comprised of a fisher integrated, ar2 speakers and an ar turntable (cartridge came with). we moved that little system around from one rented house to another, iowa city to kansas city to denver, together with our slowly-growing collection of records. in around 1980-81, i heard "highend" for the first time at a basement "salon" in boulder. that setup included a stax amp and pre, b&w speaks and a thorens tt. i loved it but couldn't afford it. a year or so later, tho, i rationalized withdrawing the meagre savings i had accumulated in my "own" account ( perhaps this is why there aren't more women in the hobby-they're not nearly so self-dillusional or quite as sneaky!) to buy into the "highend." my first system was comprised of infinity rs 2.5 speakers an apt-holman pre, bryston amp, denon tt w/arm an an ortfon model 30(?) mc cartridge and accompanining stepup. i kept that groupo fairly intact until 1984-85, when i stumbled upon a tiny new shop in an old denver neighborhood that sold used highend gear. it was called "soundhounds." i got to know and become friends with soundhound's owner and saleman. by hangin' with them and other customers and hangerson, who'd gather many nights at closing time for a beer or 3 to listen, sans the great unwashed, to all the new stuff that came in almost daily, my audio horizons were expanded exponentially. we listened 3 or 4 times a week, over time, to hundreds of combinations of speakers and electronics, used and new, mostly playing cherished lps from our "members'" collections. i met many members of the loose-knit audiophile community in this era, including some well-known colo designers and manufacturers. in '87 or '88, through my expanding circle of audio buddies, i met the man who has now become my best friend. i'll identify him only as "j." j invited me to ces, let me party with his distributors and other friends and generally provided me in numerous ways with an entre into the "inner sanctum." audio and music is now at the center of my life, as it's never been before. i delight in listening to my now rapidly-expanding music collection that is fed in no small measure by my older son and his spouse, both of whom are in the radio/entertainment industry (read:promo copies!). j has open-houses 6 or 7 times a year that always end with a dinner with the reps or writers and hours of listening to the newest of the new and biggest of the big in j's wonderful main soundroom. my audio circle has become even wider on this site. tho there have been some wild any crazy dissagreements, the group of "regulars" has taught me much and entertained me more. here's hoping 2001 (my favorite all-time movie, BTW) is prosperous to all. let's all raise a cup to civility, good humor and fun on audiogon. the past is the past; let's let it melt away with the end of the last year of the twentieth century. CHEERS TO ALL!!!!- Kelly
