Senior Audiophiles - Audiophile since the 60-70's?

I may have memories that predate any of the prior responses. Although I am 60 years old, I became interested in audio at about the age of 10. My father was an attorney who represented a number of the pioneers in the audio industry, when it was in its infancy. I still have a recollection of a system which he built in the mid 1950's with a Radio Craftsman tuner/preamp and amplifer, a Garrard changer with a Pickering cartridge, a Pentron tape recorder and an Electro-Voice 12TRX triaxial speaker in a Carlson cabinet. (Now, how many of you remember this stuff?)

My first taste of the "high end" came in the late 1950's, when I helped my father build, from kits, the Harman-Kardon Citation I, II and III. He had a system that was state of the art in its day. As a source, he had a Garrard 301 turntable with a Shure/SME arm-cartridge combination (what a beauty!) and a pair of AR-3a speakers. To that he added a Sony 777 open-reel recorder, which was way ahead of its time (back in the days when Sony was referred to as "Sony-Superscope").

My own first system was built in the mid 1960's, with a H-K tube receiver (which I built from a kit), a Garrard changer and a pair of Fisher speakers. I got stuck in "mid-fi" during the 1970's (I read Stereo Review back then and believed what I read), and had Sony receivers, direct-drive turntables and JBL speakers.

I was first exposed to the "high end" in the early 1980's, when I graduated to a Tandberg 3012 amp and 3011 tuner, with B&W DM14 (and later DM2000) speakers. I was one of the first to jump on the "digital" bandwagon, with one of the original Magnavox CD players. I remember paying $25 for CD's--in 1983 dollars! I talked myself into thinking they sounded great. They didn't--they were thin and screechy.

I have steadily upgraded over the past 20 years to the point where I feel I have nowhere farther to go. I'm currently running a Mark Levinson 380S preamp, a pair of Mark Levinson 33H amplifiers, a Sony SCD-1 for digital and SACD, and a Michell Orbe, SME IV.VI, Spectral Reference and VTL phono preamp for records. Speakers are B&W Signature 800's.

In terms of quality of sound, today's equipment is without question the best there has ever been. In terms of quality of source material, I have to go back to the early days of stereo, from the late 1950's to the late 1960's, with the RCA Shaded Dogs, Mercury Living Presence, Decca/London ffss, and Everest LP's. These were often definitive recordings, as music, and the engineering was superb. (Have you ever heard an original 1S/1S copy of Pines of Rome? I have one! You would never believe that this record was pressed in 1960.) It continues to amaze me how the great engineers of the day, such as Lewis Layton, Robert Fine, Kenneth Wilkinson and Bert Whyte, could have captured such amazing recordings at a time when the reproduction equipment couldn't possibly reproduce what the recorders were actually recording on tape. The advent of 32 and 64 track recorders, effects processing, Pro Tools and the like, were the worst things that ever happened to the making of recordings. It allowed everyone to become sloppy. One of the great things about SACD today is the fact that, because the number of channels available to the recording engineer is limited, the engineers are forced to rediscover what Layton, Fine, Wilkinson, Whyte, etc. figured out over 40 years ago, and the results speak for themselves. Also, SACD allows today's engineers to go back to these great 30-40 year old recordings, play them back on top-notch analog recorders (such as Ampex ATR-102's and Studer A80's), without intermediate processing, and capture the full glory of the original master tapes on a state of the art medium.

So, we really are in a golden age of audio. We have the best equipment today, and the ability to reproduce both the latest in recording technology (SACD) and the great LP's from the 1960's.

Got my first "serious" system in 1957, at the age of 12, thanks to an uncle in the business. It included a gigantic pair of Stromberg Carlson horns in beautiful solid wood cabinets. HH Scott, KLH, Advent, Heathkit were my bosom buddies.

I've enjoyed every decade, 1970-1980 perhaps the most for the emergence of some really good gear unaccompanied by astral nonsense and astronomical prices.

I watch the current state of audiophilia with amusement that occasionally mounts to hilarity. Oops, hold on, I have to go wind my Tice clock.

Would I trade what I have now for what I had then? No way.

will

My first "serious" speakers were Bozak -302 in 1965,I have no time nor you the interest in all the systems I had.There is no doubt in my my mind that the last decade brought us excellent,i.e. superior speakers and electronics.I do not agree that the current cost of high end equipment has risen dramatically.An Levinson ML-2 Amp,was priced at around $3000. (if my memory serves me right) a loaded ML-6 preamp was about 6,000.that was thirty years ago when you could buy a house in La Jolla, Ca. for 100,000 plus.and you were lucky to earn $30,000 a year.Today you can get superb amps for a few thousand etc.The old marantz,and macs, simply dont cut it.

Nice thread Brian-- I've enjoyed the respones. I was 13 years old in 1956, and along with my slightly older sister, we wore out 45s by Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ricky Nelson and many other early Rockers. I consider myself very fortunate to have been that age and actually witness and be part of the "birth of Rock and Roll".

Our equipment was lousy-- a portable Magnavox record player, but it had TUBES. My favorite decade stretched from about 1955 and Buddy Holly (my hero) to 1969 and CCR. IMO, those years encompass the heart and soul of R&R. We then muddled along with mid-fi gear for 20-25 years, but still loved the music.

I didn't learn what an audiophile was until about 1990 when I got the disease and became one. My present gear is the best I've ever had-- or heard, and wouldn't trade it for any other, but the "magic" decade of R&R was 1955-1969 for me.

Music nowdays is better and worse than those early years, and now that CDs have matured, good digital music can be found, and there is huge variety today compared to the 50s and 60s. I don't like what the huge music companies have done to music though, ie the merging of country and pop-- it all sounds the same.

But if you look around, some really good music is available, ie re-issues of blues, R&B, and some new age like Enya, Enigma, Mai're Brennan, Clannad, and Waleala. And there are some unique modern artists that I really like, ie Cowboy Junkies-- who can classify their music? Also Melissa Etheridge and George Thorogood. GT may be a dinosaur, but if so, he's a T-Rex!! Cheers. Craig

Brianmgrarcom:

Well then Brian, I guess I am something of a mixed bag then. I've been into audio since 1977 (which qualifies me as a "senior" audiophile), but yet, at the ripe age of 39 (and turning 40 next April) so, I am guessing that being close to 40 years of age doesn't qualify me as a senior citizen yet, does it???

During the summer of 1977, visiting my aunt and uncle on a regular basis and listening to their system (which will be listed below) has started me on my lifelong journey (which continues to this VERY day) of seeking my version of audio's "holy grail".

But I also must say that during the time of which I have entered the world of audio as my one and only hobby, I believe that the audio industry was on the verge of transition. Technologies being developed at that time was for the eventual emergence of digital technology, and slowly but surely, by the ensuing decade, digital audio was coming into being, and analog audio was slowing dying and becoming extinct. So, with that said then, audio was at a crossroads by the mid 1980's. So then, when I started assembling my first system (also to be listed below) back in the early 1980's, I did not know where to begin. I did not know what source to pursue, be it the new and "exciting" compact disc, or the "tried and true" lp. Being that a lot of people was making a big stink about digital audio back in them days, I became convinced that digital audio was here to stay (BIG MISTAKE!!!!), and thus, I begin assembling my first system accordingly.

But now, if there is an upside to had out of all of this chaos and mayhelm as the audio industry was going through something of an identity crisis during the 1980's (the decade of excess, constant changes in audio technology, and of course, Reaganonics), I must say that my favorite decade during the time of which I began pursuing my hobby was 1985-95. Back then, there was the release of such vauted classics such as the Adcom GFA-555 Power Amplifier and the NAD 2200 "Power Envelope" Power Amplifier. With the release of these two amplifiers, they gave meaning and perhaps hope as to what was to come for a person of limited means such as myself, of what was possible and perhaps, on the horizion for the ensuing decade to come. Those two amplifiers gave me hope that because these two amplifiers were low in cost, they didn't have to be on the low end as far as quality, fit and finish, and sound quality was concerned. These two amps have given the big boys at the time a serious run for the money, and since that time, that alone, has given me a ton of inspiration. My all time favorite pieces of hi-fi gear that has ever existed include the Vandersteen 2 Speaker System (all incarnations), the Nakamichi 680ZX (the "pre" direct-dirve transport model), ZX-9, CR-7A, and Dragon Cassette Decks, the Magnum Dynalab FT-101 FM Tuner (for which I am the proud owner of one today), the Pioneer Elite PD-91 Compact Disc Player (very good sounding, looked very elegant and classy, and built like a tank...... too bad I never owned one), the Accuphase 80/81 Two Piece Compact Disc Player (I believe it was one of the first two piece transport/dac player combinations to appear on the market at the time....... and at about $12,000.00 to about $15,000.00...... certainly the most expensive), and the Mark Levinson No.26 Preamplifier and Mark Levinson No.20, No.20.5 and No.20.6 Class A Mono Power Amplifiers, and later on, the Adcom GFP-750 Active/Passive Line Stage Remote Control Preamplifier (which I also happen to own). In my humble opinion, I feel that these are the greatest pieces of audio gear of all time and should rightfully deserve to get a place in audio's hall of fame.

But now, fast forwarding to today, I feel that I have assembled what is to be my best audio system (which will also be listed) to date, and even then, that's not a finished product yet. And right now, to tell you the truth, I don't know if it will ever become a finished product or not. As I am expecting to get married sometime within the next two years, my audio system seems to be in a state of flux at the moment, as I don't know whether to disassemble it and simplify it with newer and more integrated componentry, or keep what I have, add a few more pieces to it (STILL!!!!), and try to convince my "wife-to-be" (and later on, my wife) that this is the system that I want to stick with, and perhaps enter our married life together with. Definitely, compared to the first system I have assembled almost twenty years ago, the system I have today is definitely far better, as not only, audio gear has gotten better and better over the last twenty years, but over the years, my gear has gotten better and better as it has gotten more and more expensive as well. And with the availability of better equipment being a available now (and that is..... the availability of such high resolution of SACD (which is something I plan to add to my system in the "not too distant" future) as well as separate and high quality phono ampification systems and high quality turntable/arm/cartridge systems), we're about to enter what I consider to be one of the best decades of all time in audio. Now is definitely a good time to be an audiophile. Welcome to the golden age of audio. High-End Audio is making a comeback. Don't let anyone else tell you anything else otherwise.

And now, for the systems below which as started my lifelong journey of audiophilia:

Aunt's and Uncle's System (from 1977):

Speaker System: ESS Acoustic Suspension Speaker System
Stereo Receiver: Pioneer SX-434 Stereo Receiver (15 Watts Per Channel)
Turntable: Technics SL-1300 Direct-Drive Turntable
Phono Cartridge: Pickering Magnetic Cartridge (forgot what model number)
Tape Deck: Radio Shack 8 Track Player/Recorder

My First Audio System (Circa 1978):

Sears AM/FM Stereo/8 Track Player/Recorder Component Set
BSR Record Changer with Ceramic Phono Cartridge

My First Hi-Fi Audio System (1983-90):

Speaker System: Polk Model 4 Bookshelf Monitor
Stereo Receiver: JVC R-30 Stereo Receiver (30 Watts Per Channel)
Compact Disc Player: NAD 5255 (purchased in 1985)
Cassette Deck #1: Luxman K-220 (1984-87)
Cassette Deck #2: Nakamichi BX-300 (purchased in 1987)
Inteconnect Cable: Monster Cable (forgot model number)
Speaker Cable: Monster Cable (forgot model number)

My Second Hi-Fi Audio System (1990-97):

Speaker System: KEF Reference 102 with KUBE Equalizer (purchased in 1988)
Power Amplifier: B&K ST-140 (105 Watts Per Channel)(purchased in 1990)
Preamplifier: Perreaux SM2 (Dual-Mono/Class A)(purchased used in 1992)
Stereo Receiver: NAD 7225 (preamp and power amp sections can be separated..... 25 Watts Per Channel)(purchased in 1989)
Compact Disc Player #1: NAD 5225 (retained from original system..... died in 1993)
Compact Disc Player #2: JVC XL-M509TN 6+1 (purchased in 1994)
Cassette Deck: Nakamichi BX-300 (retained from original system)
Interconnect: Monster Cable (forgot model number)
Speaker Cable: Monster Cable (forgot model number)

My Current Audio System (1997-Present):

Speaker System: KEF Reference 102 with KUBE Equalizer (retained from previous system)
Power Amplifier: Adcom GFA-545 MkII (100 Watts Per Channel)(Purchased in 1998)
Preamplifier: Adcom GFP-750 (Active/Passive Remote Control Line Stage)(Purchased in 1999)
FM Tuner: Magnum Dynalab FT-101 (purchased in 2000)
AM/FM Antenna: Terk AM/FM Q (purchased in 2000)
Turntable: Thorens TD-165 (not yet hooked up)(purchased in 2002)
Phono Cartridge: Grado Prestige Gold
Compact Disc Player #1: Pioneer Elite DV-37 Progressive Scan DVD/CD Player (purchased in 2001)
Compact Disc Player #2: JVC XL-M509TN 6+1 Compact Disc/Changer (retained from previous system)
Cassette Deck: Nakamichi BX-300 (retained from previous system)
Interconnect: MITerminator 2 (purchased in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001)
Interconnect: MITerminator 3 (purchased in 2000)
Speaker Cable: MITerminator 2 (Single Wired)(Purchased in 1998)
Power Conditioner: Monster Cable HTS2500 (purchased in 2002)

--Charles--