member rroobbcc's ruminations upon his first system, circa 1991, got me in the mood to show off my embrassment of a first Hi-Fi system, a hand-me-down from my ex-father back in 2000. well, everyone has a starting point, i guess. at any rate, here's mine:



NIKKO 5055 20-watt stereo receiver (197?)



RADIO SHACK REALISTIC 31-2000 12-band graphic EQ (1982)



PIONEER CT-980W double cassette deck (1987)



BSR MAC DONALD 200BAX belt-drive changer turntable (197?)




and, a couple years later, my first POS of a CDP:


TECHNICS SL-MC3 60-disc CD changer (1998)



then, in 2003, i got my very first serious component, the very same reliable 130-watt 1990 PIONEER VSX-D1S A/V receiver that lies in the heart of my system today. interestingly enough, though i had no clue what it was, and had no interest in it at the time, this ad out of a 1992 video game magazine, that i have had since it's printing, was a fairly accurate vision of what my future was destined to hold:


(PIONEER VSX-D1S and GR-777 in the cabinet, among other, not-so-nice components)





anyway, it's been a hell of a ride so far, and nearly ten years later, i'm nearly at the zenith of what i've always wanted my dream A/V system to be comprised of!!

As I'm a good deal older than you, my first system likely crumbled to dust long before you were born. Still, I remember it fondly, and thought it sounded absolutely wonderful at the time (circa 1964). The components were:

Lafayette LA-250A 25-watt tube stereo amplifier. No tape monitor, but a very useful "Phase" switch on the faceplate that reversed the polarity of the leads to just one speaker. It was my first experience as to just what in and out of phase speakers sounded like.

Two Lafayette SK-180 "Tri-Helix" 3-way 10'' speakers mounted in Lafayette's proprietary "Elliptoflex" enclosure. Amazingly good sound for the day, and for only $66.60 each too!

The legendary AR-XA turntable, with a Shure M-55E cartridge.

That's it. No tuner, but a year or so later, a Sony TC-250A reel to reel tape deck.

The whole system, minus tape deck, would have sold for about $280. I sold it off decades ago, and I'm sure it gave the next owner(s) many years of listening enjoyment.

That system is nothing to be embarassed about. My first system on the other hand was absolutely pathetic. I won't share what it was..... Suffice it to say that it would make BPC look high-end.

I think that realistic EQ looks kinda cool!

well, it DID work quite well. still, it was far too utalitarian looking for me. plus, it had a FIBERBOARD bottom panel, which i happened to find MOST uncool. i wanted something more Kabuki-ish, something a bit more gee-whiz, 1980's Japanese-High-Tech. something with a FL-tube spectrum display, to be sure. the 1988 PIONEER GR-777 was the one i found i was ultimately after:






it's a remote controllable 10-band with dual L-R spectral displays, and all that fun, BPC $&%@. anyway, i had to make do for a couple of years beforehand with a FISHER EQ-276:





it wasn't a bad EQ at all, actually. FISHER or no. still, i was ultimately satisfied with no less than a PIONEER GR-777...

Yeah, I agree. I would rather have the Pioneer too.