What's the speaker that "started it all"?

285exp

Pair of Electrovoice 2 ways and a Sherwood receiver for HS graduation in 1975. Replaced a few years later with Bose 501's. Upgraded to Bose 901 II's when my dad bought a pair of SDA-SRS's. Sold the 901's and bought a pair of 10B's, now I have a pair of SDA-SRS's. Think I'm done for a while.

Bigbang

Wharfedales. I think they were called Dovedales. My father worked at an appliance store back in the 70's and brought home a pair of these. My brother ruined them somehow. We eventually took the speakers and fitted them with some really nice pioneer 6x9 car speakers. wow...

dougy

Looking back at my ancient audio experiences, I'd say I've been hooked on sound since I was little kid with a new transistor radio I got for Christmas. I remember laying in bed under the covers with that little radio, thrilling to the sounds (AM only!) coming out of that tiny plastic box.

But more to your point...I think the speaker that really started me on the road to audiophoolhardiness was a big pair of JBL's; L-300's I think. I heard them at a Burstein-Applebee store in Springfield MO, probably around 1972 when I was 16 years young. ...Or it may have been a pair of Bolivar speakers my old high school English teacher hauled into class to play a bunch of Cat Stevens songs sync'd with a slide projector showing...i dunno -a bunch of navel-gazing stuff geared to kids in their early teens. ...Or it could have been the first time I heard klipschorns! If I wasn't an audiophile by then, I surely was afterwards!

goldman909090

Hmm, old thread but great topic. Can't remember if I've ever posted here, but I got hooked on my polk 5b's driven by a Belles 2 amp using a Yamaha reciever and Carver Z adapter into the amp. NEC cd and Nak tape deck. Funny how this was my college system when I had zero income and has been the best system I've owned. Why the hell did I sell that Belles???

HB27

I think I'd have to go all the way back to home brewed "salvaged" tube amps set up with some big old horns "borrowed" from a PA system on our firebase in '68.
We had a radio enthusiast in our company that "found" some old tube amps and hooked them up to the monster horns. They were shortly there after re-confiscated but the clarity still lingers to this day.
It's been tubes and horns for me since for two channel.
My first "surround" system was a Kenwood KR-6340 and 4 Royal 7As (Jensen if I'm not mistaken). The Kenwood had a slide in demodulator cartridge(KCD2?) running a monster Garrard turntable with AT20SHA cartridge. Santana's Abraxis in "discrete" mode flipped me out the way the sound circled and rotated around the room. I was in a wheelchair for a couple of years (while they were re-assembling my legs) and I'd spin the wheelchair round and round trying to keep up with the circling sounds. I loved the old quad sound back then. It's always been my idea of surround sound LOL!
Harry

Kchill

Stupid me, HTIB onkyo...then the R30's...then R15's (which I got 4, and sent my brother the same set up..damm Fry's). Then the R50's which I thought would be it. Then (Damm FRY'S) put the Rti 10's on sale and I had to get them plus the Csi3 center. And close out fxi3's from poor closed hifi buy. I refuse to spend more on speakers as I have too many laying around, also now have a 2 channel set up with the original onk and 30's for the kids home theater.

SBrown712

My first real stereo set up was a pair of Cerwin Vega speakers driven by a Marantz amp. I don't remember if I even had a receiver I think everything I listened to was on vinyl.
I just went back through some of the posts in this thread and realize that I had a Marantz 1060 and I did have a receiver by Marantz also. I see several of the 1060s on ebay for more than I'm sure I paid when new. I can't figure out which Cerwin Vega speakers I had but I keep remembering R217 for some reason.
I kept those speakers for a long time and went to a B&O receiver.
Wow this is really bringing back memories of the 60s and 70s.
Umm that would be the 1960s and 70s

zarrdoss

Attachment not found.

these Kenwoods dont even know the model # but were effin huge real 15" woofer

BlueFox

My first "decent" pair of speakers in the early 70s was a pair of Pioneer CSA-700s; 3-way speakers with a 12" woofer, mid-range, and tweater. At the time I wanted a pair of JBL-100s but they were way out of my price range since I was making $1.80/hour. I forgot what I paid for these things new, but I remember it took a while to save up the money. But they sounded so good it was worth the sacrifice.

http://buy.ebay.vn/buying/en/display/310066988402_Pioneer-CSA700-Speaker-Brochure#ebayphotohosting

SolidSqual

Polk RTi6 and a Yamaha HTR-5890

Conradicles

Klipsch KG4 back in high school and college

Also my Dads fancy headphones when I was a kid...

Hillbilly61

SBrown712 wrote: »

My first real stereo set up was a pair of Cerwin Vega speakers

Conradicles wrote: »

Also my Dads fancy headphones when I was a kid...

Constantly listening to my college roommate's Cerwin Vegas and then buying Realistic speakers for the 30 amp Technics receiver that I could barely afford. Before having speakers for my receiver, I bought Koss headphones. Those headphones taught me the difference between really good sound and the CVs and the obviously inferior Realistic speakers. The Koss's sounded much better than the CVs.

From then a jump to Polks (after many hours of research and auditioning "everything"). Monitor 5s were chosen. Still not as good as the Koss's but closer. It's been a chase to recreate since... kind of like refinding the same one experienced when making love to the first true love of one's life. My SDAs come close, I've been hooked on them since.

bevo

I started really enjoying quality speakers in my car. A pair of JL audio 12 w2(I think they were w2), audio art 6 1/2s in the doors and 6x9s in the back with 3/4 inch tweeters in the dash. I had a audio art amp on the components and an auto tech 66 for the JL's. I never was into any competitions or anything, but it sounded great. I could hit about 134db with the system, without any noticeable distortion.

My new home theater is the only thing I've heard that I liked the sound of better. The ultra sub I just got really knocked me over. The old JL's I had in my car, couldn't even come close to the SVS.

motomech

This dates me, but here goes.
I believe it was 1970 or '71 when Circuit City opened their 2nd. store in the burb outside of DC where I grew up.
Basicly a warehouse, but man, the stuff!
Up to this point, I mean it was strickly the Craig 8-track and the folks's Magavox console
At the Grand opening sale, I left with a Sansui reciever, a pr. of AR's(I want to say 6's) and an AR turntable(the one w/ the perpendictular moving tone arm). My first apt. was furnished w/ this system and a mattress and nothing else, so began my life w/ mid-fi.
The recent demise of C.C. is particularly poinent for me, as it really does mark the end of an era in my life.
Twentry five years later I went though a real intense love/hate relationship w/ Infinity's w/ the Emit tweeter. Around the time of the divorce, as I recall...

markmarc

About 1975, my future brother in law's ADS L810's. He still has them in his basement.

philr168

The first time I listened to a pair of monitor 10's they were hooked to a yamaha b6. It took a couple of years before I could save up enough money, then I went out and bought a pair of RTA 12c's and a carver M1.5. Still enjoy them.

danz1906

A pair of JBL L3 speakers with a Harmon-Kardon avr-15.:)

chuckletect

appadv wrote: »

Was at my uncle's house years ago and heard his setup. He had mission bookshelves with a Denon AVR. Have been hooked on audio ever since.

So what's the speaker that got you into this hobby?

Polk 12A's!!!!!!!!!!! Best for the money in 1982!

Chuckletect

chuckletect

philr168 wrote: »

The first time I listened to a pair of monitor 10's they were hooked to a yamaha b6. It took a couple of years before I could save up enough money, then I went out and bought a pair of RTA 12c's and a carver M1.5. Still enjoy them.

I agree the 12C's were a vast improvement on the 12A's, but I still LOVED those speakers. Such detail and stereo imaging. Impossible to describe.

Chuckletect
:eek:

TNRabbit

Circa 1982: JBL 4312 Studio Monitors driven by a Carver amplifier.

reeltrouble1

As I have said before it was transistor radio, it was about the music not necessarily the gear, well, gear is a stretch in this case, when my Dad threw me his Wurlizter stereo console with TT I was in tall cotton and started collecting 45's, not sure of what speaks were in there as I suspect they were outsourced but it sure sounded different than that little radio.

RT1--Did you know Strength is the longest word in the English language with one vowel?

apphd

I can't remember the exact models, but it was a friends system he bought to start college in 1977. A pair of JBL speakers and a Marantz receiver. I think they were L36's and the Marantz was a 35 W or 45 W model that escapes me.

It wasn't much but it hooked me.

shawn474

My first set-up was when I was a sophomore in college. I went to a used stereo shop in DC and waslooking for cd's. I cam out with a pair of cerwin vega d-7's and an old sony es dolby surround receiver (wish I remembered the model number). A few weeks later I got a panasonic cd changer for 25 bucks and had my first party system.

Shawn

miner

In 1974 I started with Kenwood receiver, Dual TT, Akai cassette deck and a pair of Altec-Lansing large bookshelves. Replace the AL with JBL L-100 then I became crazy and got a set Bose 901 Series II. Next were yamaha that were stolen (Bose 301s were left behind), then my Polk RT20p. After several issues witht he Polks I got a pair of B&W N804 and a piar of Dynaudio 52SE. That is where I am at today.

brewersfan73

A friend of mine in college (circa 1992) had a pair of vintage Monitor 7's (I think) and NAD separates. What got me hooked was listening to The Replacements (Tim album) cranked up pretty high - heavenly bliss. I've always had a soft spot for Polks ever since, although I've leaned towards Yamaha on the receiver end.

HHStuart

Dynaco A 50's. Big speakers with a lot of bass (for the time) and a pretty even frequency response.

ward91

nice post :-)

, my dads mission 707's and a rotel rx402 with a philips cd610 and a garrard tt.
not long after a 2nd hand pioneer sa510 with the big blue lights and then some mission m71i's

vijayl

I always passionated with music (from may be age of 5), motorcycles (may be from the age of 14) and photography (from age of 18). Due to life changes/priorities, I started buying SF homes as investment!! Started to spend more time on audio from 2008 Aug and ended up buying Monitor50s and Onkyo 805. It was a great start.
Later early this year upgraded to RTi series and Pio SC-07 and now w/ DT Mythos ST and SC-07.
I'm still crawling on photography hobby.
My motorcycle passion is still a dream and hopefully, I cud spend time soon and enjoy that as well.

skipf

AR-2ax. Lot of sound for a small speaker. My LSi9's remind me a lot of the AR's.

bikezappa

skipf wrote: »

AR-2ax. Lot of sound for a small speaker. My LSi9's remind me a lot of the AR's.

Me also, back in 1968 me and my sister together bought that speaker, the AR amp and the AR turntable.