I bought the AR-5 speakers because I could with my paper route money. My Dad said "you can't buy a car" and I didn't need a house. My brother started with a Sony STR-7050, AR-4x, Dual 1019. I guess I liked it. Dad talked me into a chunk of gear I haven't found in any of the catalogs and don't consider it my first rig. The AR-5s at about $260, replaced the speakers that were part of that system. Then in May of 1970 I got my Mom to drive me to Dixie Hi-Fi where I picked up a system able to power the AR-5s.
The new system was the Dual 1219 with the deluxe base and dust cover with a Stanton 681EE, getting me started on mounting a cartridge and setting up a turntable, a Kenwood KT-7000, a Sony TA-2000 (no F on this one, smooth knobs not Fluted and no FETs which I think is the reason for the F designation, not the knobs) and a Dynaco Stereo 120 Kit. I paid, including MD tax at the time $812.24, add to that the AR-5 and I'm well into 4 figures for my first main rig...but less than $1075. I have the Dixie Hi-Fi receipt in my files with the manuals for this gear.
This system was just fine for a teenager's bedroom, a bit large for a dorm room and apparently well liked by others in the Student Ghetto at college were someone decided they wanted it more than I did. This happened two more times due to the lowest cost housing I would find. Just the wrong place. That first insurance settlement was a windfall though and allowed me to upgrade a good bit. There were a few pieces of gear going through the system in that time, too. The purchase of the power amp is what lead to a job in a local Hi-Fi store about three years later. Stayed there for the end of the 70s into 1981 when I returned to school to finish my degree.
That was a very good time to be selling gear. The stores in Knoxville, TN had a good number of brands but no one had the really good stuff, the esoteric audio. Hi-Fi House added Luxman shortly after I started there and this was our 'good stuff'. Can't put gear on the shelves that was better than the customers were willing to look at and buy and we had educated the customer to the level of one of the best Japanese manufacturers. Another store had the McIntosh line and I did purchase a C-28 there to go with that big amp.
Working in the store got me plenty of opportunity to hear what we had and limited opportunity to hear what other stores had. Not comfortable cross shopping and I don't know if the other stores would want me there and well I was in a store all day long listening to so great gear did I want to listen to more gear on the one day off that the other stores were open?
Bought gear while I was selling and still have a pile of it. Learned a lot about the what was good and remembered it. Then did the work stuff, only visiting a store on rare occasion and picking up a tt from consignment, tt, arm, cartridge and MC phono pre amp. Added a portable CDP for the car, system and bike. Didn't hook up the TT for a couple years, using the RtR and CDP. No room or place to put it at the time.
Finally hooked up the tt and another one and bought a decent CDP all before CL and all the gear that was available there. Fortunately, what I remembered from the old days and with research on the web, I have been able to upgrade the main rig. Maybe I'll talk about the changes in that in another installment. Preamps, power amps, systems at the group home (really group home, well a house with 4 roommates and many had gear) integrated amps, speakers and turntables all changing but remaining the better gear from the past. I am not an SXer, my term that you are welcome to use, for those that covet the larger receivers of some line of gear they prefer because they don't know how good separates are/can be and lust for the biggest after buying the smaller unit back in the day.
tomlinmgt, I posted this because I said I would get a thread going about how we got started. We PMed and I found out you are a new to audio guy, less than a decade. Tell us about that.
The new system was the Dual 1219 with the deluxe base and dust cover with a Stanton 681EE, getting me started on mounting a cartridge and setting up a turntable, a Kenwood KT-7000, a Sony TA-2000 (no F on this one, smooth knobs not Fluted and no FETs which I think is the reason for the F designation, not the knobs) and a Dynaco Stereo 120 Kit. I paid, including MD tax at the time $812.24, add to that the AR-5 and I'm well into 4 figures for my first main rig...but less than $1075. I have the Dixie Hi-Fi receipt in my files with the manuals for this gear.
This system was just fine for a teenager's bedroom, a bit large for a dorm room and apparently well liked by others in the Student Ghetto at college were someone decided they wanted it more than I did. This happened two more times due to the lowest cost housing I would find. Just the wrong place. That first insurance settlement was a windfall though and allowed me to upgrade a good bit. There were a few pieces of gear going through the system in that time, too. The purchase of the power amp is what lead to a job in a local Hi-Fi store about three years later. Stayed there for the end of the 70s into 1981 when I returned to school to finish my degree.
That was a very good time to be selling gear. The stores in Knoxville, TN had a good number of brands but no one had the really good stuff, the esoteric audio. Hi-Fi House added Luxman shortly after I started there and this was our 'good stuff'. Can't put gear on the shelves that was better than the customers were willing to look at and buy and we had educated the customer to the level of one of the best Japanese manufacturers. Another store had the McIntosh line and I did purchase a C-28 there to go with that big amp.
Working in the store got me plenty of opportunity to hear what we had and limited opportunity to hear what other stores had. Not comfortable cross shopping and I don't know if the other stores would want me there and well I was in a store all day long listening to so great gear did I want to listen to more gear on the one day off that the other stores were open?
Bought gear while I was selling and still have a pile of it. Learned a lot about the what was good and remembered it. Then did the work stuff, only visiting a store on rare occasion and picking up a tt from consignment, tt, arm, cartridge and MC phono pre amp. Added a portable CDP for the car, system and bike. Didn't hook up the TT for a couple years, using the RtR and CDP. No room or place to put it at the time.
Finally hooked up the tt and another one and bought a decent CDP all before CL and all the gear that was available there. Fortunately, what I remembered from the old days and with research on the web, I have been able to upgrade the main rig. Maybe I'll talk about the changes in that in another installment. Preamps, power amps, systems at the group home (really group home, well a house with 4 roommates and many had gear) integrated amps, speakers and turntables all changing but remaining the better gear from the past. I am not an SXer, my term that you are welcome to use, for those that covet the larger receivers of some line of gear they prefer because they don't know how good separates are/can be and lust for the biggest after buying the smaller unit back in the day.
tomlinmgt, I posted this because I said I would get a thread going about how we got started. We PMed and I found out you are a new to audio guy, less than a decade. Tell us about that.