Panasonic SG3220. My first system. I was, of course, completely smitten. Cannot recall the speakers, but I do remember upgrading them with 2 of my father’s 4 Akai 3 way lumps that were fed by his Akai reel to reel and amplifier/tuner
He had no other source than his recordings made from the sunday night top 40. The occasional song ended with a couple of words of DLT or Kid Jensen who had jumped in before he could hit pause, which irritated him intensely and cigar would be put to one side whilst he tried to cue up the tape to remove this interruption before the next song appeared.
The reel to reel also served as recording studio for my first teenage band. It was a wonderful, if temperamental thing, with its satisfying mechanical clunks. The amp produced a warm and rich 70s throb - perfect for the Abba and Boney M my dad so favoured.
They may not be the best looking, but I remember them all with great fondness.
So interesting how so many of us have very similar thoughts and experiences regarding our initial forays into hifi.
Keep your hands where we can see them:
This just made my week. I bought a pair of these, along with an NAD 7125, in 1984 as my college system. I gave them to a friend about ten years ago and they still are sounding great. I remember comparing them to the Missions and B&Ws of the day and totally preferring them…
Having had a vintage Akai cassette deck, their stuff was just immaculately made and a tactile pleasure to use.
Stupidity caused me to get rid of it and it’s my biggest hi-fi regret to this day. If someone said I could nip back in time and bring forward either my old A60, Linn Keilidhs, Linn Majik, or my old Akai tape deck circa 1979, I’d choose the Akai. Then I’d bake it cookies and tell it how sorry I was.
Those were the days, my friend. As the song goes…
Ah, the NAD 7125… Now there was a receiver that really didn’t look like much at all, yet sounded surprisingly good. I borrowed one for a few months when I was in the States during the early '80s and was really impressed. Only thing I didn’t like were the pathetic spring clip speaker cable terminals.
I have a red one, but I guess the one shown has some additions? I’ve never seen the knob switch and light on the front before.
Very good with a Stanton disco cartridge in.
Surely, you don’t think these qualify as ‘best looking’, nor even hi-fi.
Harsh
You mean because he called him “Shirley”?
I expect if you like the Gerard aesthetic, these decks probably do evoke the warm nostalgia feelings. But if you’ve struggled to even like the look of proper Gerard decks (like myself), then yes they probably do nothing for you.
We have to accept that a lot of what is appreciated on this thread is tied up with childhood memories, age, and the country you grew up in.
You’re not wrong there, and I’m sure that this red and cream Dansette must conjure up fond memories for many folks in UK, who, like me, were entering their teenage years around the time of the Stones’ very first album.
Happy days, indeed.
Memories yes, but best looking HIFI gear?
“Hifi” is a relative term…especially in our vintage years when we were starting out, and funds were likely limited…we all did the best we could.
A dansette?
You have to allow for the fact that in that particular era, the only competition was likely to be your mum and dad’s radiogram, and so, yes, it was most definitely the best looking vintage gear of it’s time.
(Particularly, in my case, since it lived in my bedroom, and I could play the aforementioned Stones’ first album all day long, after school, if I wanted to … … … which I certainly did!)
