The very first decent hifi I ever heard was my friend’s brand new Rega Planar 1 turntable, NAD 3020 amp and Mordaunt Short MS10 speakers. It was also the very best, in that it was the biggest leap from what I’d heard before. I sat transfixed by the depth and scale of sound compared with the familiar music centres, transistor radios and boomboxes. I knew I had to get one for myself.
Since then, I’ve done a hundred upgrades, and a few downgrades, and now own a system objectively far better than my first one. But I think part of me is still looking for that ‘hit’ with each new piece of kit. I’m hoping for a similar leap. And, of course, I never get it.
Which means the very best hifi I’ll ever hear - relatively speaking - is the first one. By comparison, everything else is just a little disappointing.
I felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when I listened to my system today, now all the latest upgrades have come on song together, that I have never had before since I was 16.
It’s maybe not just you, but it’s definitely not me. I’ve had revelatory experiences at numerous points during my upgrade lifetime. Where I’m at now is light years ahead of my first “proper” system.
I completely understand what you mean. I’ve said this before, I’ve always compared my many hifi systems to the first Audio Note DAC 2, 552DR, 135 system I had. It was the first proper high end system that I had and it completely blew me away.
My current system beats it in every respect but that experience will never be bettered. Like the first time you fall in love right. LOL
I think you raise a good question. I recall going around my mums friends when I was 13. He had a record desk with all sorts of levers on it, and I was bowled over by the sound. I’ve no idea what the setup was, and I have probably heard much better since including my own system, but at the time it was such a jump in quality, and taking account of my age, I have never been as bowled over as then.
I disagree. My current system is light years ahead of my first high end system which was entry level Spectral which was very well thought of in its day.
Yes somehow. I fell in love with Naim when I first heard a 32/Snaps/BD250 driving pair of Linn Kan in an old dude’s home. In the end I found: 1) his Snaic was plugged in wrong direction; 2) the set had never serviced in last 40 years; 3) drove with Linn K10 speaker cables; 4) the phono boards sound so wrong almost unlistenable
But it took a 52 to get me to that happy memory
I can relate to this. When I moved from my parents home to my first apartment, all I had the first months was a set of two small, cheap Yamaha speakers with built in power amp and a portable CD-player.
Then I bought a Proton pre-amp and a separate power amp, along with the Canon Ergo 100 speakers. That lift in audio quality and experience - that big lift I will never ever be able to get again. So, yes, I can relate.
100% agree. My roommate in my last year of university had an Arcam Alpha 5 amp, a matching CD player and Linn Kans (sp?). It was transformational. I have been chasing the audio dragon ever since. At one point, i picked up a used Alpha 5 just to see if it had that magic - and it of course paled in comparison to my then current set up. When I am really enjoying my system, my emotional response is on par with that Arcam system from 30 years ago…
The first time I was bowled over by a real hifi was the third one. The one at home; and my mates Cyrus setup were the first two and never really did much for me. One day I went into a hifi dealer and they let me hear an old A60 and nothing was the same ever again.
The previouytwo hifis were absolutely real hifis.
The difference, it turned out, was basically setup. The first two were hobbled by naff cabling and speaker positioning. The third one was a bit better but everything was done right.
That’s when I realized even a non hifi (like a high street midi system) would sound better than proper hifi if attention was paid to positioning and support of speakers relative to the listening space, and the proper hifi was smooshed together on a side table with speakers next to each other under a table
Looking at some system pics of the setup of very expensive gear, I do truly wonder at times. I suspect some people would buy a Ferrari if they had the money even if they lived somewhere with no roads.
My Naim system is in a different world to the Dynatron Hifi I bought way back in the 70s.
Back in those days speakers connected by “bell wire” BUT it sounded pretty good to me.
Better than the speaker I made at 14 , 5 various car speakers wired in parallel in. Chipboard cabinet I made, no insulation etc and plugged in to my reel to reel tape recorder.
The joy of recording stuff on Sunday afternoons chart show by Alan Freeman on the Light Programme
I think the biggest changes occur early on in the journey with the jump from basic audio equipment to actual hi-fi. Subsequently the steps are smaller despite the claims of night and day etc.
The big step changes are the most memorable. To this day the single biggest improvement I ever heard was when I went from a crystal cartridge to a ceramic as a poor teenager. If I heard them now I’m sure I wouldn’t rate either, but at the time the ceramic opened a window on what was achievable.
A couple of family friends had good systems, one including a Tandberg R2R. But, as people have said above, with speakers off to the side and easy listening music there was no wow factor. I did think the Tandberg was amazingly cool though.
These days the goalposts have shifted - phones plus Bluetooth headphones give sound quality way ahead of 70s music centres and the like. It’s easy to see why people stick at this level.
Mine was a Technics receiver, Technics turntable and a Hitachi tape deck. Still have a fondness for Technics and can see circumstances when I would buy another turntable from them
that’s a first for me. You do get our point though, don’t you?
