What was your first rig? - Page 2

that is one nice first rig

Sansa Clip + Monster Turbine Pro Copper

 

was decently cheap

I put together a stereo in high school. I had a pair of cheap Fisher speakers, which weren't terribly good. So I bought replacement tweeters and mids at a local shop and they were halfway decent. I ran them off a cheap Sherwood receiver, with an old Technics turntable, an Akai cassette deck and an old Sony CD player. A year later, I upgraded to a Kenwood receiver which was really nice. Actually, my parents are still using that Kenwood. It has a beefy power supply and has held up great for over 20 years.

My next major step was buying a Sony MDR-V6 that I used for a long time with a variety of gear. I still like them and they were only retired when I got a HD-650.

After that, I built a pair of Verhagen Ribbons and ran them off a compact Sony CD/receiver combo. Really nice sound, believe it or not.

From there, I picked up my first good headphone rig, a HD-650 powered by a Creek OBH-11. That got me into Head-Fi, where I quickly picked up a K-501, HF-1, and K-1000. That led to building the ProAc Response 2.5 clones and a pair of Moth Cicada drivers. And a whole lot else.

I think the journey is going to end once the Linkwitz Orion3 speakers are done. I have the parts aside from the cabinets. Still on the fence between building the cabinets or ordering them. I'll probably sell a few things and order them later this year. I'll drive those with a pair of Adcom GFA-2535 amps I picked up last year and use an Electra-Print Ultrapath preamp. I also have the preamp in parts - I just need to assemble it once the workshop is done. Also, I don't plan to buy any more headphones at the moment. Maybe if Sennheiser improves on the HD-800 or something else interesting turns up.

my first rig would have to be a Ipod touch 3g paired with the bundled crapple earbuds 

When I was starting high school i bought a pair of klipsch promedia 2.1 computer speakers at bestbuy.  I thought 120+ dollars on a pair of speakers was real serious business at the time, telling my parents "It'll last me a loooong time... dont you worry"  as I threw down months of saved allowances.  i remember taking them home and hooking them up to my (first gen) xbox and listening to the 1994 smashing pumpkins track "Disarm" (LOL) for what must have been the 200th time and hearing the "roar" of the orchestra bass drum used in the first few measures of the song and literally jumping up and down with joy - I had never heard that "roar" there in that song before, and was totally pleased with one of the first "smart" purchases of my life.  later, i remember playing Morrowind and mistaking rain in the game for real rain outside my window.  I still have a softspot for that particular package, and occasionally recommend it to people looking for cheap 2.1 speakers.  i think i must have had them for about 8 or 9 years after that.  they were the first thing i ever bought that i was actually proud of.  they were great.  

Ipod nano 3G with a pair of JVC flats burned in

Now running a sansa clip+ with a pair of grado SR60i's after my first setup kinda broke.

Mine was a walkman.  In college, it was a Sony D-25 with AR Powered Partner speakers.  First headphone rig, level 3 modified Music Hall CD-25, Ray Samuel's XP-7 with Power Supply, Moon Audio Silver Dragon IC's, and a stock pair of Senn HD-580's.

I know I'm dating myself, but my first set-up (circa 1970) was a Heathkit integrated amp, tuner and speakers that I managed to put together myself without screwing anything up.  I also had a BSR turntable.  Not bad for way back then.

A late 60s Phillips portable record player, the speakers clamped together on top of the turntable to make a transportable whole.  Then "upgraded" to a BSR 4 speed autochanger with ceramic cartridge, built-in amp and supplied with speakers bought courtesy on my dad's cigarette habit, he had to collect 30,000 coupons to buy it. Later added Solarvaox TK 19 speakers then upgraded to a Garrard SP25 MK IV and Rotel RA210

I won't go into the whole system (including TT, 10.5" RtR, Cassette), but it was built around a new pair of JBL L100 speakers. 

Sony Walkman!

 

Well now!

 

My father was an audiophile some years ago in regards to speakers. He had a variety of receivers and what not, so what was his, was mine to an extent: Acoustic Research, B&O, Sears (I'm not going to lie, those are some of the best speakers I've heard to this date-- still kicking around at my cottage as the main rig) paired with amps/receivers from Pioneer, Yamaha, Akai, Marantz and more. All the above products were from the 70's to early 90's.

 

As some have mentioned, a Sony Walkman portable cassette player was my first rig... In my most cases, the stock headphones (I recently found a pair of early Sony Walkman headphones while cleaning up, not as bad as one might think! ;) )

ipad solo stepdance w1000x, currently lod to stepdance cuz solo hasn't been shipped to me yet ^.^

 

committed to audiophilia on 2/21/2011 when I purchased the equipment.

Edited by Girls Generation - 3/3/11 at 6:36pm