[HonestBlues]

Hello all,I am new here and after lurking for several days,I am amazed at the amount of information and overall friendly vibes I have found here.As for me,I am a recently medically retired Army helicopter mechanic with enough time on my hands now to listen to music most of the day.I am new to the audiophile headphone ownership/discussion thing so I hope to learn much while enjoying all the contributions here.That said,on to the thread subject.I am old enough to remember when the first Hi-Fi on the market was mono and were all tubes.However,my first quality stereo was mostly a hand-me-down from my Dad.It consisted of an Eico tube amp,a Garrard turntable,and a pair of Dynaco A-25 speakers.Had to buy the speakers because my Dad,while he was upgrading to a new solid-state amp and Dual turntable,kept his Acoustic Research 2a speakers for himself.My headphones that came later were,to the best of my bad memory,made by Koss and I cannot remember the model.I do however,remember many late night listening sessions wearing those headphones and listening to the new,at that time,early Pink Floyd albums.Anyhow,I just wanted to break the ice somehow and I hope to learn much in my future time here.

 

[dspang]

A pair of Logitech X230 speakers hooked to my PS2 being used for videogames, movies, and cds all together.   A pair of Sennheiser Hd202 headphones of which I have to this day and still listen to and love.  It all spiralled out of control there.

 

[Uncle Erik]

It's hard to say. My first audio device was one of those childrens' turntables with a speaker in the side. I had a bunch of cheap acetate records and old 45s to play on it. I think it might still be under the house at my parents' place. I ought to clean it up and put it out next to the Orbe.

My first good pair of headphones were Sony MDR-V6s. I gave them to my brother-in-law after I got my HD-650s. I still think the MDR-V6 is pretty good.

My first good pair of speakers were Verhagen Ribbons, built from plans in AudioXpress Magazine and some scraps of wood my cousin gave me. I think I paid around $200 in materials. They're in storage, but I love those ribbons. I had no idea how good music reproduction could be until I heard them.

 

[FrankCooter]

I was a perpetually broke teenager growing up in the San Francisco Bay area in the late '60's/early '70's. My first speakers were a pair of torn up Altec professional woofers that I'd dug out of a dumpster. I glued up the cones and mounted them in a pair of open back plywood shipping crates. I got a pair of horn tweeters from somewhere and a couple of simple Radio Shack crossovers.(they actually sold real electronic parts then).  Had a couple of mismatched 6v6 push-pull mono amps scrounged from some discarded console "hi-fi's". Source was a Fisher mono FM tuner. Spent countless hours listening to "underground" stations like KMPX and KSAN. Ironically, the whole thing sounded pretty good. I still kind of miss it!

 

[jjinh]

First headphones were the Koss KSC75s. Brilliant. I still have them (I also have a backup pair) and I still use them nearly everyday!

 

[nycbone]

First stereo:
And Emerson all in one (tuner/turntable/cassette player). That wasn't so great, particularly as the turntable ran fast. The whole thing was actually kind of sad.
 
First headphones:
Whatever headphones came with my Sony Walkman II ca. 1981. That was a nice piece of machinery in its day. I thought it sounded great, except when I listened to tapes recorded using the Emerson. I got through most of college with that Walkman.
 

 
First decent headphones:
Koss Pro4X ca. 1986. Also bought an early PortaPro to go with it.
 
First decent equipment otherwise (1986-1987):
A Hafler 120 power amplifier that I built from a kit used with a set of Polk 5jr loudspeakers that I got for free(!). My dad purchased a very expensive set of Polks and asked the dealer to throw in the 5jrs to seal the deal and they went for it. They are still the nucleus of my DVD sound system. I built the amp (against all advice in the instuction manual) on a kitchen table in one sitting.

 

[MadCow]

Quote:

 

 

 
Hey that was my first Walkman as well! Came with some cheap over-the-ear headphones with orange padding that quickly disintegrated....

 

[nycbone]

I received the Walkman II for Xmas 1981. One of the nicest gifts I've ever received.

 

[Lazarus Short]

My first stereo was a BOTL Midland receiver (my brother had the TOTL), a BSR turntable, and a miserable pair of Midland speakers.  The receiver left for CA with a cousin, the TT resides to this day in a basement in Independence, MO, and the speakers I still have. 
 
My first good headphones were the Stax SR-34, electrets with a transformer.