What was your first "hi-end" component ?

[FlashG1]

In 1978, I started upgrading from a Lafayette LA-44 quad integrated amplifier and Radio Shack spacers that had served me in the dorm and my first apartments. My first high-end purchase was a pair of Phase Linear (Andromeda) Phase III speakers from Bob Carver and friends. I bought them in 1978 as they were being cleared out of a stereo store in a furniture store in Houston, TX. Retail was about $1695 and I think I paid about $1,200 on closeout. They are still in use as one of five systems around my house all integrated together via a iTunes/Apple Express router whole house system controlled by iPhones and iPads. This system is all classic… Denon DL-62L turntable, Koetsu Redwood Signature cartridge, Bob's Devices SUT, Carver C-1 preamp, and Carver M1.5T amplifier.