What was your first "hi-end" component ?

[Chad.Wagner]

Sony Walkman WM-F15

[Wasatch]

Harmon Kardon 800 series. Amp, pre-amp, cassette deck, and tuner measured only a foot high, by a foot wide. Cost me I believe $2000 back in 1980.

[GaryB]

My first "real stereo" was a Kenwood KA-7100 integrated amp, BIC 980 turntable with ADC XLM cartridge, and large Advent loudspeakers.

My first high end buy was a purchase of a Threshold FET-2 preamp and a Threshold S/150 power amp in the early 1980s.

---Gary

[drrsutliff]

1980 moved from Dynaco SS separates I had built (stolen at college) to the simple NAD 3020. Amazing little unit that added new insight to music.

[rlw3]

First system b and w 802f speakers with the loosely gooey mid range and tweeter head, Conrad Johnson pv5, electron kinetics eagle 2a amp. The amp and pre combo was used for a long tome by J Gordon Holt. Had a miserable Denton direct drive record player with all kinds of motor noise finally got my first vpi and things improved greatly

[digitalzed]

My first higher end components were baby Advents and a Pioneer CTF-900 auto reverse cassette deck. The CTF was the most money I'd spent on anything up until that time. $500. I believe it was the first deck to have a digital VU read out and at the time was really an attention getter. Recordings were quite good for cassette but the 900 was plagued with transport motor issues that rendered it useless in eventually, limiting it to forward only. I had my unit in 3 times for repair within a year until Pioneer said no more. The experienced soured me on Pioneer to this day.

[TOGA]

Mine will never be called vintage because they were in digital era already.
But my very first players that I felt there were of very high quality at that time.
Here
In early 90's in my high school
Sony CDP-X77ES 1991 < still working fine till today
Nakamichi CR-5 cassette deck, I loved it. can't afford CR-7 at that time
Aiwa XK-S9000 cassette deck with Dolby-S+internal DAC
Yamaha CX-1000 +MX-1000 pre+power pre had video switching and
internal DAC.
I still have TDK MA-XG and Sony Metal Master tape in seals
later I got JBL XPL-200 which I thought the best I could own until.. I got next speakers ten years later.
In late 90's I was into home theater, I had Yamaha DSP-1 processor and DSR-100pro
Dolby Pro-Logic processor. and many years later replaced them with Proceed PAV+PDSD
Dolby Digital/DTS pre-pro. Proceed HPA-3 power amp and Accuphase P-360 and P-11
to bi-amping JBL XPL-200 with JBL's external electronic crossover DX-1, later got Definitive Technology BP2000.
After graduated from university, this is the first time I use my own money to buy my
new speakers, Thiel CS1.6 < and this was where everything really become more serious stuff.
Today, Proceed processor are both for display only, not functioning anymore. HPA3 still working fine driving surround speakers. Sony CDP-X77ES still working like new !
Thiel CS1.6 still doing fine. Aiwa deck stop working due to many stiff rubber parts and belts. JBL XPL-200 still working fine, although outclassed by Thiel's.
hmm.. that's quite some fun for me, from 1991 till today.
Toga

[bdowell]

Originally Posted by Face

MC7270. It's one of the few components, if not the only one that I miss.

I had one too. I really thought I had arrived when I bought it. Nice warm sound. My wife was amazed at how much I sold it for after eight years of use.

[shindostevesan]

A Hafler 200 watt amp that blew my mind and my speakers.

[biquer]

Harman Karden integrated amp, 1977