The Good Ole days

[speakerman1]

I was just thinking about my 1st what I could afford High-End Stereo. I remember it was an awesome Rotel amp. I can remember the speaker model number was Z-7000. I had a TT i can't remember it. I also had the greatest Aiwa cassette deck you ever wanted to remove hiss from a tape. I would set the inputs to 0 and record nothing and it would kill the Hiss.

There were Yamahas, HKs all in the barracks. Everyone jammed. You would always hear music.

We took pride in our equipment. You had a right of passage to be in a certain group. I remember buying Maxells just don't remember which ones. Every thing you had was with pride. You either bought on payments or you saved for months to buy what you wanted. Remember them showcasing the Nak 202. It was so cool. The guys who sold MAC had it. They would take you in the sound room and let you listen. You just smiled.

What has happened to those days. What happened to the pride? We didn't brag on who paid the most; but we knew. Everything we had we took very good care of. LPs were always clean. They cost us money. We bought the best even if it did cut into our beer money.

Things have changed. Even when I was poorer I would hit the pawn shops till I found what I wanted. There were certain brands we didn't touch or talk about. They just didn't fit in our mantra. Now we brag about tapes we have that we had to go into the deck to bias to make them sound good. When I sold my Denons people were offering me 150.00 telling me the person who bought them that was all they were worth. The person who bought them apologized for what he offered me.

If I'm an audio snob then I have always been one. I remember finding a Crown tube amp I wanted so bad it wasn't funny. People who have Macs and use zip cord for speaker wire. I'm sorry. That is like owning a Ferrari and having it up on blocks or putting recaps on it because you can't afford good tires.

Larry

 

[orange]

I wanted a Pioneer SX-3xxx series receiver in 1981 so badly I could see the Technics New Class A stuff and Clarion car stereos across from them at ELI'S RECORDS AND TAPES whenever I closed my eyes.

I worked at my dad's gas station that summer and bought my first turntable at Radio Shack on clearance, my Sanyo cassette deck and Sonics speakers (yes, I heard them first, even at the membership card store) and they were on sale and in the last month of summer I had my school stuff like my parents demanded and was on the way to my clearance Pioneer receiver.

Then one day there wasn't good communication with a guy in a diesel Chevette and $10 worth of UNLEADED went in before I knew what had happened.

Unleaded was @1.219 then, about 8.2 gallons and I lost over $120 (2 weeks pay) for the cost of Dad draining and cleaning the tank (it had to be dropped out to do this) and then get diesel in the car and over to the Co-op a block away. I had to go back to the card store and get a Sanyo 2016 receiver instead.

I was a bit insane with grief that day.

I was well past 20 years later before I owned a used SX-3600. I had an SX-525 first perhaps but it was still 20+ years

So yes, I understand.

 

[stuwee]

Hehe, I was a , still knew my stuff tho, bought the Thorens in '77 it had the priceless (now) silver bent finger Ortophone cart on it, my sister dropped it on the ribbed mat and bent the cantilever, so I bought a Grace F9E, worked my ass off to buy that cart mowing grass. I think it was about $150 back then.

Oh yeah, and the Sanyo A35 amp, Genesis speakers with the green foam surrounds, Teac A500 and an ADC SoundShaper II EQ. Payed for by selling grass (rolled in yellow banana EZ Wider papers, one joint at a time ).

I had to have good Lps, so when MFSL came out with their first releases I picked up 'DSOTM' 'Crime of the Century' 'Fly like an Eagle' & 'Abbey Road' all at the mindbending price of $17 each (well worth every penny listening thru the smokey haze in my basement lair !!)

Ah, the good 'ol days!

 

[Web Police]

I was a bit insane with grief that day.

I can only imagine.


I can remember purchasing a new Marantz SR-7100DC receiver and a new Pioneer RT-909 Reel to reel deck with my student loan money.

 

[stuwee]

I was a bit insane with grief that day.

I can only imagine.


I can remember purchasing a new Marantz SR-7100DC receiver and a new Pioneer RT-909 Reel to reel deck with my student loan money.

Ah, that explains alot

 

[orange]

I was a bit insane with grief that day.

I can only imagine.


I can remember purchasing a new Marantz SR-7100DC receiver and a new Pioneer RT-909 Reel to reel deck with my student loan money.

Ah, that explains alot

You didn't expect him to study biology without study aids, did you?

 

[Web Police]

Ah, that explains alot

Yeah I was gonna spend the loin's share on Village People Albums, but they were all sold out.

 

[orange]

Now, where are those tapes?

mmmn, HEY, where's the lighter???

That's FIVE this week, what are you, a Roach Motel?

Those are EX PEN SIVE!

Wanna watch your EX get PENSIVE? Find one for god's sake...

Hehe, I was a , still knew my stuff tho, bought the Thorens in '77 it had the priceless (now) silver bent finger Ortophone cart on it, my sister dropped it on the ribbed mat and bent the cantilever, so I bought a Grace F9E, worked my ass off to buy that cart mowing grass. I think it was about $150 back then.

Oh yeah, and the Sanyo A35 amp, Genesis speakers with the green foam surrounds, Teac A500 and an ADC SoundShaper II EQ. Payed for by selling grass (rolled in yellow banana EZ Wider papers, one joint at a time ).

I had to have good Lps, so when MFSL came out with their first releases I picked up 'DSOTM' 'Crime of the Century' 'Fly like an Eagle' & 'Abbey Road' all at the mindbending price of $17 each (well worth every penny listening thru the smokey haze in my basement lair !!)

Ah, the good 'ol days!

 

[Skywavebe]

If you guys that are quitting to smoke need some encouragement and at the same time a laugh, you should check out the Jerry Reed song about him going to quit smoking.
Of course he has one where his subject is cars and turnpikes too.

 

[laatsch55]

1976, middle of nowhere, Red Desert Wyoming. Middle of the biggest boom the oilfield had seen in that part of the world. Had a full ride scholarship to play basketball at Casper college, blew my knee out and in those days you were out on your ass. two weeks later was washing trucks for a very colorful oilfield trucking outfit which is how I wound up in the Red Desert moving drilling rigs. Ah, winch trucking, those were the days, no DOT yet, all the hours and dope you could do. One of the few jobs I had that you made more money than you could spend on dope. So, saved for a year, last rig move before a week off and I was going to buy a tune box.
Had read all the stereo reviews and trade mags and had a good idea what i wanted. Jumped in the 69 Grand Prix Model J and headed for the connects house first, I was out. Copped a couple ounces of Oregons best rocket fuel and WAS OFF to Billings Montana. Rimrock Mall had a killer audio store. The salesman was somewhat reluctant to let me play, course had hair down to my ass, so skinny if i turned sideways you had to look twice to see me. They had a room they left you in and locked so no one else could blow shit up while you were on the clock. Had to leave ten grand as a deposit at the managers office, but i was finally alone with some of the best equipment made at the time. Mac, Marantz, Sansui, Crown, Kenwood, Pioneer, HK, and the first Kornerhorns i had seen in the wild. The store was receiving complaints two minutes after I fired up those horns, then added some 901's to the mix, then some D-9's, and finally some large JBL's, forget the model number. I think I had multiple sonic orgasms, of course had most of the amps pegged driving these miracles of modern times. The Mac was not living up to its hype the Crown " Distinction Series" DL 2 was holding its own, and the Spec 2 was kicking some CV ass. Needless and needing to say I walked out with a Spec 1, Spec 2, SG-9500, RG-1, TX-8500, a set of rosewood K-Horns, a Denon DP1500 TT with an Infinity Black Widow tonearm and an ADC "Astrion" Cart, and ten grand lighter. One thing Dad always told me" Son, don't be afraid to buy the best, you won't regret it" very sage advice.
Still have all those components today except the K-Horns, during those times I was on the move alot so the K-horns got traded for a pair of Ohm Model F's and some Bose 901's.
Yeah, I remember how it was, bought those "Master Albums" recorded With a Teac 4300 then taped shut, only to see the light of day if the tape wore out.
Damn, that was 35 years ago.

 

[speakerman1]

That was the days. Back then I was a 2 striper making 420.00 a month. I remember the Ohm speakers. I had long hair according to the military. Almost cost me 200.00 for a hair cut. Was it Nak that had the real small system. I remember the Norman Labs with a marble top. They sounded so good. I remember my speakers now. They were Omega Z-7000s. I traded them for some Norman Labs. I had a 67 Chevy Impala convertible. It was cool. My roommate had just come from Germany. He had a Pioneer Quad system. If I remember right. Big honken quad R2R. Put it on slow play could listen for hours to one reel. Didn't have to jump up and down to flip the LPs. Only one radio station played rock. The college station and it shut down at midnight. Disco Sucks

Larry

 

[orange]

If you guys that are quitting to smoke need some encouragement and at the same time a laugh, you should check out the Jerry Reed song about him going to quit smoking.
Of course he has one where his subject is cars and turnpikes too.

Sam, I never smoked, wasn't much on beer and was already too weird to need EZ Wider.

My dad's chemo and the loss of a girlfriend 15 years ago to breast cancer that became bone cancer (all too common and they're working very hard to prevent it) cemented it even deeper.