How did you get into this nonsense in the first place?

[Kember]

I knew the place. Two old girls used to run it. I bought all sorts of goodies from there!

Geoff,

Indeed. A veritable palais de pishanto!

Back then, there were several totter merchants at the bottom of the Cowley Road and in St Clements, with some good stuff and a lot of crud. Looking back, I wonder if my Sony kit was fenced but I suppose it can't have been, as it sat in the widow for several weeks before I bought it...a bit too obvious.

The whole area was a bit sketchy in those days. It seems somehow appropriate that the two boozers (the Oranges and Lemons and the Greyhound) which put on John Otway's and Wild Willie Barrett's early gigs are there.

Peter

[navigator]

Ta to User211 and Ali Tait for appreciation.N.B.Cousin Allens speakers were hand crafted with 2.5 cm sand filled plywood walls by the way-a key idea then.
I'd like to add that my hifi trail [and trial] has been for accurate music rendition from affordable items rather than accumulating big name gear that I could never afford.
The highlight of my journey was this March successful demo at Scalford with a system cheaply designed for 2 minute listens-ie short visit punters.

[WOStantonCS100]

It was reading a post about a ferguson record player made me think. There are normal folk happy with ghetto-blasters music centres, and midi-system. We are a rare breed. My wife has just signed up - can't do the techie stuff, but now has a threshold of tolerance, and knows when what she's listening to is letting her down. So how did it all start for you?

I grew up listening to my father's 500ish LP collection and assorted tapes with a Stanton 881MKIIS(?) on a Technics SL-1400MK2 (he had a Garrard Lab 80 prior) and his open reel through a Fisher integrated and University Medallion loudspeakers (12" woofer, (level adjustable) 6" midrange, tweeter) situated for best performance as the focus of our living room. I didn't realize until much later that he had "done me in" for ever accepting crap sound... or crap music.