If we're just talking about when we knew we liked the gear, that was when I got one of those all-in-one setups with the 8-track in the front and record changer on top. My first step into bona fide quality gear was the Marantz on the left side of this photo. I think I bought it in 1982...not sure exactly...maybe 1983. I eventually picked up a Marantz 6300 turntable and some Cerwin-Vega D-3 speakers and I was rockin'. But I'd never really thought about what I might be trying to achieve with the sound quality. I just wanted a nice system.

I suppose some might say I was an audiophile when I got my Kenwood Basic setup or my Adcom separates, but I still wasn't listening critically just yet. The day I heard that McIntosh system it was probably the best sound quality I had ever heard in an attainable price range. I was intrigued, to say the least.