For me it was the mid-eighties when I decided I wanted to get more out of those record grooves than I was getting. I was doing a lot auditioning in those days and regularly attended the Salon Son & Image shows in Montreal. All of the gear was (even then) mostly out of my price range, but I loved what I was hearing and started to take small baby steps with some upgrades. I had already done pretty well with some lovely (now) vintage Japanese gear and it was certainly way above what most people had for a music playback system, but I wanted more.
So one day I walked into a shop and saw a lovely Revolver Red turntable with a Grado 8MZ cartridge for $800 and thought...do it! So I did and walked out with it. I hooked it up to my Pioneer SA-9500II integrated amplifier and BIC Ventura Formula 4 speakers. Heaven!
A few weeks later I upgraded the cartridge to a Shure V15 Type 3 and then visited another shop. I didn't really like the BIC's as the fuses kept blowing on them and it was pissing me off. They also had an open front baffle at the bottom which produced a lot of noise(hiss) and was irritating as hell. I knew I wanted a change. So I walk into this store, which was around the corner from where I worked, and saw a pair of Klipsch Heresy II Signature Edition 25th Anniversary speakers. They were beautifully finished in a gloss-black and had built-on slanted risers. Half an hour and $1,500 later I loaded them into my car.The wife wasn't overly pleased, but when I reminded her we just dropped $10K on a Thomasville Dining Room set this was but a small self-indulgence. She agreed. 
That night after hooking up the new speakers, and after dinner, I put on my fave record at the time and a smile came upon my face that has probably never been equalled since. I was in absolute heaven hearing Harmonium's l'heptade in it's full glory! I knew then I had taken the first steps into becoming an audiophile.
And if I'm being totally honest I must say that despite the upgrades I've made, no system has ever given me as much pleasure as that first step into the audiophile world! My system today is so much better, but I still miss it!
So one day I walked into a shop and saw a lovely Revolver Red turntable with a Grado 8MZ cartridge for $800 and thought...do it! So I did and walked out with it. I hooked it up to my Pioneer SA-9500II integrated amplifier and BIC Ventura Formula 4 speakers. Heaven!


That night after hooking up the new speakers, and after dinner, I put on my fave record at the time and a smile came upon my face that has probably never been equalled since. I was in absolute heaven hearing Harmonium's l'heptade in it's full glory! I knew then I had taken the first steps into becoming an audiophile.
And if I'm being totally honest I must say that despite the upgrades I've made, no system has ever given me as much pleasure as that first step into the audiophile world! My system today is so much better, but I still miss it!
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