I was in my residency at the Cleveland Clinic probably in 1986 or 87 when, after much study of Stereophile and Absolute Sound regarding bang/buck ratio I purchased a Superphon Dual Mono Revelation preamp, Adcom (? GFA 555) 200W/Ch power amp and Vandersteen 2C speakers all new to replace my Marantz receiver and Ohm speakers. The Rega 3 table replaced the venerable Techniques turntable soon after. Sorry but I have no recollection of the cartridge.
Your First System
This should be good!!! Most of us have been in this expensive hobby for years now and have worked our way up to components we only dreamed of. I want to know what was your first system of separate components going back as far as you can remember. My first consisted of a Pioneer SX-680 receiver, a Technics SLD-1 turntable (I think that's the right model #), a Sharp tapedeck, and KLH floorstanding speakers. I was 16 at the time and thought I was the biggest badass on the block. Now, 20+ years later I have a ML 334, Meridian 507 CD, CJ PV10A, Canton Ergo 900 speakers, and a Transparent Power Isolator 4. I'm in the process of upgrading to a ML 390. It goes without saying the IC's and speaker cables are top notch as well. I know my system is WAAAYYYYY down the foodchain compared to what I've seen here but It would be interesting to see what everyone started out with.