1973 - I got what I call my "Dentist's office system", so called because every dentist's office had one at the time. It consisted of a Panasonic 4 wpc receiver, and a pair of trapezoidal plastic single driver speakers that had captive wires that plugged into the back of the receiver with RCAs. It also came with a BSR 4800 changer with a ceramic cartridge. I was thrilled with this system until I bought a Yes record that made the speakers howl with every cymbal crash. This set me on a course of buying, tweaking and modifying that lasted for 25 years. I have less time for that now, but its still fun to mess around with this stuff from time to time.
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.