What equipment or event thrust you into the hobby?

Separation from my wife and needed something to occupy my time. Audio Advisor website caught my eye, bought a pair of Sound Dynamic speakers and next thing you know.......

As a teenager-early seventies, listening to Ten Years After / Cricklewood Green / Love Like A Man on a friend's system (actually I think it was his dad's), unsure of integrated, unsure of TT except that I had never seen a full size platter before, it was manual and had a pickering cartridge, speakers were Wharfdales with wooden lattice grills over the grill cloth, the sound was the best I had ever heard. That was the beginning for me.

2 years old, my dad recorded christmas morning's on a pioneer 8 track (I still have it), I loved playing with the mics, wires, and watching the analog VU meters move when we spoke. I used to get in trouble (recorded of course) b/c I could not leave the wires and equipment alone. He had (still has) these huge speakers with 15 inch downfiring woofers in a 3 way design. They are called Grenadiers I think, they are octagon shaped, beautiful wood with real marble round tops mom and dad used for light stands. Any chance I could get I would crank his wood cased sony 70wpc receiver...the bass rattled the walls and my chest thumped...I was hooked instantly. From then on I have been cursed/blessed to be part of such a noble hobby ;) Now my toddler son absolutely LOVES looking at my tube amp at night (just like me) yelling out "amlifier...amlifier...amlifier"
as long as he stays away from the pencils (sorry dad) I should be in good shape ;)

Klipschorns in 1982. Wish that I'd never heard them..;)

in '86 I walked into a local highest end shop. I visited every week, for every week the speaker room show cased one set of speakers only. Almost always the choice front end was a Goldmund turntable, Koetzu cartridge. The amps were Mark Levinson or Jadis most of the time.

As I was saying, I walked in one day, and the owner was not present offering his customary glass of wine. The place was deathly quiet, except for a piano recital that came from next door.

So I thought. Walking into the huge room I spied two what looked like to me room dividers, perhaps some fancy diffuser. It didn't matter where I wandered about the room, the piano was being beautifully played down the hall. That vivid image never faltered no matter where I was.

It wasn't until I looked back to the equipment rack and saw the Goldmund spinning a record that I entertained the thought those trapezoid panels were creating the pianist down the hall.

I own those speakers now. The piano has moved into the listening room thanks to new more powerful and transparent amps now awailable.