The B12 (XII) Forum, home of the 'Front Porch, y'all' at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Perhaps their best effort IMHO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USQ697oqkaw

My very first stereo build when I was 13 in middle school, was something like this:









And of course the components were all housed in one of these:

And then over the years I traded out the receiver/amps for larger and more powerful models, multiple times.  Then on to A/V receivers supporting 5.1 and 7.1, with more and more advanced sub and satellite speaker setups.

But for music, honestly, nothing ever topped that old original Technics SA-120.  I kept it around for decades but now I have no idea where it went.

My very first stereo build when I was 13 in middle school, was something like this:









And of course the components were all housed in one of these:

Had something similar in middle and high school, except with a 6-changer CD player and a EQ component like your later add-ons, though the EQ was slightly less robust.  And the tape deck was dual, which was good for copying (ripping off/pirating/illegally distributing/Lars is probably gonna retroactively come after me).  And the record player didn't work very well, but that was ok because I didn't own any records.  My cabinets were a little different, but largely the same thing.  And it had a remote control with approximately 500 buttons on it which was roughly the size of a small monitor.  

It was all Pioneer, and store-bought as a single item.  Dad had gotten it for himself in about 1989 or so, but later decided he liked another brand better and gave the Pioneer system to me in about '92. 

I can't tell you how boss I thought I was with that CD player that could cycle through 6 discs without me having to change anything out. 

The space isn't practical now, but sometimes I wish I still had that setup.  The amp/speaker combo was very clean and warm, just like I like it.  And freaking loud.  Though I didn't get to indulge that aspect unless the folks weren't home.    

In the 80s it was pretty common for manufacturers to just go for power over sound quality.  You had to go REALLY high end for the best high fidelity sound, like McIntosh high end.

But the midlevel brands were all "good enough" and still produced some pretty clean stuff.  Technics was Panasonic's "high end" line and focused more on sound quality than some of the other comparable brands, but it was still very affordable at the time compared to the true high end stuff.  I think my SA-120 was only 40W per channel but it was always plenty loud for the size rooms I lived in, and it sounded great.

I didn't get a 6-disc changer until after college when I had a real job and upgraded a bunch of my gear, but that was 1994 so maybe around the same time as you.

Anyway, here's what I was greeted with this morning, my daughter's tune-crankage this time.  She's been on a bit of a country kick lately, I guess she's preparing for her new life at Texas A&M.

Man, I was really rooting for her to wind up in San Marcos so it'd be like a real-life version of that old Bill Pekar song.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxtQQqO2kmA

My wife doesn't know that I've got the components for the kitchen sound system staged in the garage. 
4x 8" Klipsch in-ceiling speakers.
4-channel 125W/ch bluetooth amp
Because it's just the kitchen, went with the smaller 10" 150W slimline sub.

While I don't like doing attic installs in the summer, I'll pick the next opportunity to drop it together.