My first stab at a proper hi-fi, the Sony XO-D501CDM, brought brand new at a third of retail price (which was £479.99, back in the long hot summer of 1990). Before this, I'd had a little Philips stereo with twin cassette, radio and a very tinny turntable, plus speakers that would almost qualify as bookshelf. But this Sony had a decent turntable, a stereo equalizer, Dolby NR, auto-reverse and... whisper it quietly, a five-disc CD player. Oh, and surprisingly excellent speakers.
I should point out that this isn't my actual XO-D501CDM, I found the pic online. No, my XO-D501CDM was sold to The Man Of Cheese when I upgraded, four years later, to audiophile hi-fi separates, in much the same way that my parents took the Philips off me when I bought the Sony. It did many years of service for The Man Of Cheese, as I recall - indeed, he had it for a lot longer than I did, in the end.
Anyway, maybe it's my age but this is what a stereo should look like, and I wish I still had those speakers. What was your first set-up?
My word,that takes me back to many happy memories. For some years following the sale the system took pride of place on my chest of drawers in my bedroom. Countless hours creating CD to tape compilations from the,to me at the time,groundbreaking 5 CD changer system. I then sold it to another school friend for whom it did more sterling work.
ReplyDeleteIt still looks sexy to me in a way that an Ipod can never hope to do,or am I just a little odd?
No, mate, you're not odd in the least. Unless we're both odd. But this is what a hi-fi should look like, isn't it? Lots of buttons, sliding knobs, a smoked-glass effect plastic cover, big speakers with multiple cones, drawers that slide in and out, soft-eject doors ...frankly, an iPod just doesn't cut it.
DeleteOf course, these days even the phrase hi-fi is passé, I guess, and I have just aged myself more accurately than carbon dating.
And that unit had the remote control and volume knob that was motorised and magically spun round without being touched,I found it mesmerising!
ReplyDeleteProper stuff, mate, proper!
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