1985 VF1000R... Getting close...

It was visually lovely, but I hated riding it!

The other gear... I wish that I had some pics of my old stereo stuff for home and car. The movers lost that while they were bringing my FJ here on its side in the back of the moving truck...not strapped to anything.

 

Lot of excellent audio setups here....I've enjoyed looking at and reading about them.....

I will chip in.

I started my music appreciation passion as a young teenager back in the 60's listening to the records my older brother bought when he was still living at home.

Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, The Animals, etc, etc.

Then I got my own phonograph (a portable) and starting buying my own. Mostly 45's but also a few LP's. I wasn't old enough to drive so rode my bike to the record store at the local Shopping Center next to our neighborhood in Norfolk (Fairlawn Estates). As 8 tracks came on the scene somehow I ended up with a car stereo hooked up to a 12v car battery in my bedroom. To this day I don't know how my Mom allowed this...lol.

We re-located to Florida and about the same time I got my driver's license and a year later my own car. After that is was game on! Every car I ever owned had a stereo in it. I even had one of those Quadraphonic ones that utilized those special quad. 8 tracks. The Door's Riders of the Storm with Jim Morrison's isolated vocals on one track - that was cool.

Back to the 60's my Dad was also a huge influence.....he loved his console stereo in the LR and had some very cool albums - lot of jazz and instrumentation stuff.

Here's a pic of my Dad in his chair and that Capehart console stereo.......(to be continued)........

 

When I started college in the fall of '72 I was living in a college town (Gainesville) and with that quite a few quality music stores. Those 5 years is when I feel I amassed most of my collection in vinyl.

I lived in dormatory's the first 2 years, as was required at that time. My first year's roommate's folks owned an Electronics store in Tampa, where he was from. I walk in our room and there sitting atop the dresser was a reel to reel. That year I learned to love Emerson, Lake, and Palmer through that reel to reel as I'd never heard it before. I ended up buying his Criterion 4x speakers and still have them today.

I also met my first college girlfriend at one of the record stores I frequented the most. She was the younger sister of the owner and lived in Miami but came up to Gainesville to visit. We dated for a couple years and it was great. I remember conversations with her older sister (the store owner) about different recording artists . She raved about Emmylou Harris when she started becoming known more. And we loved The New Riders of the Purple stage. All kinds of music but the country & southern rock in that part of the country was very popular. And oh the concerts I attended back then....just epic....

I don't think I ever owned what would be considered super high quality stereo equipment. But what I had served it's purpose.

Here's another photo - in the first home I ever bought near Ft Myers, FL my Mom and Stepfather came to visit and this was taken in my den with me showing Mom my stereo and CD's.......those are the Criterion 4X speakers I bought from my roommate in college......photo taken around '94......

 

Gloria Estefan of Miami Sound Machine fame.

 

I loved the paint jobs on those Yamaha bikes back in the day. Was resprayred when I bought it, no title, bill of sale, used to be used on the go cart track which is now gone. Bike was parked in my bedroom before I got married, laughed about thread jacking. LOL

 

Found a cool YT vid someone in Japan made of the Criterion 4X speakers I mentioned........

 

I remember those!

I neve did uncover the name of those limestone ones I tried back in the day...

 

If they transported one of my bikes not strapped down, I think I would have lost my chit. I looked at an Adcom at the local flea market, I was able to talk to the actual owner of the company picking his brain. It is nice to actually talk to someone and not get booted around. I bought two stupid Teac cd unit which are utter garbage, no satisfaction and basically would toss them out, could not get anyone worth a damn to talk to. Peace

 

Will post more about my current stereo setup in the house as well as outdoors. For now.....sharing one of 4 console stereos I have. All 4 work although 1 has some low static on one of it's channels. 3 are solid state and the 1 in the garage is a tube version - the oldest of the lot, obviously.

I keep the 1 in the garage tuned to our local AM station that plays all classics/oldies. It used to also carry the college football games on Saturdays but for some reason that went away. I remember many a Saturday morning listening to Casey Kasem's American Top 40 while putzing around on my mechanicals.

The sound coming out of these units is like no other. They aren't made BLAST the music....but rather to enjoy it as it was enjoyed back in the day. You'd have to experience it yourself to understand.

They show up all the time on the local classifieds. I hate to see them taken to the landfill but I'm afraid that's where many end up. Can't save them all - I don't have the room here - or maybe I would!

 

Beautiful. I get it. They are so "warm" sounding, especially with the right content playing. I have a couple friends with really cool ones too.

I do NOT have space. And I "BLAST" more often than not.

 

"I don't always listen to AC-DC...but when I do the neighbors do too!"

Will get back to the thread on my outdoor setups. But first a quick anecdote. Was working out back and had a compilation flash drive in the stereo which included The Smiths. My next door neighbor to the south, who is very cool yelled over "I love The Smiths!" Ha ha..

I do my share of blasting in my two vehicles too. Another topic for another day......

 

Ha ha.....

 

Speaking of groovin' out.......how about a little Canned Heat?

 

There's a lot of groovy groovin' gettin' laid down in that studio.

 

Far out maaan


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Just ran the ST1100, XL600R and the Rain 86 VFR750F. All fired instantly and settled into nice idles. It's been in the 50s lately here (somehow), so if it stops raining I might get a spin. Puh-leeeeeaaaase! Really don't feel like starting out in the rain.

 

50's is higher than usual, I take it?

 

Another one hibernated for a few months...

 

For sure. Should be sub freezing to low 40s right now. They were forecasting a warm winter this year.