Batesmotel Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Not furniture stores with a few stereos. Not appliance stores with a TV and stereo department. Pre electronic stores with computers and cell phones. Just stereos. Everything from cheap All-in-One units with a turntable, radio tuner and 8-track to high end components. The salesman knew we were just broke kids. We would go in to buy a new stylus or some other little thing but they would always let us hear a couple tracks on a Marantz or McIntosh they were featuring. I miss those days. My wife is working from the office today, not from home. I’m working on the kitchen and really cranking the stereo with her out of the house. Just thinking about the days when I could only dream about owning great stereo gear. Long live Rock and Roll. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwalchmai Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Yeah, those were great. The salesdudes weren't always right, but they were always sure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmohme Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I bought several car stereos and a complete Marantz system at one of these stores in Fairview Heights Illinois years ago. 80s I think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Record_Mart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 https://dearbornmusic.net/ They've got a whole wall full of classic stereos, tape players and turntables. It hasn't gotten any cheaper with age, either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockett Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I recall plenty. I showed up religiously, took home brochures and studied them for months. I spent a lot of money on high end electronics from Dynaudio, Bang & Olufsen to Sony, Aiwa and Grundig. Below a few examples. http://laurent.deschamps.free.fr/v2000/The_V2000_Gallery_fichiers/bando8800.jpg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockett Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Found an old photo scan from my living room setup. Must have been early 90s. 2 VHS and 1 S-VHS recorder. Yamaha surround and Sony mono amp (for subwoofer, self build), 2 Sony CD players, sat box, VHS encryption decoder, first ever 16:9 Trinitron TV, was 6,000 Deutsch Mark / USD 10,000. I miss those times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockett Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 And while I'm at it... mid 80s... Early 80s.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampfox762 Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Those were the days... I had 4 Kappa 9's. Two Front and 2 Rear, also a set of Kappa 7's next to the 9's on the front stage. Powered by 2 Yamaha MX 1000 Power Amps. One for the Rear and one for the front, All my "components" were Yamaha also. I think the whole setup back in 87...was around 6.5K 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Bit by bit my vinyl/VHS based setup disappeared. Gave the AM/FM/Stereo with turntable and 8-track to a grandson several years ago. By that time the row of 33-1/3 12” vinyl had gone from about 8 feet to about 8 inches so I gave him those as well as the few 8-tracks I still had Couple years later vinyl came roaring back. Still have some VHS tapes and players, and a bunch of CDs and DVDs, all of which are obsolete because of streaming. Local Walmart now has more shelf space devoted to vinyl than to CDs. I do remember the dedicated record shops, with bins and bins of 45s and 33-1/3s. Most had booths or earphones for sampling. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huaco Kid Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 49 minutes ago, Swampfox762 said: I think the whole setup back in 87...was around 6.5K lol. My first apartment had lawn chairs in the living room, with milk-crate coffee and end tables. A 12" B&W tv. My elementary school bunkbeds pushed together. A folding card table in the kitchen. A $4K stereo system. Cardboard boxes for a dresser. Cement block shelves. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 1 minute ago, Huaco Kid said: lol. My first apartment had lawn chairs in the living room, with milk-crate coffee and end tables. A 12" B&W tv. My elementary school bunkbeds pushed together. A folding card table in the kitchen. A $4K stereo system. Cardboard boxes for a dresser. Cement block shelves. Had your priorities set. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockett Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Now its mainly consols... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batesmotel Posted July 20, 2021 Author Share Posted July 20, 2021 1 hour ago, crockett said: Now its mainly consols... My kids hooked up an old game system to my big screen. Pixels the size of my thumb. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampfox762 Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 4 hours ago, Huaco Kid said: lol. My first apartment had lawn chairs in the living room, with milk-crate coffee and end tables. A 12" B&W tv. My elementary school bunkbeds pushed together. A folding card table in the kitchen. A $4K stereo system. Cardboard boxes for a dresser. Cement block shelves. I was married in 1969 my man. Wanna hear bout Our Place?? Had them "Cardboard" CLOSETS...not boxes. and...Cinder Blocks are "Great" Living room enhancements. Right out of high school...to a Lady I dated at 16... married right when she got out of high school. We did many years of workin to get to where I could afford something like that in 1987 Lot of other "decisions" too. I hear ya. "Lol"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuteTheMall Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 I remember the better high-end stereo stores had multiple listening rooms, some primarily for speakers, some with furniture and full systems, some car systems. Dark Side of the Moon was often used to show stuff off. It's also where I discovered Triumvirat. There were also several bays for auto installations while you wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuteTheMall Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 I remember one store that offered a 1 year trade up guarantee on speakers of the same or higher price. I tried Cerwin Vega tower speakers for awhile than traded them in toward JBL century 100s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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