Since Bill posted this to his blog & it's there for the planet to read, thought I'd include it here:
(ref blog:
http://I'm a Fucking Asshole.typepad.com/I'm a Fucking Asshole/20 ... abbit.html )
Audio History of TNRabbit
My audio journey first began in the early 1970s, when I heard my older brother's HH Scott receiver & speakers, my first introduction to hi fi (it was totally crappy by true audiophile standards, but miles ahead of what I ever heard). I was hooked, but only a teen & unable to afford anything like that. My first self purchase was a pair of Koss headphones shortly afterward, which I used constantly on my parents crappy console stereo. In 1978, my parents bought me a nice Pioneer SX-880 receiver for Christmas & my 17th birthday; I had mentioned it for months & told them I'd gladly give up any additional presents for my birthday, graduation, ANYTHING for a year if they would buy me one. I never dreamed they would actually drop the cash on it. It ended up being one model up from the one they had considered originally as Service Merchandise (remember them?) was out of the SX-780. I connected it to a pair of outboard Zenith speakers (with separate woofers & tweeters!!) my Dad had bought for the old console & was in paradise!
Life took over for several years, & the old Pioneer moved with me to LA, then England, then back to TN. After two different trips to be serviced over the 15 or so years I'd used it almost on a daily basis, it gave up the ghost. I was without decent tunes for the first time since I was 17...
My first wife & I divorced in Dec 1996 & I moved to Turkey about a week later. I bought a new Pioneer receiver soon after arriving there, then a pair of JBL 4312 Studio Monitors I'd been lusting after (I'd heard them in England years before & fell in love). About 2 years later, I bought a pair of Klipsch KLF-10 tower speakers--very efficient, VERY loud, & the best bass I'd ever heard up to that point.
Those stayed with me through 4 years in Turkey, back to TN, then to MD until my second divorce in 2006, when I Iost the JBLs & the Pioneer to the ex, & I began looking in earnest for some better equipment. I had been perusing eBay for several months looking at Carver gear & in Dec 2006 purchased a C-2 preamp & M1.5t amp to use with the Klipsch speakers. It KICKED MAJOR ASS over the old Pioneer. This was REAL POWER. I joined the CarverAudio forum about the same time.
I ended up purchasing a pair of Carver AL-III speakers right after that, & a Sunfire 300x2 amp & Tube preamp shortly afterward. I'd been bitten by the bug & BAD. The two Sunfire items were sold to fund a Sunfire TG-IV processor, Sunfire Ultimate Receiver, and Sunfire 400x7 amp.
I sold the Ultimate Receiver this past year to fund the lawyer (still fighting the ex). I've been tweaking on my current stuff for about 3 years now, & ended up going the active crossover route this year.
So, I didn't become an idiot about this stuff until the past 4 years. I guess I figured it was my turn after 2 divorces~
Hope my long-winded story didn't bore you to tears. As Bob himself would say, "Enjoy the music!"
Gary
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
Take out of the closet once a year. Does bring back memories. 
