I truly treasured my first receiver and I'm extremely nostalgic towards it. This little baby (Harmon-Kardon 230e) had 15 watts per channel and served me very well. I loved that duel angle green AM/FM tuner display. Got it in 77' or 78'. Countless hours of soundtrack enjoyment.
My second was greatly appreciated too at 40 watts per channel RMS and check out that 5 band EQ! I have no idea what "Super-A" meant on the front, but I knew it meant something good. I think I got it in 82' (for 300bucks!). I think my nephew is still using it.
...but what really bugged me was why were they so stingy with auxillery inputs on receivers in those days?
I still have my original receiver which I purchased at Montgomery Ward in the 80's. I also hooked it up to my VCR and it took home movie viewing to a whole new level. In fact it still works, and presently hooked up to my HD television and BluRay player.
So we're not talking about AMPLIFIERS here, but radio receivers, right?
I really had no (or at least very little) interest in radio at that time -- listening mostly to cassettes and the occasional LP before I bought my first CD player in about 1991 -- but I had inherited my dad's Sony stereo receiver when he upgraded (he had used this since the late 70s, I think), which I then primarily used as amplifier during the first years. We're talking late 80s and early 90s here.
Never had a receiver except for A/V models in my home cinema setup - I always kept (had the luxury to keep) audio and video equipment separated and in different rooms. So my first integrated amp was a very humble JVC A-GX1 back in 1986 which was then a brand new model:
It was part of an all-JVC system comprising also a cassette deck and tuner (which are still on my rack working perfectly 29 years later!), a semi-automatic turntable and bookshelf speakers. It served me well until the end of 1992 when that classic Brit audiophile design for the masses (or sort of), the Audiolab 8000A, took its place and I was in for a cultural shock! Ah, good days...!
