Come back with me to the era of giant speakers and powerful stereos
[This is my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca – AC]
I still remember my first stereo system with great fondness.
With $500 I earned from my first job at the soft ice cream parlour/pool hall in my small town, I begged my dad to take my 14-year-old self into Winnipeg to buy a stereo for my room.
Having poured over magazines like Stereo Review, brochures I got through the mail, and the annual Radio Shack catalogue, I’d finally come to terms between what I wanted and what I could afford.
Despite my parents’ begging that I spend my money on something more “sensible,” I would not be deterred. I wanted — needed — a sound system for my room and nothing was going to stop me from getting one. I’d worked for it and I’d have it.
That Saturday in June, we went to Krazy Kelly’s in the west end of Winnipeg where I picked out a Sansui 221 integrated receiver (with a whopping 12 watts RMS) for $249.99, an Akai APC-001 turntable ($99.95) and a couple of no-name full-range bookshelf speakers ($124.99).
