My First Stereo

My first year at WSU, at least my first semester, my roommate had a great stereo, stereos were essential in a college residence hall (dorm).  Everyone had their own musical preferences.  There were often "stereo wars" were students would try to made  their music louder than their neighbors.  

I was allowed to use Jeff's stereo, but second semester when he moved to an apartment, I did not have one.  My new roommate didn't have one, so I got my music from a clock radio.  I was not quite armed for a stereo war.  

In the summer, I made up my mind that I was going to get my own stereo.  Back then (1977), you needed to get your stereo in components.  You didn't have to, but that was the cool way to do it and that is how stereo stores would market.  

Being that my aspirations at the time were to work in radio and I in fact worked at the campus station, KUGR,  it was essential that I would need a radio, which in stereo lingo was a "receiver".  I wanted a record player (turntable) and of course, separate speakers. Each component needed to have a separate brand name.  The audio stores must have been making a mint over these.  

That summer, Walla Walla had a new stereo shop known as Stereocraft.  It was a chain based out of Ellensburg.  They had a special for people buying a stereo.  It was $399.00, about $1300 of today's dollars.  As I remember, I had a Sansui receiver, a Gerard turntable with a Pickering cartridge (record player needle), and to top it off, Pioneer speakers.
No longer would I have to depend of roommate's stereos.