This would make a great forum. I have always loved music and electronics but it wasn't until October of 1976 that I got really hooked. Pioneer had a travelling display of equipment that they set up in the college rathskelter, WOW what an impression! In less than a month I owned a Pioneer receiver and Advent speakers. The receiver was rated at 15 watts/channel, but then wattage was very expensive. By December I owned a direct-drive Technics turntable, (god I loved this thing). Since then it has turned into a passion. You should have seen my wife's expression when I first moved all my equipment into our apartment. She couldn't understand why all the steps just to play an album, and then to adjust the pitch using the built in strobe! However, after a few months she began to notice how poorly music sounded on other set-ups. Since then she has tolerated all my upgrades over the past 20 years and truely appreciates the advances. Hell, she's learned tricks that I didn't even know my components were capable of.