Welcome Dave ...
You might as well get your wife hooked now and save yourself the rolling eyes and temper tantrums that a lot of us seem to have to deal with every time the UPS guy shows up. I had to start buying hip-hop cds but at least now I get to play.
I have had several sets of Paradigms ... I'm currently running Signature S4's through an ARC VT-60 tube amp and a Modwright SWL 90 SE linestage for two channel. I run a Denon 5803A in my HT setup with reference 100's (front) ref 20's (rear) a ref center and a Seismic 12 sub. The difference is UNBELIEVEABLE. I dont even listen to music on the HT setup anymore. I save that system for mom's hip hop.
My advice to you is to get a good used tube integrated amp if you want to save some money and upgrade when the bug hits you AND IT WILL. If you want to save yourself some time; get a good 50 watt + tube amp and a Modwright, ARC, or any one of a dozen other good quality tube linestages. The Paradigms have incredible capabilities with tubes. I ran ref 100s and ref 20 v2s through the Modwright/ARC combo and its got a really sweet sound. There are better speakers but for the money the used Paradigms are a force to be reckoned with. The Signatures are very nice but at that price point there is a lot more competition. The reference series is a great way to go to get started. If you like rock music and want to stick to solid state I agree with Rotel power. I have a friend who has a full reference setup with 40s, ADPs and the seismic sub. Its pretty incredible. Im not a bass guy much Im more into jazz, blues and great voices now but those Paradigms with Rotel power were an excellent combination. Rotel is also available used on this site so there are some good deals to be had. A couple other things I will add:
Think about room treatments and speaker placement
Its a cheap way to really improve your sound. I can believe how much difference a little foam here and a bass trap there makes. Toe in, pull out from the wall, move right, move left, speakers have a sweet spot and finding what sounds good to YOU can involve a lot of experimentation. I think its the fun part but it can be a pain.
Cables
They do make a difference BUT like anything else, a million dollar cable wont make a 100 dollar amp sound like a million dollar amp. I figure good cables remove a potential point of degradation. I have been buying Signal cables from Frank but there are many, many good cables out there. I have noticed subtle differences in cables and some have really helped out.
Find a local used audio shop
Here in Portland OR a lot of us go to Echo Audio. Kurt will let you demo about anything you want at your own place. I can try out new cables, ask questions and its like a mini Audiogon. I have had the opportunity to hear some really fantastic gear in my own home and its helped steer me to find equipment I really liked. He has linked me up with some local audio lovers like myself and in return I give him a lot of business. Its a win-win. Im sure there are several used shops in Phoenix.
Beer improves any system
The better quality micro brews seem to give me the best results.
Thats it from me youre on the path. Have fun, ask questions and the archives of this forum have a ton of information from some really knowledgeable people.
You might as well get your wife hooked now and save yourself the rolling eyes and temper tantrums that a lot of us seem to have to deal with every time the UPS guy shows up. I had to start buying hip-hop cds but at least now I get to play.
I have had several sets of Paradigms ... I'm currently running Signature S4's through an ARC VT-60 tube amp and a Modwright SWL 90 SE linestage for two channel. I run a Denon 5803A in my HT setup with reference 100's (front) ref 20's (rear) a ref center and a Seismic 12 sub. The difference is UNBELIEVEABLE. I dont even listen to music on the HT setup anymore. I save that system for mom's hip hop.
My advice to you is to get a good used tube integrated amp if you want to save some money and upgrade when the bug hits you AND IT WILL. If you want to save yourself some time; get a good 50 watt + tube amp and a Modwright, ARC, or any one of a dozen other good quality tube linestages. The Paradigms have incredible capabilities with tubes. I ran ref 100s and ref 20 v2s through the Modwright/ARC combo and its got a really sweet sound. There are better speakers but for the money the used Paradigms are a force to be reckoned with. The Signatures are very nice but at that price point there is a lot more competition. The reference series is a great way to go to get started. If you like rock music and want to stick to solid state I agree with Rotel power. I have a friend who has a full reference setup with 40s, ADPs and the seismic sub. Its pretty incredible. Im not a bass guy much Im more into jazz, blues and great voices now but those Paradigms with Rotel power were an excellent combination. Rotel is also available used on this site so there are some good deals to be had. A couple other things I will add:
Think about room treatments and speaker placement
Its a cheap way to really improve your sound. I can believe how much difference a little foam here and a bass trap there makes. Toe in, pull out from the wall, move right, move left, speakers have a sweet spot and finding what sounds good to YOU can involve a lot of experimentation. I think its the fun part but it can be a pain.
Cables
They do make a difference BUT like anything else, a million dollar cable wont make a 100 dollar amp sound like a million dollar amp. I figure good cables remove a potential point of degradation. I have been buying Signal cables from Frank but there are many, many good cables out there. I have noticed subtle differences in cables and some have really helped out.
Find a local used audio shop
Here in Portland OR a lot of us go to Echo Audio. Kurt will let you demo about anything you want at your own place. I can try out new cables, ask questions and its like a mini Audiogon. I have had the opportunity to hear some really fantastic gear in my own home and its helped steer me to find equipment I really liked. He has linked me up with some local audio lovers like myself and in return I give him a lot of business. Its a win-win. Im sure there are several used shops in Phoenix.
Beer improves any system
The better quality micro brews seem to give me the best results.
Thats it from me youre on the path. Have fun, ask questions and the archives of this forum have a ton of information from some really knowledgeable people.