Who R U?

David, too kind and thank ewe for the inside joke! and it's never to late to start with the girlfriends -
I would title the book
FAW - Females and Winning (that's WAF spelled backwards)

Welcome Karl!
You may enjoy this post to see that you are not the only one living with pets and audio.
http://audiogo5.iserver.net/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&995287611&read&3&4&
In case the link doesn't work - it's under speakers, thread is called Pet Stories (7/20 last post)
Enjoy and glad you're here!
AJ

Philip- welcome! You got bit by the bug, my friend! Welcome to the madness. Just kidding. It is a wonderful journey and you are lucky to have discovered it so young.
Tip on the girlfriend front
1. get her involved in your hobby and help her "hear" why it is so cool - this will help out in the long run.
2. Also, be ready to compromise - now, before you say WHAT?!?!?! - what I mean is, support her "hobbies and ESPECIALLY spending" as well.
3. Ask her to come along and listen, let her know that the female ear is so much better than a man's and that you NEED her to HELP. This, my friend, will go a LONG way to her feeling a part of it and not in COMPETITION with it.
4. Never stand her up for something about audio or HT. If you made a date - KEEP IT.

Any other tips?

Now, Phillip, you just sit there and stare without it being on? You may need some professional help (just kidding).

How did you "stumble upon us"?
Glad that you're here and hope that this helps in your journey.
cheers,
AJ

Rivercitylad and Bioman, could I ask your first names or do you prefer your tag names?
Welcome aboard! and Rivercitylad, yer gonna need an escape-WOW - 3 teenagers AT ONCE! I hope they are boys :)
cheers,
aj

Chris - welcome! Love the name, there must be a story behind it!
well, this is a great place to keep learning and finding the deals when you are ready to upgrade - once that bug hits, stand back! I think you would be really surprised how reasonably you can ACTUALLY upgrade if you shop well and buy from someone that you can trust. I, too had a mid-fi HT system when I first came here a few years ago, now it's got Rowland and Classe amps and InnerSound ESL's (even beta testing Roger's new ribbon speaker for our center channel). I started the speaker cable upgrades, but am not finished, I still have the surrounds to do, and I just started really upgrading the IC's. A little at a time and it sure is fun to hear the difference! It's a wonderful journey - I hope that you are having as much fun as I am! Cheers, Angela