I started out pretty much the same as Jim. I began with a pretty good Denon mini system in 1994. It sounded really good for $400 and had nice clean, tight bass out of its bookshelf speakers. I had this system through my freshman year in college. Sophomore year I lived in a huge house in Berkeley and we converted the dining room into a HT. I got a cheap Fisher receiver and some $200 Infinity speakers on clearance at Costco. They weighed close to 100 lbs, had a 15" woofer, two 4" woofers, and a foam dome tweeter. They were huge, and in my house, they made every party rock out better than any other party I had been to. We had a 27" TV that seemed fine. Later I moved to a smaller place and sold the Infinitys for $200 (same as I bought them for) and replaced them with some B&W 601 bookshelfs that my parents had discared when they bought a house that came with the stereo intact. They got new speakers, and I repaired the busted dustcap on the B&Ws. I got a new Sony receiver for $500 that I still use in my main system today, and found a Bose center channel that sounded good to me at the time. All I knew to listen for was bass, and this center channel seemed to have that covered. For rears I had inherited some JBL bookshelves that my brother discarded when he upgraded to JBL towers. For a sub, I had a pair of 12" B&W AS6's from the house that my parents had gotten. At this time I also upgraded to a 36" Sony tube and I thought I had the best system I had heard. The B&Ws had such a great name, sounded much better than anything I had heard myself, and kept me satitisfied for several years. However, it's shortcomings began to make themselves known to me, an audio newbie, and I started to long for a matched system. I had read articles about a seamless soundstage, and my messed up system was far from seamless. When I finally bought a house, I decided it was time to finally get that matched system I longed for. I shopped for several months, discovered audioholics, and decided on an Axiom m60, vp100 (to fit in my HT cabinet), and QS8s to match my new 56" 720p Samsung DLP. OMG. I had no idea a system could sound as good as this system, and I was in audio bliss. I soon discovered the severe crappyness of those B&W subs, and replaced them with a single SVS PB12-NSD that simply blows me away. Now, I find myself logging on everyday to check out what is new. I always have that lingering feeling that I want even more, and I am constantly researching new receivers to replace my trusty Sony, that just keeps going and I can't find anything to justify its replacement. Am an audioholic? Probably not yet, but I'm pretty damn close. If I give in one more time and actually upgrade one of my new purchases (like some new speakers that look better than my Axioms because I love the sound, but could use a more interesting look) then I will have become an audioholic. Pray for me.
