What do you do when the kids come along?

well first off your audio budget goes to the back burner. so my advice is get your system where you can live with it for a while (believe me; kids are way more important and rewarding than any material thing).

I agree with artemus; i had to hide my tube amps in a corner (behind a couch) where i could not reach the power buttons and used the plugs to turn them on and off.

speaker placement was not the best but a 100lb floor stand will kill a person....let alone a child.

on the positive notes; my children did not know who britney spears was until the neighbor girl got her cd. they do know what a cello is though. (they are 5 &6).

anyway good luck....enjoy yourselves as a married couple....children realllly change your life.

jim

Hdm's advice is right on. I did this with my kids also and it works.

My father always played classical music late at night. When my parents went to bed, they would always find me asleep at the top the stairs. I would sneek out there to listen.

Hdm's probably right about children and my daughter would probably sleep through it ... but my wife wouldn't. You can always invest in a good pair of headphones though.

I think you have to be careful when the kids are very young but, if taught properly, about the care of equipment and the joys of music, you'll be surprised at how young they can pick this stuff up. My eight year old has adjusted fine to a recent change in preamps, knows how to handle cds properly and operates the cd player perfectly. Se definitely knows who Britany Spears and NSync are but she also knows who Mozart, Beethoven and Mussorgsky are too.

Dick

The only way you will be able to enjoy audio is to have a dedicated listening room away from the children. Otherwise, your equipment will constantly be at risk - especially if you have a turntable in your gear - they like to touch everything. Soon you will have cookie crumbs in your CD player. Also, you won't have the silence required for serious listening.