Jeffery,
I am kinda in the same boat as you - although I would say I am not NEW to Carver, I am newly inspired by Carver.
I bought an A400x about 20 years ago - my first separate amplifier, which left me running center and rears off my receiver. Then I bought a TFM 55x a couple of years later, for my fronts, and used the A400x for my center and surrounds (surround channel was mono back in those days!)
Fast forward to about 3 years ago, I decided to get a "high-end" amp for my fronts. I tried Adcom, Bryston, and Rotel. I kept going back to my TFM 55x, and now settled on a pair of 1.0ts running my fronts.
If I had to sum it up, I would say that the thing that keeps me comming back to Carver, is the fact that Carver has an HONEST sound. If you feed them a crappy signal, they won't turn it into something beautiful, but if you feed them a good signal, you get absolute magic! They don't add "warmth", "depth", "air", or anything else -- they just amplify exactly what you give them, which should be the ultimate goal, IMO.
As far as this site, I LOVE the fact that it is filled with REAL people who love music - not a bunch of snooty audio files who look down on anything that's not tube or vinyl (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with either, but I for one get tired of being told that I don't appreciate great sound, because I use transistor amps and digital sources)
Welcome, and ENJOY THE MUSIC!!