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My first real hi-end audio system Please advise

Hi, this is my first post and I've just started to really get into the wonderful world of Hi-Fi audio. I'm a student at U of IL and live in a small apartment.

My father is upgrading his system and to my pleasant surprise decided to give me ALL of his audio equipments!!! I'm ridiculously excited since his equipments, although mostly 10 years old, are awesome. They include McIntosh (MC7300, C40, MCD7008, and MR7083) and a pair of 2 year old Revel M20 speakers.

The question I had was, would these gorgeous speakers sound as good in my apartment room? (about 10ft x 14ft)

I'm also thinking about selling all of the system but the speakers, and buying a Sunfire Ultimate Receiver, 3 more speakers and a subwoofer for a 5.1 system. Now, I don't have much $$$ as I'm a student, and I can't quite ask my parents for more audio equipments... I was wondering if 3 Aperion (aperionaudio.com) bookshelf speakers and a Sunfire True superjunior subwoofer would complement the Revel M20s well.

I know the sunfire receiver and the subwoofer aren't cheap for my standards, but I've done some research, and I think they'll last me a long long time and be a great entry system to the real hi-end audio world for me. As for the Aperion speakers, which I intend on using for center and surround speakers, they are only $180 each and have been receiving awesome reviews.

Has anyone tried these Aperion bookshelf speakers, sunfire ultimate receiver and the little subwoofer? Would you recommend any other system combinations for this price range? Oh, I almost forgot, can anyone also recommend a good DVD player for around $1000 or should I just connect my Apple G5 computer to the receiver? Would the computer's audio quality be a lot worse than a $1000 DVD/CD player?

Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm just excited and giddy that I'll be able to treat my ears to some really good sound while I'm at school!

Thank you in advance
seongoh9f94
jamesw20
270 posts
 
You listened well young skywalker! It is very easy to get caught in the upgrade cycle in high end audio, however, you often time don't better yourself for more money. Mac gear lasts forever and is nearly indestructable. I, like you, live in an apartment with a really stupid design for audio junkies. Take the advice for the Ht applications, I have a great Meridian system with b&w signature speakers but it sounds no where near as good in my pad as the dedicated room for HT. That said, I won't be in an apartment forever!! Note to father- I tried Meridian's amp vs Mac. and went with the american powerhouse. The lex is an awesome system, but he should consider going with Mac. amps, better quality.

jwh
bigjoe's avatar
bigjoe
693 posts
 
im not too familuar with what sub will do what you need due to lack of knowladge about your speakers but i do know YOU NEED TO KEEP THE C-40 PREAMP, without a preamp you will loose the ability to effectivly control your music,as far as im concerned tone controls & loudness are a must, sometimes balance controls even come into play.

your mr 7083 will sell for between 600 $ 700 $ , i own a mr 7083 & a mr 7082 & while im not a big fan of radio im still suprised at the mr 7083s ability to pull in stations, if you ever change your mind & want to get another tuner you will be hard pressed to find another that will match your mac within that price range.

on a side note your mc-7300 is way underated,the real power rating of that amp is right around 400 watts & your
mcd 7008 is a lifetime cd player as is all your mcintosh gear.

if im getting your post right this is your first leap into hi fi,your are wise to listen to everybody here beacuse what they say is true,TAKE IT SLOW & DONT GET IN A BIG RUSH TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOAL, IT WILL HAPPEN.

good luck.
mike.
rsbeck
887 posts
 
Your father is building quite a surround system -- you can go to his place and watch the pod race from Star Wars a couple times -- for free -- then go home a listen to your music system. If you had the $$$ to do a surround system like your father, then maybe -- but you're making a wise decision. Keep the pre-amp. I would keep the tuner, too -- it'll probably be a collector's item. For a Sub-Woofer, check out Rel. Buy one used here on Audiogon and see what is in your price range.
rnm4
308 posts
 
Keep the pre. You do not, I think, mention what stands you have for the Revel's, but good stands, well placed, are a must for these speakers. My experience has been that it is very difficult to integrate a sub into a system. You might want to consider selling the Revels and getting genuine full range floorstanders. Maybe Totems? Some of these have quite small footprints, so they really take up no more room than monitors on stands. And they have genuinely integrated bass. plus, it will remove whatever temptation you might have to jack up the sub and annoy your neighbors by shaking their china cabinets. You can't have a dance party in such a small room anyway.
mhedges
180 posts
 
On a slightly different subject, I recommend you at least consider NOT bringing all that hi-end stuff to school with you. If your student housing is anything like mine was, places get broken and stuff goes missing all the time. You also have to worry about friends abusing your gear.

I don't know your exact situation but I can tell you if it was me who recieved this windfall I would put it into storage untill I graduated, and buy a $300 Sony minisystem to use in school.

Mark
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