2. amps-preamps
  3. 183823-179767

Starting from scratch and say $5000

my original post (written, edited, then lost to the cloud) was: "Will I regret selling my McIntosh gear"  I will let it remain in the netherworld and rephrase as above. Truth is I bought an MC2155, C33, and XRT 18 speakers about 15 years ago but because of moves and family stuff, never got a chance to deploy them until this last fall when we became an empty nesters (not the speakers; bad surrounds). Lugging the heavy McIntosh amp told me I needed to sell it because I expect to be moving again soon and it is just too much of a beast that I'm also afraid to damage. But now that it is playing I am enjoying it, even driving mediocre 90s Acoustic Research AR208 speakers I had previously dismissed until hearing them with the MC power. Anyway. contemplating a completely new system to be financed with the sale of the Mc gear and even though I know this is an absolutely unanswerable newbie question, I need the therapy of talking about it to get any sort of orientation in the hundreds of brands and technologies of today. So here goes: I would like to put together a pre+amp+speakers somewhere around $7000 and have no idea where to start.

thanks in advance and apologies for such a vague question. details can follow

ps I like the sound signature of the mc but don't really know anything better; curious about class D. used is fine but not so much vintage unless it is still a value/performance contender. I like diy and projects but hitting 60 next year and starting to value my time in early (unplanned) retirement 

kidcreole123
ross6860's avatar
ross6860
103 posts
 

$5k to $7k starting from scratch would be a lot of fun.

You will get a lot of suggestions.  You have many paths you could travel.

Do you need to also do Home Theatre with the same gear?

Room size and what kind of speakers first.  If the room can handle them I would try the Magnepan LRS+.  That leaves a lot of budget room for the rest of the gear.  I assume you are "downsizing", so stand-mount speakers may be more appropriate.

Do you like horns?  Maybe some little tube amps and high efficiency speakers?

Apartment?  Big sub-woofers may not be a good idea.

Warm or resolving?  Loud or quiet?  CD player, NAS, streamer, or vinyl?

 

brownred6
19 posts
 

Start with speakers . Build around speakers you love. Any other way you’ll be disappointed 

kota1
2,706 posts
 

I would like to put together a pre+amp+speakers somewhere around $7000 and have no idea where to start.

I would start with an active speaker "system" that includes all of the above. Take a look at these 3 brands. Even though they are wireless you can also use cables:

Kef Active

Dynaudio Focus

JBL Powered Monitors

 

 

kidcreole123 OP
20 posts
 

no HT for now and leaning to stand-mounts. still in single family home but approaching down-sizing so it will never be a huge room and unlikely an apartment either. I'm not a subwoofer type of listener so that would be way down the line. I'm thinking neutral to warm over resolving. I'm approaching 60 but still hear pretty well and even bothered by excessively noisy rooms/ restaurants/beaming. Definitely sensitive to brightness.

grislybutter
3,204 posts
 

The Revivals are a good starting point to use as a reference. They aren't cheap but cutting edge, quality materials and got high marks from members here.

Somewhat pricier the Mofi SourcePoint, but also a lot of reviews here.

And then there is a long list of posts in the same subject: speakers wanted under 3-5K, one a week of so.

More to discover