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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
rsbeck
887 posts
 
I agree with most of the other posters. The Revel speakers should be a good match for that sized room and you can add a sub-woofer for more low end and movie effects. *I* wouldn't try to do surround in that sized room, but that's me and I am not a big surround fan. Been there, done that. I had a great surround set-up as part of my music system and I ended up separating it out and putting it in another room. If anyone can name me more than 10 movies that even *require* a surround system, I'd be surprised -- and most of the ones that do -- it is only for a few minutes here and there. So, you get a surround system for parts of about 10 movies -- and they tend to be movies I wouldn't be watching unless I want to show off my surround system.
You end up watching the Pod Race from Star Wars any time someone new comes over. It is ironic to me that people are waiting on SACD because there are only some 2,000 titles available, but then go for home theater surround systems when there are only a few movies that actually use surround. You'll be spending all your time putting your ears up to the rear surrounds wondering if you calibrated your system correctly because there's hardly ever anything coming out of them. A 2.1 system is just fine for movies. Finally, a receiver *is* a big step backwards in sonics. So, you'd be sacrificing sonics on 100% of your music listening in order to watch the pod race from Star Wars over and over. Okay, I am exaggerating a little, but not by much. Keep the gear, add a sub-woofer. Put the surround money into a good sub-woofer, a cheap one is fine for movies, but will sound like crap for music. Just my opinion.
spacekadet
63 posts
 
Wow, thank you everyone for your inputs. I didn't expect to receive this many feedbacks in such a short time. It seems that I have underestimated my father's 10-year-old equipments.

I certainly will not be selling the MC7300 power amplifier now and will keep the system at 2.1 set up. My question now is, since I will mostly be listening from my (hehe "my") MCD7008 CD player only, do I need the C40 preamp or will it sound the same to just plug it directly into the amplifier?

Also, If I do sell just the C40 and MR7083 (I don't listen to radio much), what do you recommend as a good subwoofer to match the Revel M20s? I know the Revel B15s are awesome and will blend in well sonically and visually, but that thing is too big for my small room and quite out of my budget range. Somewhere around $1000-$2000 would fit my wallet a little easier.

Oh, I forgot who asked, but my father is upgrading his speakers to a pair of Revel F50a front speakers, a C50a center speaker, a pair of S30a surround speakers and a B15 subwoofer. For the preamp and poweramp, he's upgrading to Lexicon MC-12 pre-pro and LX-7 power amp. He actually hasn't actually swiped his credit card yet and this new system will cost more than his current car, so if anyone has a strong feeling against this upgrade, please tell me ASAP.

Once again, thank you everyone for your input and this is by far the best hi-end audio forum I have seen or heard!

Spacekadet
audiofankj
373 posts
 
I think I can hear the audible collective sighs of relief from other audiophiles around me as well!

I don't think you will regret your decision to keep and enjoy the fine quality components you are being blessed with.

As for the matching with subwoofer, I am not well versed in the area, and will refrain to let others that have the knowledge give you advice.

Again, congrats on a good decision to retain some great gear. You may want to look into Eighth Nerve products and drop a couple hundred bucks on room treatment for your small room and most likely that system will put an ear to ear grin on your face.

Happy listening!
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.
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