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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

Showing 3 responses by spacekadet

spacekadet
63 posts
 
Jond, I have been listening to my father's McIntosh system for the past 10 years and I absolutely love it. However, I also love watching DVDs and enjoying its full audio capabilities. Yes, it'll be sad to part with these babies, but I think I can sell them and get enough money to buy me a whole new good 5.1 system. Yes, I was also skeptic about getting a receiver, I was a big believer in separate components myself, but the new Sunfire Ultimate Receiver is starting to change my mind. If anyone has any experience with this receiver, please tell me about it.

Thank you.

Oh by the way, I finally registered here and my screen name is spacekadet... :)
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
spacekadet
63 posts
 
Mark (Mhedges), thank you for your concern, but my apartment is pretty safe. We have double door security system and I've been living there for two years without any problems. Plus I'll have the system in my own room and lock that up as well when I'm not there.

I currently have a Cambridge Soundworks Megatheater 510 in the living room and I can't listen to those speakers for more than an hour w/o fatigue and can't even mention their sound quality in the same sentence as my new McIntosh system.

Thank you for whoever recommended the Totem Hawk speakers, I've just demoed them for an hour in Singapore (that's where my parents live) and they sound great with significantly more clear and lower base than my Revel M20s.

If you're in Singapore, visit the Adelphi building, it's 4 stories of audiophile's wet dream. They have anything and everything from Denon, Yamaha to the highest end Revel, Mark Levinson, Krell, Linn, etc, etc...

I'm seriously thinking about selling the Revel M20s for a full range floor standing speakers and not bother finding a subwoofer to match the Revels. Currently I think the Totems sound the best in the $2000 price range I've heard at Adelphi building. (I've spent literally 8+ hours going from shop to shop demoing speakers and it was an amazing experience) Almost all the dealers are very nice there too except for Martin Logans (he ignored me completely until I mentioned my McIntosh system).

If anyone has a strong feeling against the Totem Hawk speakers, please tell me.

Thank you.
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