Where Should I Start ?

[1KW]

I have a media room set up for home theater which has a 120 inch screen and a HD DLP Mitsubishi projector and nothing needs to change here as I am very please with the picture. I am interested in upgrading the audio side of the set up and know that eventually the speakers, sub and amp/processor will need to go but in which order as I don't have the WAF to do it all at once ? I am using a home theater receiver now that used to be the top of the line Yamaha... I know I can hear the snickering in the background but it has served its purpose. Mcintosh no longer makes a 1 box solution to home theater and while I would love to put Mcintosh in the home theater room I am not prepaired to spend 30 k on electronics for a pair of MC303's and MX136 or MX150. I would like to eventually upgrade the front paradign speakers and velodyne sub. and center channel speaker although I am leaning toward upgrading the electronics first . The rear speakers are paradign dipole speakers and they will be the last thing to be changed after everything else is in place. I already know that I want the JL F113 that everyone here seems to rave about.

[Masterlu]

Your post begs many questions...

"I don't have the WAF to do it all at once"

Who works hard & makes all the money? Yes, I do marriage counseling on the side.

"I would love to put Mcintosh in the home theater room I am not prepared to spend 30K"

Do them one at a time...

"I want the JL F113 that everyone here seems to rave about."

"Seems like there is still some doubt in your mind"

[1KW]

I am going to swap out the front paradign speakers for my Magnepan MGIII speakers that are sitting in storage. In the dark nobody can see them anyway. So which electronics would you recommend ?

[schaefer11]

Originally Posted by 1KW

I am going to swap out the front paradign speakers for my Magnepan MGIII speakers that are sitting in storage. In the dark nobody can see them anyway. So which electronics would you recommend ?

Maggies need amps that are good into 4 ohm loads, so why not go used and get a MC 7205 and an MX 132 like I have? Can be done relatively reasonably.

The MC 7205 puts out 200 watts into 4 ohms, that should work with the Maggies. I run video directly to the projector, so if you do that as well, the MX 132 will not be needed for video switching, while giving you 5.1 Dolby and DTS. And of course, you get Mac faceplates, blue lights and meters.

Of course, since I own them I may be a little biased in my opinion.

[jdandy]

David.......Scrap the whole thing. Start over. Full tilt McIntosh.

[Still-One]

AV gear changes too quick and is not worth the investment. Go with the mid-grade gear as you plan and save the big bucks for 2- channel.

[jdandy]

Jim.......I wasn't necessarily talking about brand new. A quick look at Audiogon shows it can be done for $15K, with David using existing speakers and projection.

MX136 - $4500
MC205 - $4500
MVP871 - 3900
JL Fathon f113 - $2100

That would put together a serious 5.1 surround sound system at a very attractive price.

[TommyC]

For a 120" screen, blu-ray is the way to go. Make sure you get a nice blu-ray player.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jim.......I wasn't necessarily talking about brand new. A quick look at Audiogon shows it can be done for $15K, with David using existing speakers and projection.

MX136 - $4500
MC205 - $4500
MVP871 - 3900
JL Fathon f113 - $2100

That would put together a serious 5.1 surround sound system at a very attractive price.

Dan
I understand what you are saying but the connections and decoders are changing so fast that even that gear will not allow you to play all of the formats without using the analog inputs. Every piece you noted is a quality piece of gear that will give years of pleasure. Yet, except for the F113 they either have or will soon be replaced by a next gen unit with nwere connections and decoders.