Hello,

This will be my first serious entry into Home Theater, so excuse me for any newbie errors I might make with the following: I'm thinking of picking up a Denon 3803 receiver and for speakers I was thinking of picking up some M22ti's for the mains, a VP150 for the center channel, and some QS8s for the surrounds. At the moment, I live in an apartment-style condo, so I'm thinking of leaving the bass out for a future upgrade when I don't have to worry about bugging my neighbors. The room where I'll set all of this up is 12.75' x 15' and opens up into the dining room. There is wall to wall carpeting in both rooms. Probably not the best situation accoustically with the open wall and a window on either end of the 15' stretch, but I have room to move and tweak if needed.

This will be a dedicated HT since I already have a separate McIntosh stereo system that I inherited with some retro JBL Centuries. Anyway, does this sound like too much for the space, or should I be okay? Keep in mind that I'm trying to future prrof a bit for when I eventually move since the condo is only temporary living space.

Thank you,

David

I think you should seriously consider a sub. Otherwise, you'll be missing out on a lot of the HT stuff.

Other than that, the config sounds great. I have a sneaking suspicion that you may end up using this more for music than you think...

That sounds perfect.

Don't count out a subwoofer though. Crappy subwoofers sound like annoying 'boom', 'boom', 'boom', and your neighbors will hate you. A GOOD subwoofer will integrate seemlessly with your mains, and unless you're playing it rather loudly, your neighbors should not mind. I too live in a condo, and the only time my neighbor ever complained about my subwoofer was while I was playing a hack and slash video game that put out a big "THUD" everytime you hit somebody.

Other than that, you seem to have picked out a pretty good match for your room. The Denon 3803 is a well respected receiver, but I do know that the new Pioneer and Yamaha models have been getting a ton of buzz lately due to their auto calibrating feature.

I have "McIntosh envy". Those blue lights just mesmerize me .

Thanks everybody. I'll put more thought into matching a good sub with the setup sooner rather than later. I wasn't going to count it out totally, I was just being cautious. This is my first time in a condo, so I appreciate your shared experiences, spiffnme.

mwc, yeah those blue lights get to me too. I grew up with these components. My Dad bought them before I came on the scene in the late 60s and kept them in tip-top shape. It would be nice to get a multichannel McIntosh amp and one of the new A/V source units they have out to continue the family tradition, but that kind of high-end is way out of my league at the moment.

I am looking forward to comparing the new sound of the Axioms with the old sound of the JBL 100s. That should be a treat.

Thanks again!

- David

In reply to:

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My Dad bought them

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Did you say them? How many and of what ilk (amps-pre amp)?

Ah, yes. Both compopnents are solid state, not tube, and he had a McIntosh AM/FM tuner that he sold some time ago (I forget the model number). The McIn components still in service are a c29 stereo preamplifier, a MC2205 stereo power amplifier, and a speaker extension module that I can use to add another zone (I'll have to check the model number when I return home today). A Thorens 125 mk.II turntable that he started to refurbish and I finished rounds up the last of the classic components. The newer (as in 90s era) separates include a Nakamichi AM/FM tuner, a Denon CD player, and a Nakamichi tape deck. Again, I can't remember the model numbers for these off-hand.

He also had a nice retro tandberg tape deck as part of his original setup (before he bought the Nakamichi stuff). It needs a bit of refurbishing before it can go back into use.

Wow! Lots of stuff there to be proud of. I have several vintage Sansui pieces that I just love. Vintage audio is great fun.

The M60s I just purchased replaced Sansui floor standing speakers I purchased in 1969 or 70. They still work fine, but I wanted to upgrade to a modern speaker. The Sansui speakers will probably go into another room in the house.