trying to purchase a 13 year old home theater

[chuyjr]

Hello, this is my first time in this forum and to be honest its my first time ever in any kind of forum.
I found a complete home theater setup online, its used(manufactured in 2003), I want to listen to it but before I waste the sellers time and my time, I wanted to get an idea of what I'm getting myself into, I don't have a lot of knowledge in home audio brands so here is a list of the home theater system:
1)Sherbourn 7/2100A amplifier 7x300 watt
2) Emotiva UMC-200 AV preamp/ processor
3) The fronts are Focal Electra 906, the center channel is Focal Electra CC 900, and the rear surrounds are Focal Cobalt SR 800.
4) The sub is a Velodyne DD-12.

Could this 13 year old setup last a few more years assuming it was always treated nicely?
The seller wants $1600 for everything(says he paid over 9k for everything when new), also I have thought of buying a brand new system for around $2000, I see I have an opportunity of owning a high end home theater however IS IT REALLY WORTH THE RISK?. Thanks in advance for your help. : )

 

[TLS Guy]

Well you won't get much new gear for $2000, just a ton of junk that will be in the recycling center quicker than you can say "Jack Robinson."

That is pretty nice older gear. The prepro is a lot less than 13 years old.

At $1600 this is a much better deal than new for junk for $2000.

By the way, nothing in life is risk free. Sure you could have a piece of equipment fail. However that gear is worth fixing and the new gear won't be when it blows up a week after the warranty has expired.

 

[shadyJ]

Agreed with TLS Guy, that is a bargain for 1600. You won't do better, especially for am amplifier that powerful. One thing I would say is that the subwoofer, while good, wouldn't be enough on its own unless you had a small room. It certainly won't recreate those dinosaur footsteps very convincingly. I would add some other good subs to give it a hand, look at sealed subwoofers from Rythmik, Hsu, or Reaction Audio.

 

[KenM10759]

I'd grab it and see how I like it. Yes, the amp and speakers are especially good. The sub is OK, but only that.

Your bigger initial issue may lie with the integration of whatever television and video player you may have now or in the future. That technology has changed more than anything in the past 13 years.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Welcome.

All you need now is to listen to the setup if you can to make sure all the speakers and gear is working
and a good Bluray player

 

[chuyjr]

Thank you very much TLS Guy and good company, I feel a lot more comfortable now, I'm going to listen to the system today, once again THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYBODY!! : )

 

[Latent]

Your bigger initial issue may lie with the integration of whatever television and video player you may have now or in the future. That technology has changed more than anything in the past 13 years.

Actually the preprocessor is only 3 years old and only supports newer hdmi type AV inputs. They must have had an older unit that was replaced recently. It's not an expensive high end prepro though.

 

[chuyjr]

Hello everybody, I bought the home theater system finally!!!!, although I have a couple other questions, first: what size and brands speaker wire do you guys recommend for this setup and second: I also need help connecting the preamp to the amplifier, I have 4 pairs of rca audio cables(proflex brand) , 3 video/digital rca cables(single wire) and 1 set of component cables(proflex brand), can I use any of these cables TO CONNECT the preamp audio outputs to the amplifier inputs? Thanks in advance.

 

[Latent]

For speaker wire brand means nothing and all what matters is:
if it is OFC copper or not
Thickness with 12gague recomended but for shorter runs 14-16gague may be fine
Color and looks can be important if it is on display
For in wall use there are stronger in wall rated covering options
And most importantly low price because you don't have to spend much to get good simple cables.

Preamp to amp connections you can use very short rca cables just make sure they are the thicker well shielded kind. If they are short then brand and price will make no real difference in practice. If for some reason you need a longer run then make sure they are better thickness/shielding. Most of what you pay for with rca cables is fancy looking terminators as the cable itself is so simple.

 

[chuyjr]

For speaker wire brand means nothing and all what matters is:
if it is OFC copper or not
Thickness with 12gague recomended but for shorter runs 14-16gague may be fine
Color and looks can be important if it is on display
For in wall use there are stronger in wall rated covering options
And most importantly low price because you don't have to spend much to get good simple cables.

Preamp to amp connections you can use very short rca cables just make sure they are the thicker well shielded kind. If they are short then brand and price will make no real difference in practice. If for some reason you need a longer run then make sure they are better thickness/shielding. Most of what you pay for with rca cables is fancy looking terminators as the cable itself is so simple.

Out of all these rca cables that came with this system setup, is it possible to use any of these cables for preamp to amp connections? ( I have 4 pairs of rca audio cables(proflex brand) , 3 video/digital rca cables(single wire,proflex brand) and 1 set of component cables(proflex brand).
I don't know if I should just buy 5 single rca mono cables to connect the preamp audio outputs to the amplifier inputs or maybe I can use these cables that I already have.

 

[Latent]

Your existing cables will work fine and to get things going just use whatever. Once you have it setup and positioned you can then work out the length required to give you the shortest cables that still have enough room for good bend radius and a bit of room to move. Around 2' is probably a good length. Then buy those length cables from somewhere like blue jeans and you will then have all the perfect length and matching which is more to keep it tidy and looking good than anything else.