My newest toy, CR-7

[Koda]

Who can help with a CR-7?

Without knowing much about what it was, or what it sounded like,
I decided to buy a CR-7 to add remote volume capability to my system.
I have always wanted to own McIntosh equipment, and the price was right....
Can anyone please compare the CR-7 with any other Mac preamps, as far as sound quality?

I am also considering changing again to a MAC-3 to combine both my stereo and Home Theater systems.
Would that unit (MAC-3) sound better than the CR-7?
I just don't know much about the CR-7. Can anyone offer any help, comments, advise etc?
Thanks, K.

 

[johnk]

I owned one of these for about ten years and I sold it about three years ago so I may not remember all of its features.
While the quality of the sound produced by it is more subjective than I care to comment on I'll try and tell you a little about its features:
I can only speak for ancillary Mac units made around the same time as this one, I don't know if the same cable ports are available in newer preamps, tuners, cd players etc. but, if you have only this unit, you are limited to volume control and remote on, off through its switched outlets. I had a c34v preamp that plugged in via a cable but the only features available through the CR7 were on, off and master volume control with the understanding that the other preamp had the speakers plugged into it and its volume was preselected to a certain level. If one wanted to select inputs or outputs you would have to deal with the c34v by changing its settings. I had an mr7082 tuner and with its cable hooked up to the CR7 you had scan up and down through the CR7's remote. My MCD 7005 CD player had the use of a few more features in that you could start, stop, pause and, as I remember, select the track to play.
Perhaps the unit's greatest strength was in its control from other rooms via an IR sensor, such as an R649, connected via RG6, or RG59 coax. McIntosh produced their own splitters so I could use the existing coax feeding tv's in other rooms and they would carry the signal back to the CR7. You have one sensor on the front of the unit and you can hook up a second coaxial input in the back of the unit. If you wish to have control from additional rooms there was a multi coax input box that had one input to the rear sensor. I found that I could use a learning remote to control the CR7 from other rooms so that I didn't have to take its control with me.