The Epos would certainly be a big upgrade. Check with Walt Liederman on some other Epos combos that may work as well. He also has speaker packages for HT from AV123.com that are also great bang for the buck.

Your Mac Cd player is leading the pack right now. Go back and see if there is some 2-channel amp in your parent's closet that got retired as well. A 2 channel dedicated system would be nice as well.

Good luck. Welcome.

I agree with Jim about going stereo if that's something you'd be willing to do. When your speaker quantity goes down, then quality can go up. Epos is a good choice, from what I've heard about them. I recommend Paradigm as well. I own a pair and they're unconditionally excellent, especially for the money. Your Onkyo shouldn't have any trouble driving most speakers you might consider. I'm not very familiar with their products, but I think the consensus is that Onkyo makes very good receivers. If you decide to go the "purist" stereo route, NAD makes nice-sounding integrateds (although I don't have to tell you that, as you already own their phono pre). Rega is less known for their amplifiers, but they're worth hearing, especially with your P2. If you must go 7.1, then that's perfectly understandable. I must say, though, that stereo done right can make for exciting cinematic experiences. The best part about your situation is that you have great source components, so you'll be rewarded for any downstream upgrades. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the advice!

So from what it sounds like my reciever is fine (which is a big relief).

Sadly my parents decided to keep the McIntosh amp for their new system, but they did ditch the McIntosh Reciever and Tuner.
Is the 97' McIntosh Reciever going to be better than my Onkyo?

Option 2: I will buy just two Epos M-5s (and a nice sub) and hook it up to the McIntosh (unless the Onkyo is actually better). I will then hook up the Rega P2, and MCD7009 to the McIntosh as well. That way I will be able to use the 7.1 Onkyo from my computer (I have a nice 7.1 card), and for the iPod and Tuner...but when I use the CD player or turntable I will hear the stereo Epos.

Option 2: I just replace two front speakers on my Onkyo with the Epos M-5s, and take the current front speakers and make them the back surround speakers (the front speakers are much nicer). Then I will get a better sub, and slowly upgrade my full system (till is it 6 M-5s and the M-8, and a good sub). If I do this I guess I will just assume that the Onkyo will not hurt the sound, and I will leave the McIntosh in the closet for now.

Which Option seems better?
(If it really won't matter I'm going to go with option 2 as it is easier)

Also, the reason why I lean towards 7.1 is that this setup is in a loft, which is oddly shaped and it sounds much nicer when the sound comes from all around, rather than just the two front (as they are in weird places).

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOU HELP!

p.s. (yes...more questions) What is a good sub that will work well with my Onkyo (no extra amp) that is around $300 (give or take).

Also is 16 awg big enough for the Epos?

THANKS

Here's another option to consider:

I have the Denon avr-5700 that I use for home theater. I have decent front speakers and good consumer grade surrounds. I'm not that critical about home theater sound and I don't listen to surround music.

When I want to listen to stereo, I take my front speaker leads out of my receive and plug into my amp, which is driven by my Cary Preamp and a Rega Cd player. So, in effect, I have two separate systems for home theater and for stereo. However, all I have to do is switch the front speakers from one amp to another. Sometimes that's a pain, but for the most part it's not that big of a deal and I get to have a flexible system.