Suggestions for Home Cinema Speakers / Receiver to work wth existing Hi-fi

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I currently have the following kit -

For music: Arcam Alpha 8SE CD player, Linn Majik Amp, Linn Ninka floorstanders

For TV, etc - 46" Samsung LCD TV, Media Centre PC (home built) w/ HDMI output and currently DVD but soon to be BD, Sky+HD

I have no desire to change this gear and want to incorporate it into a home cinema system, ideally by using the Linn amp/speakers as the front L/R. Have been looking at the Pioneer LX81 as the heart of the system but not sure what to do about the rest of the speakers for the 5.1 setup. Thoughts on additional speakers and using the Linn amp and speakers connected to the AV receiver?

Budget is £4k absolute max (for receiver, speakers, rack and cables) and would ideally not like the spend all of that if possible.

 

[Anonymous]

A bit disappointed that no-one has responded - I thought this was the forum where I could get some decent opinions from those with experience?????

 

[professorhat]

I can't see an issue using the Linn amp with another AV amp with pre-outs, the main issue is your speakers - I'm guessing there's very few people on the forum who use Linn speakers in a home cinema setup, hence the lack of replies. Looking at the Linn website, it seems the Ninka speakers are discontinued now, which means your best bet would be to go a Linn dealer and see what they advise. It may be that one of their current centre speakers (like the Trikan) uses similar technology and it should then fit in with your Ninkas. Or, they may be able to advise you of a centre which was made to go with the Ninkas that you would then pick up secondhand. The rears are less important to be tonally matched, but again, a couple of Linn stand mounters could well be suited for the job. The trouble is, unless you've experienced the setup in a listening room / the home, it's hard to advise without guessing!

On the AV amp side of things, the Pioneer LX81 is a very nice amp, but I'd also definitely check out the Sony STR-DA5400ES as WHF's current best buy at that price range. As well as that, I'd be tempted to give the Onkyo 906 an audition - one of its failing is generally in the musical department but, given obviously your Majik will be taking care of that side of things, just in terms of out and out blockbuster movie performance, it could well suit.

Hope this helps!

EDIT - doing a quick search, I've just seen a poster on another forum who uses the Ninka fronts, Trikan centre and Katans for rears. Obviously I can't comment on how well this works together without hearing it, but worth a look.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply professorhat - much appreciated, and gives me a few ideas to toy with.

Cheers