Ebay's good if you know what you're looking for but I would'nt discount the used section of a good dealer. They usually give some warranty and you can always haggle. To hear the stuff before buying is a major plus.
Personally and if it was my cash I'd consider two completely different systems for 2 and a half grand. Naim's XS and CD5x. At £2800 (without speakers
) it may not be your first choice but the two make some of the best music I've had the pleasure to listen to for reasonable money. That they did that with a £30 speaker is both testament to these particular Naims and the speakers in question, Mordaunt Shorts MS20i Pearls. You can always upgrade the speakers in the future but I think you will have to spend a significant amount more and look at Neat or Spendor money. I'd have the XS over the Supernait and value for money is higher than with some of the company's outrageously priced systems, residual values and pride of owner ship are high. - Does everything well as long as you don't need silly volumes.
AVI's ADM9.1's active speakers with built-in pre-amp, DAC and powerful amplification is the other one. A bargain at just over 1.1k. They don't have the perceived solidity of sound or punch of the above system, nor do they do rythm quite as well but they have an astonishing clarity and one of the best high frequency performance I heard. Not the best for out and out rock but they do that too with a good sub plus dynamics are simply awesome for a speaker so small.
I heard quite a few systems and these two are the stand-out ones for me at their respective price points. That includes the Kandy's. Can't help with the Linn.