Quite a lot to take in.
Mr_Sukebe, appreciate the detailed response. Your assumption is correct in that I would prefer a good 2.1 setup vs an ok 5.1.
The source for music is likely going to be an iPad or Macbook, the desktop is not coming with me.
I'll have a look at the Marantz combinations. The Oppo is a interesting one, my question would be does it have enough oompfh to drive the speakers in question?
9designs2, The Linn unit does look like it ticks more of the boxes but only mentions support for Tidal directly but has an app called Songcast/Airplay to stream other sources. Combined with the 2 channel Akurate Power Amp, it come sin around £6,000 which isnt too bad.
Further thoughts:
- An Ipad doesn't sound like a good source, unless you're intending to stream from say Tidal, as you'd be very limited on storage space for your own music. The Ipad is a good control method, but really not suitable for work as a server
- The Macbook should work fine as a server for your music, but you might want to consider either a NAS or NUC. Depends upon what you're going to run for your server software and if/where you're going to run any type of room correction. Clearly if you go with a Linn DS unit, it includes the capability (that's a big bonus). Otherwise, run it locally
- The Oppo is a BD player, that also happens to be capable to be a DAC and 5.1 channel pre-amp. It's NOT able to run room correction, but could be used as a DAC from say your Macbook. I was impressed by the capability and it's music quality from the one I heard, certainly at it's price. The Oppo does NOT include a power amp. Assume you'll need to include budget for a standalone one.
- Ref the amp side of things. Both the Linn DSM and Oppo include volume controls, meaning that you can run them directly into a power amp. For all that, my local Linn dealer suggested that the Linn DS via a Linn pre-amp sounded better than a DSM. I didn't run a comparison, but it's worth thinking about. Maybe he justed wanted to sell me an additional box. I'm a believer that the quality of a pre-amp is if anything more important than the power amp (I know that sounds the wrong way around) so it's worth trying to include that comparison whilst you're listening and making a choice.
- Ref the power amp, IMO the ONLY importance factor is that it works in a synergistic manner with your planned speakers. Ignore the gutter press "best buys" and just ensure that it sounds right and can drive your speakers.
The good news is that power amp technology really hasn't changed that much in a long time. So a good power amp from 10 years ago, is still a good power amp. The only real update is the increased availability of Class D "digital" power amps, which simply aren't a panacea either. Just like the other technologies, then have their own pros and cons. Right now I'm using a power amp based upon a 30 year design and am doing so despite having the opportunity to move to whatever technology I want.
Finally, 9 is right. Get out and go have a listen. You (hopefully) wouldn't spend 10k on a car without driving it. This should be no different. Don't blow a bunch of dosh without listening to some options.
And the reason I've deliberately avoided making distinct suggestions on specific hardware is easy. We're all different in what we like. I've heard all sorts of the years and have ended up with a solution that some might shake their heads at. For all that I love it. 9's the same, has a great system, but I'd be astounded if it wasn't quite different in it's presentation style of my own.
