N-vi or Classik Movie

Following a house move I now have a dedicated music room which is fantastic, however the compromomise has been that the "lady of the manor" has now won back her lounge to be how she likes it. However with a new TV installed in there we both dont want to miss out on the film experience we were used to. So a one box solution has been decided upon.

Now the Naim seems to be a nice bit of kit but it seems reading the forums to be full of faults and software hiccups and I feel like I would be buying a prototype! How does the one box Linn movie stand up to it. I will probably demo both and do have a Linn bias due to the rest of my kit but if its a significant step down from the Naim Im a little unsure about it. Has anyone ever done the comparism and is the Linn fault free or does it have the same problems as the Naim?

The other issue is I am quite taken with the Naim 5.1 speaker package and I wonder if they would work well with the linn electronics. The speakers would have to be on this scale to keep everyone happy.

I suppose the ultimate test is to play them side by side and demo them.. It does look searching through forums and reviews that the Naim does have the edge but looking at the Naim forum I see what you mean about the software problems. It looks like most people have the N Vi spending more time back in Salmesbury being repaired or updated than at home!

I haven't tried the Naim kit, but I used the old model Linn Classik Movie Di for a few years, and found it bullet-proof. It never went wrong, although it did cut out once when we had a power-surge which blew a couple of fuses on other kit (we sometimes get power cuts or surges here in North Kent). I thought I'd lost it, but when everything was plugged-in and switched back on, it came back to life as if nothing had happened. It's worked faultlessly since then, and although I've now replaced it with a Linn Unidisk (which has a few software foibles), I'm planning to set it up in another room because I can't bear to part with it.

Plus it sounds great! Given a decent ariel, the radio is excellent - I use a Linn Pekin now, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference on most FM stations. The CD/DVD player is good, the preamp is decent enough, and the amplification will power a reasonably sensitive speakers - e.g. Katans or Komponents, plenty loud enough.

The fan on the old model would occasionally become audible during the quietest passages, but it came on rarely, and I'd expect Linn to have improved it in the new model.

I would suggest getting a home trial - it's small and really easy to set up - you just plug in power, speakers & sub.

There are plenty of reviews online.