Advice on Family Room Music/Movie System

Thanks for the ideas so far.

I will probably lean away from active monitors because there is so much less to choose from than traditional speakers.

How good does a phantom center channel sound on movies? It would certainly simplify things. I'm favoring monitors that can be placed close to the wall if not on it, something front ported or sealed. Any good suggestions along those lines?

Any other good ideas on receivers with good musical sound quality?

Thanks everybody for the suggestions so far.

I definitely would consider a used receiver, especially since they lose value so quickly.

The space in the room is the big issue. There are no shortage of quality monitors that can be paired with a subwoofer, the key will be making them fit in the room. On wall mounting would still be the best option.

I have Linn stuff in my main system and they make some monitors that can be wall mounted on brackets, or stand mounted. Any other ideas?

I definitely hear the advice to invest in the mains and subwoofer. If you stop there than you don't need a receiver at all, maybe just a nice integrated amp. But I do want to try out the multi channel thing.

Just a clarification on the zone B idea. I was just thinking that a 7 channel receiver could drive some outdoor speakers with channels 6-7 using another source like a Squeezebox. Not a main priority but it doesn't seem uncommon.

Any other ideas are welcome!

Our family is moving into a new home in about a month. I'm thinking about a second system because the new house will have a basement room that could be a dedicated listening room so I've been thinking about the second system for the main level family room.

The main system is also in some transition but consists of Linn Ninkas, Trikan and old Helix speakers, and a C5100 amp. I've been driving that amp and Ninkas with a Rotel integrated while I search for a Linn Unidisk SC or Exotik multi channel pre.

I've thought about setting up the main system in the family room but the space is an issue. The main sitting area of the family room faces a two sided fireplace with a door on the left through to another room behind the fireplace. Behind the sitting area is a wall seperating the family room from the kitchen. Where the left main speaker would normally be placed is right in the walkway through from the family room to the other room.

The best location for the tv really is above the fireplace because it is centered in the room. I could offset the tv to the right but that would make viewing awkward from where the couch naturally goes.

The best solution space wise would be something mounted high pointed down toward the listening area. With the complicated fit problems I'm inclined to try to find a good location for two small monitors and just go with a 2 or 2.1 channel system.

I may try the main system in the space first but I'm not optimistic is will endure 4 kids , the wife and our dogs. I'm really looking for a system to blend into the room and not be the main focal point but that still sounds good.

Thanks for the ideas so far!