Help to finalize a setup

[Tricky]

Hey,
I'm here instead of my brother that got some sweets deals on some audio gear and wants to finalize his setup but doesn't know what he lacks.
What he got :
- a pair of KEF LS50
- Focal Evo 5.1
- Headphones Sennheiser HD660s
He would like to use all of that the most optimal way to listen to music and look at movies. What should he buy as an amplifier and maybe other gear to finish his setup knowing that he doesn't plan to go higher in terms of speakers than his KEF.
Some important notes, he wants the best price possible for the best quality, he doesn't want to spend thousands of euros to get a bit more perf, just get the most of his gear without getting the maximum is sufficient (ofc the maximum is good too if it's affordable)
So what are your thoughts?

 

[twsecrest]

Might try asking on AVforum, it located in the UK, should be able to point out some good deals, with in western Europe.

 

[TimW]

Your brother really just needs an AVR to use all of this equipment. This will power the speakers and allow for movie watching in 7.1 and music listening in stereo, 2.1, or upmixed surround. He may even be able to get some ATMOS going with those larger focal satellites but I would use those as side surrounds since he has the KEFs which could be front mains. He will have to figure out speaker mounting, aiming, and wiring of course. The Denon AVRs measure pretty well but idk what you can find a good deal on in your country.

The AVR will probably have a headphone output but it won't be very good and plugging headphones into a big AVR doesn't make much sense to me anyway. I would look at a portable dongle or DAC/Amp for the Sennheiser's, depending on where he wants to use them.

 

[Sal1950]

So what are your thoughts?

TimW just gave you some good advice, about all that's left is what you'll use for sources.
An Apple 4k TV box will give you access to all the streaming music in lossless and surround coding you might ever need.
A BluRay player will handle any optical media from CD's to SACDs to UHD movies. Today I'd recommend the Sony X800M2
A computer or laptop with HDMI output can be used to rip and store just about anything you want as files and much more
Also not mentioned is a subwoofer, I'd highly recommend having one to support the LS50 bass. I believe SVS offers one of the best ones around at not to scary pricing, JMHO. There are so many great ones.

 

[Tricky]

Your brother really just needs an AVR to use all of this equipment. This will power the speakers and allow for movie watching in 7.1 and music listening in stereo, 2.1, or upmixed surround. He may even be able to get some ATMOS going with those larger focal satellites but I would use those as side surrounds since he has the KEFs which could be front mains. He will have to figure out speaker mounting, aiming, and wiring of course. The Denon AVRs measure pretty well but idk what you can find a good deal on in your country.

The AVR will probably have a headphone output but it won't be very good and plugging headphones into a big AVR doesn't make much sense to me anyway. I would look at a portable dongle or DAC/Amp for the Sennheiser's, depending on where he wants to use them.

What are the AVR that can run the LS50 (and the rest) cleanly? I heard that those are quite hard to drive.

 

[Sal1950]

What are the AVR that can run the LS50 (and the rest) cleanly? I heard that those are quite hard to drive.

Quite insensitive, yes. John Atkinson measured it at 84.5 db, so the more power the better.
I'd recommend the highest power Denon he can afford
The AVR X4700H should do the job,
The AVR X6700H would be a better choice.