Hi, wanted to know whether a cpu equipped with Xonar Essence STX soundcard is enough to power up a pair of bookshelf speaker in the likes of Q-Acoustic, mission etc.

IMHO, none of the above mentioned amp is able to efficiently drive the 6 ohm whafedale 10.1. I am not sure about the prodigy soundcard but i have tried connecting my 2nd hand Audiolab to my Asus Xonar and it works fine (but not ideal coz there is not enough gain and as such, the volume is lower as compared when i connected it a CDP). Tried getting a pre-owned 100 watters (at least a class AB) if you wanted your Whafedale to sing as per the review in Stereophile (actually, the reviewer used a AR Ref 110 to drive the speaker ... so imagine.) Further, you must also know that the Whafedale is a very bright speaker and as such, might required some careful matching as well as tweaking. Enjoy your journey ...

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Added on September 20, 2011, 12:39 amIf you are ok to settle with a pre-owned bookshelf speakers, then RM300+ can fetch you a decent KEF CODA and it required only an entry level 30 watters amp to drive (might coz you about RM300 to RM500 in the use market). However, if you wanted everything totally new, the only decent (and with potential) entry level speaker below RM1,000 would be the Whafedale 10.1. However, to efficiently drive the whafedale, you might need to spend 'a bit' on the amp if again you wanted a new one. Of course, there are plenty of alternative besides the Whafedale if you are willingly to spend slightly more ... i.e. more decently price brand name like Mission, Harbeth or maybe even an entry level dynaudio. But then again, it all depends on your budget, music preferences and the level of 'addictiveness'


This post has been edited by kychoo99: Sep 20 2011, 12:39 AM

If you are going for 70 % on music, my suggestion is that you should always go for a stereo amp instead of an AVR, more so in your case since you prefer a 2.0 or 2.1 setup. The tonality of an AVR in general is harsher than a stereo amp and as such, might not be ideal for someone who prefer music over movies. Further, certain low frequency signal in the AVR is actually cut over to the sub - hence, if you are not using a sub & decided to use an AVR amp in a 2.0 system, you will most likely be missing details in your music.

Another pointer where some purist AV fans may disagree but hard core and knowledgeable audiophiles will tell you is that you will get the effect of surround and ambiance of a 5.1 system, even with a properly setup 2.1 system (of course, your amp must be powerful enough to push forth the details that was meant to be). Hence, IMHO going for a 2.1 system will be the most ideal in your case where usage is 70 / 30. The only setback is of course, stereo amp do not offer HDMI inputs .

Lastly, i am sorry to pour cold water onto your head (literally speaking) - for someone who have been using a Hifiman headphone setup and decided that it is no longer enough to satisfy your craving for better sound (stage, tonal & imaging), i would humbly opined that a RM3k setup of new Hifi equipment will get you nowhere. Try auditioning by visiting the various Hifi shop across Klang Valley and try finding out the price of a set of new gears that is really good enough for your ears.

Enjoy the journey.

Regards.