Thanks for the info. Appreciated it.

So, roughly the estimated total cost should be $2800 + $800 + $427 (import duty) = USD 4027

Based on exchange rate of average RM 4.03 per USD 1, that will be RM 16228.81 (excluding GST). I assume the 6% GST will be based on RM 14508 (USD 2800+800) so the net total will be around RM 17099.

Mmm... I don't know whether GST exclude the shipping fee of $800.

Edited : Added import duty.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 24 2016, 08:32 PM

Ok, understood. Thanks.

There are so so many brands and models of loudspeakers to choose from, which range from the low budget ones to the extremely extremely insane priced ones! Many of them I have never heard of, may never have the opportunity to listen to and many have names that sound so exotic or elite.

For sure, I have not heard of Salk Soundscapes until you mentioned them here. Interesting reading from Salk Sounds website and the Soundscape 8 floorstands really do project grandeur and excellence. You said that you have auditioned the Salk Soundscapes and loved it. Great to know that it suits your ears and taste.

Have you listened to the Ascend Sierra Towers w/RAAL tweeters? I hope you don't mind so may I ask... are you basing your purchase solely on the rave reviews and probably from various people who had auditioned it ? So you trust that your ears will like its audio character and believed your decision to purchase will be the right one. Please don't misunderstand, the Sierra Towers are NOT bad, far from it, as it should be top-notched excellent speakers which has pretty amazing sound.

For me... after going through all the process of price considerations, build quality, independent reviews, etc etc, if possible, I usually will try to audition it and let my ears decide before opening my wallet. Yes, I do agree that auditioning at the seller's showroom (with different HiFi/AV gear) cannot be relied upon, given the fact that it can never be the same as the purchaser's actual room BUT at least I can get a "general" rough idea of the speakers sonic character by bringing my own discs for the audition.

Anyway, to each one is their own way, choice and preference and absolutely nothing wrong in it.

Congrats on getting the Sierra Towers w/RAAL tweeters and that you will be eagerly waiting for it to arrive at your doorstep. I am sure you will enjoy its excellence!

Addition...
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/...room-bad-3.html

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 25 2016, 08:17 PM

Mmm... don't know, maybe roughly around 50 minutes. Typing and drawing is very fast... only thinking about how to write took a ling time, hehehe.

Please correct me if I am wrong.... this is what I understand from your question...

What you are asking is that the longer the speaker cables used, the longer it takes for the amp signal to reach the speaker and so, you mean to say that there will be a "slight" delay for the speakers to receive the signal and therefore the speakers generate the sound "delayed" causing the mic to detect it later. This is what you meant when you say "wouldn't the signal arrive at the speakers at different time". You were not referring to the sound from the speaker arriving at the calibration mic. If you said "the signal arrive at the calibration mic at different time", then its a different question which you did not ask.

I hope I understood what you were trying to say.

Ok... I know that you did not ask but let's clear the air first about the "delay" of the speaker sound reaching the mic. This is what all calibration software such as YPAO, MCACC, Audyssey, etc have been designed to calculate. The sound engineers will already have factor in the speed of travel of the "calibration pink noise" and already knows how long it takes to travel the distance of, say, 1 mm or whatever. The longer it takes for the actual speaker sound to arrive at the mic means the greater is the distance of the listening position to the specific speaker. After calculating the distance based on the "delay" of the sound from speaker reaching the mic, the calibration software will also calculate the SPL level, the proper delay timing AND as well as the proper equalizer settings for a range of frequencies. Its a tall order from a simple "calibration pink noise" !! Calibration software is all about detecting such delays and SPL for a range of different frequencies. So... with that explanation out of the way, since "delays" is one important criteria for calibration, I don't think you are talking about the sound generated from the speaker "delay" in arriving at the mic.

Let's get back to your question.

That signal from the power amp to the speaker is basically electrical current and I don't have to explain to you how fast electricity travels.



As you can see, obviously the difference in time it takes for the electrical signal to reach the speaker is extremely very very small when compared between a 1 metre speaker cable and a 30 metre cable!

Here is what I think. Just forget about "any possible delays" for the audio (electrical) signal from the power amp to reach the speaker. Its insignificant, in my opinion.

What about "delays" caused by electrical resistance and conductance of copper? Will it be significant for speaker lengths in the range of 1 metre to 30 metre? Resistance is measured in ohms. Let's say I used AWG 24 cable thickness... a 1 ft length will have resistance of 0.026 ohms roughly, but a 30 ft length will have 0.77 ohms which is quite a difference. BUT will an extremely thin cable that cause 1 ohm resistance cause any significant signal delays reaching the speaker? Maybe not significant. I don't know but what I do know is to "simply" use a reasonably thick copper cable such as AWG 18 or 16 and I just forget about the resistance/conductance mumbo jumbo and forget about any "delay issues".

Reference... http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase...les/wirega.html

Honestly, actually I don't pick speaker cables from the exact AWG. In fact, I don't look at the AWG at all! What I actually do is pick a cable that I "feel" is the appropriate thickness and proper shielding. Choosing the "proper" shielding is a tricky one because there are also branded and unbranded ones that "cheat". I also know next to nothing about shielding materials.

In my personal opinion, once you have bought a reasonably thick cable with proper shielding, just relax and don't think too much about such "delays" from the power amp to the speaker which may cause unnecessary doubts on the accuracy of the calibration. For the sound delays from the speaker to the mic... that's part of what is calibration is all about.

There are so many factors and so many things to talk about for speaker cables when we bring in electrical resistivity of copper, conductance, EMI, behavior of electrical flow in a circular copper strand, etc etc. I am not an engineer in this area so I will not be able to explain much deeper here. Already have a headache just thinking about it. I may already have made errors in my explanation here because of my "general knowledge". I sound like a parrot.... if got any errors, correct me, please do.

Various Info...
http://www.activebass.com/a42--Understandi...mp-and-Speakers
http://www.marktaw.com/recording/Electroni...ndSpeakers.html
http://hometheaterreview.com/automated-roo...tion-explained/

Mmm... I don't understand here. You commented to Sonerin that it will be wrong to set to 80Hz if the speaker driver can't handle this 80Hz setting. I thought that the "Speaker Crossover" settings is for bass management purposes. When we set the speaker to "Large", it means ALL the range of frequencies from the channel track are sent to the speaker. Setting to "Small" means part of the low frequencies are redirected away from the speaker to the sub-woofer so ANY Crossover setting from 40Hz to 250Hz will surely help the driver to handle it better, isn't it? The higher the Crossover settings means the driver CAN handle it better, not can't handle it.

For example, setting the Surround Speaker crossover to 80 hz means that the Amp will take the the surround channel audio track low frequencies from 20hz to 80hz and send it to the sub-woofer instead of sending the full frequency range to the surround speaker. If the surround speaker have a spec of 45hz to 20KHz, setting the Centre Crossover will mean this speaker only handles frequencies from 81Hz to 20KHz so the driver can handle it better. The higher the crossover, the speaker should be able to handle better, not can't handle higher crossovers.

If the driver can handle 45 Hz, setting to 80Hz should make it easier to handle so why can't handle it? This is where I don't understand. Please help me clear my confusion or have I misunderstood you?



LPF to LFE Setting (Low Pass Filter To Low Frequency Effects Setting)
This setting is applied ONLY to the separate and independent ".1" track found in 5.1/7.1 audio tracks so it affects only the subwoofer speakers, nothing to do with all the other speakers. This setting affects how HIGH the low frequency that you want the subwoofer to handle. For example, if you set this to 120Hz, it means that you want the subwoofer to handle 20Hz to 120Hz only so anything above 120Hz coming from the ".1" LFE track will not be sent to the subwoofer. So if you set this to 80Hz, it affects the subwoofer driver only, not the other speakers in a surround audio system. If I am not mistaken, most (maybe all) subwoofers can handle up to 250Hz so if you set this setting to 80Hz, the subwoofer driver should handle it better, not can't handle it.



I repeat, basically the Speaker Crossover settings controls how low the LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) signal that each speaker is to receive from the Amp. Setting the Crossover to 60Hz for the Front Speaker means 20Hz to 60Hz frequencies from the Front Channel audio channel track will be filtered off and redirected to the subwoofer, no longer sent to the Front Speaker.

https://audyssey.zendesk.com/entries/321931-LPF-on-LFE
http://www.homecinemaguru.com/confusing-lf...ass-management/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-frequency_effects

I hope what I have explained is not confusing and if wrong, let me know so that I can learn from my mistakes.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 27 2016, 10:10 PM

You quoted my sentence... "If the driver can handle 45 Hz, setting to 80Hz should make it easier to handle so why can't handle it?". This is the Amp Setting at 80Hz which can cause the speaker to "can't handle the lower frequencies".

Yes, I already understood that speakers can't handle all the various lower frequencies.

May I know what HT AVR/Pre-Amp Setting you are refering to, which when set to 80Hz, may (depending on speaker specs) cause the speaker not being able to handle the lower frequencies? Speaker Crossover Setting? LPF to LFE Setting? If its either one of these 2 settings, then I have already explained earlier.

If there is any other setting (80Hz or other) that can cause a speaker to "can't handle the lower frequencies", then please let me know. Thanks for being patient with me because of my confusion here.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 28 2016, 02:55 AM

Sound is vibrations that travels through the air and as the vibration continue to travel, its energy drops (roll off) until all energy is lost and the sound "disappears". By understanding such roll off characteristics of each different frequency, we can determine how much the speaker should push out (vibrate) to get the required SPL (db) to reach the listener at different distance away from the speaker. THAT... even if I have such data, its still impossible for me to calculate what Amp settings to use.

Yes, different frequencies roll off at different rates... the higher frequencies cannot travel further than the lower frequencies so the gradual "roll of" will also be different between these different frequencies.

When the speaker specifications states the frequency range of 45Hz to 22000Hz, roll off information for sound at a fixed SPL is not shown for all the various different frequencies so its the job of the sound engineer to do research and put such data into the calibration software. I can never use "low frequency roll off" in my decision on what setting to use because I don't have such information. When the speaker specs states 45Hz, it means that the speaker cannot produce sound below 45Hz, it does not show how far 45Hz can travel at a fixed SPL sound output to roll off to no sound.

In my opinion, I cannot use frequency roll off to decide on my Amp crossover settings because I don't have such data AND even IF I have, its just too complicated for me to use my calculator to include this to get the correct setting loh.

Sound frequency roll off characteristics is about the behaviour of sound itself, not about what the speaker can do. Example, when a speaker can produce 45Hz sound frequency, all it needs is for the calibration software to use its built in data for the 45Hz sound roll off characteristics and then it will adjust this frequency EQ in the Amp to get the proper "loudness" (dB) to reach the listener's sitting position.

I think its very complicated to think about such "roll off" which is the sound from the speaker to the listener because that is the job of the calibration software. All it needs to be done is decide on how we want bass to be managed and redirected to where and then set the amp crossover so that it can control the audio "electrical" signal to the speakers according to our wishes. Each person can follow the "standard" crossover settings or use one that the person "think" is much better... its up to each person.

To make it simple, forget about sound frequency roll off and just let the calibration software do its magic with such data already built in.

Well, I may not be right, you know. So do feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Aug 28 2016, 04:24 AM

Yes, you can but I don't see any reason for you to use CD Player 3 types of outputs connected to the same pre-amp loh. What you should do is test which type of connection to the pre-amp that gives you the best sound. If CD Player co-axial out to pre-amp seems to be the best for you, then not necessary for you to use CD Player RCA and Optical out to the same pre-amp.

I have a CD Player which I use its 3 type of outputs to 3 different devices... Coaxial out to my External DAC 1, Optical out to my External DAC 2 and RCA Interconnect out direct to my HT Pre-Amp. By connecting in this way... hehe... I have 3 different "flavours" of sound loh.

Of course different quality cables between the 3 types do affect the sound quality but let's not make it more complicated by temporarily ignoring this. When you connect CD Player 3 different types of output to the same Pre-Amp, the difference that you may hear will be whether its digital or analog. CD Player Co-axial and Optical output is digital which means that you are basically using the pre-amp to decode the audio... for RCA Interconnect, the CD Player decodes first (also using its internal clock) and output analog audio to the pre-amp which just amplifies the signal and passes it to the power amp. What this means is this... do you feel that your CD Player internal DAC can perform better than your Pre-Amp, then use RCA Interconnect BUT if you feel that your Pre-Amp can do a better job, then use Co-axial or Optical.

To better understand this "digital and analog" thing, l use my Oppo BDP-105D as an example. 105D has a good internal DAC so its XLR out to my HT Pre-Amp so it means my 105D internal DAC decode first. However when I use either 105D Co-axial or Optical out to my Pre-Amp, I can use my 105D Settings to change the way the audio is output to my Pre-Amp. When I set my 105D to "Bitstream", the 105D Co-axial and Optical output will be sent out "Raw" without 105D internal DAC touching the sound and so let my Pre-Amp to decode. When I set my 105D to "48/96/192 PCM", it means my 105D internal DAC decode first, audio sent out and then my Pre-Amp decode again!!

When setting the 105D "Co-axial/Optical" audio output to "Bitstream", I must make sure my receiving "device" can decode the raw untouched audio. Ok... let's say I use 105D to play a DSD 64bit 354khz file so this bitstream setting and Coaxial out to my HT Pre-amp play perfectly because my HT Pre-Amp can decode such DSD file. BUT... when 105D "bitstream" Co-axial out to my External DAC, then only got hissing sound because the international standard maximum for Co-axial output is 24bit 192khz and Optical/Toslink is 16bit 48kHz (not sure of this maximum) so I need to set 105D to decode first to PCM and then send out to my External DAC... hehehe. Crazy, isn't it? Mmm... I do notice that there are external DACs that do support maximum 24bit 192khz for Optical connection

DSD is basically is the file format used by SACD discs. Most (maybe all) SACD discs have 2 layers, CD and SACD layer. When I play with 105D, the player will read the SACD layer so the Co-axial/Optical still needs to set to "PCM" out to my Ext. DAC. Of course, playing the multi-layer SACD using a CD Player don't have any problem because my Ext. DAC can decode 16bit 44.1khz loh.

For your situation with the CD Player, it don't have such "bitstream or PCM" setting. This means your CD player will always function as a "Transport" without its internal DAC decoding when you use its Co-axial/Optical out loh. And when you use the CD Player RCA Interconnect, it means that you are using its internal DAC to decode first. Connecting the CD Player to an External DAC or to a bluray player (Oppo BDP-105D) will play perfectly because CD is always 16bit 48KHz.

There are such "CD Transports" available and its not cheap. Example... CEC TLOX CD Transport.
http://www.cec-web.co.jp/products/cdplayer...x/tl0x_rup.html

What's the difference between CD Transports and CD Players? Simple... CD Transports don't have Internal DAC! When you look at the rear of the CEC TLOX, there is NO RCA Interconnect (analog) Output because no Internal DAC. The CEC TLOX only have Co-axial, Optical and AES/EBU output which are all digital outputs.

Yes, eventhough not necessary, there is nothing wrong to use your CD Player 3 different outputs to the same Pre-Amp because it will NOT damage your Pre-Amp. Probably you feel that the CD Player internal DAC (RCA Interconnect) perform better for Jazz CDs and the Co-axial (Pre-Amp DAC) is better for Rock CDs. Well, just understand that the DAC is the big boss that decodes the audio so which DAC (CD Player or Pre-Amp) performs better can also depend on your own ears ultimately, hehehe. Just understand which DAC is doing the job, what cable quality to use and finally let your ears decide.

I hope I have not confused you. I can be very looooong winded in my explanations, my bad habit. If anyone finds any errors, please do correct me.

Oh, Parasound Halo P5 is a very good pre-amp. I recently bought the Parasound A23 Stereo Power Amp for my 2 surround speakers. 125watts @ 8 ohms per channel is enough for my surrounds.

Regards.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Sep 23 2016, 03:50 AM

Because less than 3 months ago, I bought Elac floor-stands, Centre and Atmos speakers and cables costing more than RM 40K from the dealer in Amcorp Mall, I promised not to reveal the "special discount" I received for the Parasound A23 Power Amp. Before this purchase, I also bought more than RM 38K of "toys". What I can say is the normal retail price for the A23 so refer below. I did not buy the A21 power amp.

I believe you know who is the distributor for Parasound in Malaysia. Go to http://www.centrecircleaudio.com.my/

Few months ago, I did enquire from the distributor for these...

Parasound JC 3+ Phono Preamp RM 14,000 + 6% GST = RM 14,840
Parasound Halo A21 Power Amp (250 watts) RM 12000 + 6% = RM 12,720
Parasound Halo A23 RM 5000 + 6% = RM 5300

You will probably get some discount from the dealer at Amcorp Mall.

Last week, I called the dealer and wanted to buy a second unit of Parasound A23 for my Centre speaker. The A23 (125watts @ 8ohms) can be bridged as mono channel of 250watts @ 8 ohms. Unfortunately the distributor ran out of stocks for the A23 and have to wait about 45 days for the next shipment. I did not order it as I prefer to buy only when there are ready stocks. Now I can look for other amps to replace my Audiolab 8200MB.

Note : The Distributor for Elac speakers is at http://creativeav.com.my/ in Balakong, Selangor. I believe the General Manager of Creative AV was previously the GM for Woo Kee Hong Malaysia (WKHM). Since WKHM closed doors last year, he moved over to Creative AV. Now Denon distributor in Malaysia is no longer WKHM. I met this GM when he personally delivered the Elac floor-stands to my place.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Sep 23 2016, 10:36 PM

My centre speaker recommended amplifier power: 40 to 250 wpc... using Audiolab 8200MB 250watts Monoblock power amp.
My front speaker recommended amplifier power: 40 to 450 wpc... using McIntosh MC302 300watts stereo power amp.

Somehow I am getting a very high gain from my Audiolab 8200MB causing my Audyssey calibration to set my centre speaker to -10db and my Front floorstands speakers are -3db. The Centre speaker is just about 15 inch nearer than my Front speakers. I want to get another Monoblock or Bridgeable-Stereo power amp that has a much lower Gain. Maybe get MC301 (300 watts @8 ohms) to get the same Gain and same sound character... haven't decided yet because its not cheap loh.

Let me quote your earlier reply below...

You said you intend to get A21 or A23 so that's why I also give the price of A21. You should already know the A21 watts so why you also mention A21 as one of your choices?

My personal opinion is more reserve power is always better eventhough I don't actually turn the volume very loud. With more watts power, there is lesser chance for the amp to reach its peak handling capability which can cause clipping of sound. For example... to produce sound at same dB volume from listening position, a 250watts power amp can "easily" produce audio with less distortion when compared to a 150watts power amp.

But let's not forget about the speaker handling capability too.

Look at the speaker specifications. If the speaker recommended amplifier power is 40 to 150 watts, then using a 250watts to 300watts power amp can cause speaker stress when you push the power to very loud volumes.

This is what I usually do believe...

... if my speaker recommended a maximum of 150watts amp, I will use a 150watts or maybe 200 watts power amp but I will NOT use 80watts or 100watts or 300watts power amp loh.
... if my speaker recommended a maximum of 250watts amp, I will use a 250watts or maybe 300 watts power amp but I will NOT use 80watts or 100watts or 150 watts or 450watts power amp loh.

Depending on your pocket, try to go to the highest power wattage that your speaker can handle. If you feel that your speaker that handles maximum of 100watts CANNOT give you better sound quality, then you can probably change the speaker to a much higher watt handling AND a higher Power Amp wattage.

I believe that a higher power amp wattage matched with a speaker that can handle such power can produce much better sound quality such as punch, details, clarity, etc etc but I am not talking about the "loudness" here.

Example...
150watts power amp + speaker maximum 150watts = good
250watts power amp + speaker maximum 300watts = much better
450watts power amp + speaker maximum 500watts = best

I feel the LESS the power amp + speaker is put under "STRESS" when turning up the volume, then much better audio quality can be obtained. For me, its not about how loud is the audio volume.

Ultimately how high watts you want to go for your power amp must depend on 3 factors...
1) Speaker maximum handling should be NOT be too low to handle the power amp wattage.
2) Your pocket, of course.
3) Hehehe... your ears so are you satisfied with your amp + speaker setup?

I may be wrong here so its only my personal opinion.

Regards.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Sep 24 2016, 07:54 PM

I do agree that it will never be too much power but we still have to look at the speaker maximum wattage handling capability too. I can but I will not match a speaker with maximum handling of 100watts to a power amp of 300watts so its much easier to stress the speaker when I turn up the volume eventhough I don't actually turn up to very high volume. Eventhough there is a possibility of damaging the speakers of 100watts maximum combined with a power amp of 300watts when extremely high volume is used, I believe that "less stress" put on both the speaker and the power amp can produce better audio quality.

I don't use extremely high volume so its all about improving sound quality with lesser stress on both the speaker and power amp. BUT, if you DO use extremely high volumes, then its very important to make sure that the speaker maximum wattage handling can cope with the power amp big wattage output... ignoring this can cause damage to the speaker coils.

Theoretically and technically speaking, I don't know how far this is true so its only my opinion loh.

This post has been edited by jamesleetech: Sep 24 2016, 11:19 PM

I agree. We should not combine a speaker with low sensitivity (such as 86db SPL) with a low wattage power amp because when we turn the amp volume to 80% to 90% of its maximum watts to get the required dB, then clipping can occur which can cause speaker coil damage.

To be safe, when I choose a speaker of 4 ohms impedance, I will choose one that has minimum 88 to 91 dB sensitivity and can handle power amp wattage from 50watts to 250watts but such speakers may cost more, depending on brand and quality.

Actually my technical knowledge on this aspect is not good so its just my belief. Please take note my reply here is debatable and may not be correct.

Your 250w amp is slightly over the speaker max. Its very difficult for me to answer your question here because I really don't know what is the actual power being sent from your amp to the speakers. Rock music and explosions can be very loud so your speaker may not be able to handle it when you turned the volume above 0db (80%) on your amp "Volume Scale". But low volume jazz music will be able to be handled by your speaker eventhough you turned the volume above 0db. So I think suitable or not will depend on whether the source audio is very loud and you don't turn the amp volume too high.

I have been told by two different amp dealers that eventhough the power amp is 300watts, it seldom sends more than 100watts of power to the speakers when playing music or movies unless your listening position is very very far away. I somehow believe them. My HT Pre-Amp have VU Meters to show me actual live power being sent to my speakers. Even when I turned up my volume very very loud to +1db (82%) for Rock music, the VU Meter hardly touches above 100watts!!

It should be safe using a 250watts amp on a speaker with maximum tolerance of 200watts as long as you don't turn the volume to above 90%!! An amp watts above the speaker maximum watts is not as bad. What is worse is when the amp itself causes audio clipping when pushed to near 100% or FULL volume which can damage the speaker.

I believe the Audyssey (or others) calibration software will level balance the amp output to achieve the same 75db SPL at the listening position. The speaker level setting will be adjusted to increase or decrease based on the distance and the power of the amp. This will ensure that the amp output to your speakers will always be the same whether you use 100 watts or 150watts or even 250watts power amp. Different power amps do have different Gain Output so here is just a rough example... for 11 feet distance... using a 200watts power amp may give the Front Speakers db level settings at -2db, but using a 300watts power amp may cause the level to be reduced to -3db so this will "balance out" the power output to achieve SPL 75db at the listening position.

I have seen a person who has a 350watts power amp with speaker with a maximum tolerance of 200watts and so far so good when he is sitting around 10 feet away!

The chances of amp clipping is high for 80watts Amp to a speaker with 100watts to 150watts range.

For me, I am just being too careful so I will not use an amp with watts higher than my speaker maximum tolerance.

Yes, its a bit difficult for me to explain too but I do understand what you meant about the amp "gain factor + input sensitivity". A dealer told me that European amps are like delicate princess with lower gains but able to produce smooth detailed sound with clarity... and American/Canadian amps have higher gains which can produce aggressive power with punch and wide spread of soundstage. So.... is he correct? Well... maybe true. Do you have the same opinion?

Your KEF Q900 has a stated Sensitivity of 91dB/2.83V/m which means a lower power wattage amp can "push" the speakers much more effortlessly. Even with great speaker sensitivity, amps as low as 15 watts can have just enough power to push this speaker. However, I don't look at the minimum amp power that the speakers can be used. I will always look at the highest power amp wattage that I can afford to buy to match with this speaker. This is because of better speaker control with higher amp power used so a 100watts (8 ohms) power amp will have better control compared to a 60 watts (8 ohms) power amp. Likewise, a 200 watts (8 ohms) power amp will give much much better control.

Speaker high end or low end is not the main point... build quality with more accurate specifications are more important and your KEF Q900 is solidly built with proper accurate specifications. Unbranded "cap ayam" speaker specifications may not be accurate loh.

My opinion is that I will try to get a power amp that is at least 50% and above the speaker recommended amp power. If I can't afford to buy an amp that is at least 50% of the speaker recommended power, then I will rather not buy and save enough to get the right amp. So, for your KEF Q900... with 15w to 200w, I will go for a power amp that is at least 100watts. Of course if I can afford to get 200watts, then it will be the one that I will buy.

I have a simple analogy. Just think of the Highway as the speaker and the Car as the power amp. Even if I drive along a very good highway with few bends and a speed limit of 110km/hr, when reached 110 km/hr, I won't be able to easily control the steering steadily and drive with more shaking when my car is the light weight Kancil. Control will be much much better with a much heavier BMW with more horse power.

I have auditioned KEF Q900 before. A very good choice with a wide sound character, detailed without being over-bright eventhough the treble driver is not the ribbon type. Well... another friend of mine who listened together with me have a different opinion so each person's ears have different perception of sound. I can never explain why there are people who loved durians but others hated it! I loved durians but cannot eat them now due to health condition because of my age (+50).

Wow... my small room cannot fit these large speakers. To know how your ears feel on the sound quality, just to go there and listen. Warning!!! It should be poison and may "damage" your ears making you not satisfied with your existing speakers! Hehehehe. Mmm... I am a bit afraid to go there to listen... I have to "protect" my ears from becoming too "sensitive".

For bachelors, then find ways to rob a bank loh. For married husbands, try to beg, please or persuade wife to release extra funds. If still not enough $$... switch off the system completely and stop listening for at least 10 years !

How's your opinion after the audition? Big poison?