Have htpc with asus essence stx sound card. Need to connect to speakers.

[DavidInKent]

I have built an htpc including the Asus Essence STX sound card. I had it connected via my old Marantz Amp to a pair of KEF speakers. The amp and speakers are maybe 15 years old, but I like the sound and hoped to go on using them. I connected the (analogue) outputs from the sound card into the CD input to the amp. All sounded good for a few months, but amp has just gone up in smoke (literally).

Question 1. Was this the wrong thing to do and is that why the amp is bust?
Question 2. What do I need to replace the amp with? The priority is good quality stereo sound.

Excuse my ignorance. HiFi has changed a lot since I last looked at it!

 

[batuchka]

1. Nope nothing wrong in what u did - more like the amp was on it's last legs me thinks ^^
2. Depends on your budget - if u want brand new but have a lot of components to be hooked up HDMI AVRs that perform good in 2 channel may be an option otherwise vintage/classic stereo amps on the cheap could be another option ^^