I would probably buy used gear and stretch my dollars and take the risks associated with doing so, but I'm going to assume you're looking at new stuff and I can understand that if that is the case.

First off, if you buy bookshelf speakers, and I do think that is wise, you also will need stands for them if you want to get a proper and necessary setup for creating a soundstage and room interaction. Do a little reading on "proper speaker positioning" on the Stereophile site or via the net. It's a  really important step to create the magic that we audiophiles seek.

$400 will buy a lot of speaker these days. The bigger the box, the deeper the bass and of course, wider frequency response capabilities. You can only get so much  out of a small box. I'd suggest something large enough to reach 50hz or so. The room will probably provide a little below that and so you'll get the majority of frequencies for most all popular instruments.

Of equal importance in your case, the speaker you choose needs to be easy to drive and most manufacturers realize that in this price range and so that shouldn't be a problem. However, in an ideal situation, if you are looking to partner the speakers with an amp that produces few watts, then the more efficient and easier to drive speaker will play louder and be far less likely to present any problems to your amp. The measurements to look for on the speaker are rated in ohms and dbs. 6 to 8 ohms and 86 or higher dbs. I would avoid 4 ohm speakers and would be very favorable to a speaker that was higher than 86 in sensitivity...all else being equal.

Wharfdale gets good reviews and is much more popular in Europe. The British mag, "What-Hi-Fi" is an excellent source for keeping up with first impressions on European made audio gear. Their reviews aren't anywhere near as comprehensive as Stereophile's, but I've  found their general impressions to be quite accurate on the stuff I've also listened to. They have a ranking system that might narrow your search down rather quickly. However, they review very little North American gear so use it as a supplement more than anything.

My personal bias is toward PSB speakers as entry level gear. They meet all your criteria and are very well designed with a long history of making great speakers for the money. They are amp friendly, reasonably easy to drive and balanced in a way that compliments the widest range of musical styles. They may not be the last speakers you own, but they are true "High End" speakers for very little money.

I've not heard the Quinpu amp, but they've been around long enough now to be worth consideration based on user reviews. If they have a good policy toward servicing their product then I wouldn't discount them. Another brand to consider would be Jolida. They have some relatively inexpensive integrateds and provide good repair service if  needed. Everything I've ever heard of theirs was really good for the money. They have a little hybrid integrated (tube pre, solid state amp) that I used while having another amp repaired that I thought was better sounding than many amps I've had over the years costing much more money. I think it was the model 1501, but it's been a while.

I'm a big fan of Audioquest's old style Type 4 speaker cable and Kimber's PBJ interconnects for budget cabling. They are well worth the money if you can properly place your speakers in the room as I indicated earlier. Speaker placement is critical and I can't stress that enough. If you can't properly place your speakers on stands and in the room, I wouldn't spend much money at all on cables. If you aren't going to be able to get the speakers on stands and in the room, away from walls and off the shelf, you are giving up way more in sound quality than any budget can compensate for.

Having said all that, I'll give you my opinion on what "I" would buy given your situation. Take it for what it's worth. I would buy the PSB Image B5 at around $450 new. You might get it a little cheaper with some looking. I'd buy the Jolida JD301A integrated at around $500. Again, maybe a little less with some looking. I'd then get a run of Audioquest Type 4 with banana terminations for around $100. Audio Advisor can hook you up with the cables. They can also provide the Kimber PBJ interconnect for around $50, though Audioquest's King Cobra is another that I like if you need shielding. Check out their speaker stands while looking at their site and budget another $100. You'll want the speakers tweeter around ear level when placed on stands to determine approx. stand height.

A brief note on the qinpu you are considering. I would be perfectly happy with 16 watts of power. That is more than enough for the listening levels that I enjoy 90% of the time. However, you will find yourself wanting to crank it up with some songs and some moods and your amp will not quite do the trick. But, if you are willing to trade those rare occasions when you want to blast out a song for a higher quality sound 90% of the time, it's a  small compromise. I would. Still, you will not be able to rock the walls with 15 watts, nor will you with 30 watts as is the Jolida. Beware trading quality watts for more watts of a lessor quality. As Sam once remarked, "If the first watt isn't any good, why would you want 100  more of them?" I can always get a loudness fix by cranking up my car stereo. If you are quite certain that you won't need additional inputs for other sources, the Quinpu only has one pair of RCA inputs, I would lean toward giving it a shot if the money savings are a really big deal. But, if you need additional inputs, the Jolida is a contender and a bargain.

There are other brands you might consider and I'm sure others will chime in, but I've heard many of them and prefer what I've suggested. In some cases, I wouldn't own some of these brands if they were given to me. And, a lot of them are highly regarded and often recommended. Everything is a  compromise and what compromises a designer chooses will ultimately impact the sonic signature of their product. The compromises I can accept and maintain the audio illusion may differ from theirs and that goes for any listener as well.

Good luck!

For the price range you are talking about, the Harman-Kardon 3490 stereo receiver is a no-brainer. It has excellent sound quality, features, connectivity, and plenty of power. It also costs under $400.

The Yamaha amplifiers and receivers have extremely poor sound quality in my opinion; I strongly recommend you stay away from Yamaha, Sony, and Pioneer at all costs. The little Tube amp you mentioned does not have enough power to drive 80% of the speakers on the market.

You want at least 60 watts per channel if you buy a tube amplifier. I have had many many tube amplifiers over the past 50 years, and I caution you about underpowered ones. They don't perform well unless you keep the volume VERY low. THe cheapest good-sounding tube integrated amplifier I know of costs over $1500.

I suggest that you get the Diamond 10.2 speakers, because you will find the otherwise excellent 10.1 to be too limited in bass response.

I have had excellent results with Audioquest Cables over the last 30 years. They make a good-quality product at (mostly) reasonable prices.

Their Diamondback interconnect is the one I primarily use, and the Indigo speaker cables. The Indigo cables are no longer available, but the Type 4 and Type 8 are possibly a good choice.

I also have some Indigo Cables I am no longer using, and they are currently advertised in the AVR Forums Classified section if you are interested. They cost several hundred dollars origainally, but you can get these for a bargain price. They are excellent cables.

"You want at least 60 watts per channel if you buy a tube amplifier. I have had many many tube amplifiers over the past 50 years, and I caution you about underpowered ones. They don't perform well unless you keep the volume VERY low. THe cheapest good-sounding tube integrated amplifier I know of costs over $1500."

This hasn't been my experience with tube gear at all...and I use tube gear almost exclusively for ampliication. It's all relative to partnering the amp with the speaker. A speaker with a sensitivity of 90db and an amp with 15 watts is virtually identical to a 60 watt amp partnered with 84db speakers in how loudly it will play.

I used a 15 watt tube amp with 89db speakers for years and it was one of the best systems I've had to date...and was stupid inexpensive.

The problem with getting a tube amp with less than 20 watts of power is that you really limit your choice of speakers.

If you look at all of the speakers on the market that are worth talking about for decent sound quality, 90% of them do NOT have 89db/watt or better sensitivity.

It seems silly to me to put yourself in a box where 90% of the speakers you might want to consider in the future will not work well with your amplifier.

By the way; Music Direct carries the full line of Jolida amplifiers, and there are also other dealers.

A 60 watt amplifier would also be inadequate for speakers rated at 84 db/watt. My speakers are the Vandersteen Treo, which are approximately that sensitive, and when John Atkinson reviewed them recently he cautioned that you should use an amp with at least 100 watts for them.

PSB makes excellent speakers. I had the PSB Image T6 speakers in one system for over two years, and they are VERY good speakers.

Tube gear can be very reliable and last a very long time, but most all the horror stories you read about are not related to hybrid integrateds which use small signal tubes for the preamp section and a solid state amplifier. You get the midrange and liquidity of tubes and the reliability of solid state in the workhorse section. At least that's the thinking on hybrids...and it's mostly true. The more problematic and critical part of tube gear is in the output section that use larger tubes, generates more heat and are prone to system incompatibilities if you don't take into consideration the associated speakers and pramp. In short, hybrid integrateds are nothing to be concerned about in most cases.

You're at that part of the decision process where you aren't confident in your own understanding and so it's difficult to pull the trigger. I've been there and it's hard to plunk down big money on anything that you don't fully understand. I've not listened to many switching or T Amps and so I'm not going to be much help in that regard. Besides, I'm uber picky about amplification to begin with and have a hard enough time finding one I can live with. Early reviews of the technology from a lot of respected reviewers was that it created an unnatural treble region that was bothersome. A lot of mass produced home theater receivers use the technology.

I don't  doubt that the Pioneer speakers sound good. I've not heard them, but the review was well written and communicated. Not a bad place to start with little expense while you learn. As for power to drive them, If you lived in an apartment and was using a 15 watt amplifier, your neighbors would be complaining before you  used half of them.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20064610-47.html

Steve Guttenberg, partnered the Whafdales with the Jolida and seemed to like the combination. Steve's a familar name around Stereophile.

The Pioneer speakers do have very low sensitivity,and that means you definitely want something with at least 60 watts per channel for them.

The Harman-Kardon 3490 stereo receiver has good sound quality and plenty of power.

It also has many useful features.

Just because a receiver can put out 120 watts per channel, that does not mean you ever will apply that much power to your speakers. You should hear them starting to distort long before you ever turn the volume up high enough to damage them. Just use good sense and turn the volume down when they start to sound distorted and you will have no problems. 

You have to turn them up awfully loud before there are problems, and most people will never have them that loud.