After 9 Months of Research - Rate My First System (Before I Buy It)!

[56suited]

Be kind to the rookie (please). I've been lurking and reading everything I can, putting off my purchases as long as I can bear...and the moment is finally here. First, some details:

Room Details

• ~5.5-6m sq (small office)
• just a couple acoustic treatments from GIK (not currently installed as they are on their way)
• listening distance is ~1-1.25m
• Disregard the stupid speaker positioning in the picture. I used freeware room design software that expired so I can't change it. The speakers will be next to the TV, and I will be sitting on-axis with a very slight toe-in for the speakers.

Budget & Other Details

• ~€2,500 - €3,000
• Vinyl, and streaming from Spotify Connect. I want the tactile vinyl experience. Non-negotiable.
• Saving space by going with active studio monitors, and limiting number of components without sacrificing upgrade paths. Also, monitors with dip switches seem more forgiving of placement near walls.
• Upgrade paths cannot include larger spaces. My office is my cave, and my wife asserts dominance over design decisions for the rest of the house. My office has a lock for my own safety.

The System

• Pro-Ject X1 B Turntable (note: getting it price matched to €850 from richersounds.ie)
  • mini-XLR
    • Pro-Ject Phono Box S3 B
      • RCA
        • WiiM Ultra (with HDMI eARC from Samsung Smart TV)
          • RCA
            • Kali IN-5s (not included in the screengrab; I am getting them from Thomann for ~€344/ea)

Final Thoughts

• I considered Neuman KH120 II as an option pretty hard, but that is way too evolved a monitor for my rookie capabilities. I also do not have a personal computer to take full advantage. I will covet them from a distance.
• I considered Adam A7V pretty hard as well due to their great warranty and various reviews (here as well as elsewhere).
• I landed on the Kali IN-5 (instead of the IN-8) because of space limitations. Worried I will regret this decision, as I know a sub is out of the question for such a small space, not to mention tricky placement (ex: under the desk is pretty much the only place).
• I contemplated a WiiM Pro Plus and a Topping A70 Pro as an alternative to the WiiM Ultra, and decided against it because of no HDMI eARC.
• Room correction through the WiiM app will have to be good enough, as well as the dip switches on the Kalis. I cannot justify the spend on miniDSP products (but appreciate and respect their quality). Maybe a consideration for the future.

So...tell me what you think. I'm excited to actually buy something, just in time for my birthday. Thank you for embracing rookies in this wild and lovely world of HiFi.

 

[A Surfer]

Down the road, absolutely a subwoofer or two. Nice system. I'm sure that you'll be happy.

 

[56suited]

Down the road, absolutely a subwoofer or two. Nice system. I'm sure that you'll be happy.

Even in such a pitifully small room? I was also thinking of the Adam T7V + the T10S woofer...but everything I have read says "yikes, subwoofers in small rooms is disastrous". Maybe I read wrong.

 

[tmtomh]

No need to spend €34-38 on Audioquest HDMI cables and RCA interconnects, but otherwise looks very nice!

 

[Somafunk]

All good but save yourself £100 on the audioquest cables and buy some isoacoustic ISO-15t stands for the Kali’s

IsoAcoustics ISO-155

Table Tripod for Speakers / Monitors Allows optimal angle of the speakers in the direction of listening position, Decouples the loudspeaker signal from the ground, Two height adjustable: 76 and 210 mm, Inclination adjustable: Up to 6.5 degrees,...

www.thomann.co.uk

 

[MarkS]

IMO, too much of the funds are going to the turntable and phono preamp, I would go with entry-level Pro-Ject or similar offerings. And also (as already said) no need for fancy cables.

 

[DMill]

I’d spend less on the turntable and phono pre. I’d get 1 subwoofer. Cables don’t matter much as others stated but at least the AQ ones you noted are not silly like their higher end stuff. So you can save a few bucks there and buy a tank of gas.

 

[DMill]

And I was typing my post while MarkS beat me to the punch, but we clearly see eye to eye on it.

 

[GXAlan]

WiiM Ultra Phono Stage

Was curious to get opinions on the phono stage within the WiiM Ultra as there doesn’t seem to be too much discussion of this feature. I have been running it for a few weeks with my Fluance RT85 (Ortofon 2M blue) into the phono input of Ultra then to the analog line in of my Yamaha AS501. I have...

forum.wiimhome.com

people like the WiiM ultra’s built in phono.

Almost everyone going through the hobby can agree that speakers make the biggest difference. Get the Kh120II even if you don’t have the plan to use it to the full capabilities yet. Use WiiM Ultra phono preamp. Downgrade the turntable for now.

 

[jeffaegrim]

WiiM Ultra Phono Stage

Was curious to get opinions on the phono stage within the WiiM Ultra as there doesn’t seem to be too much discussion of this feature. I have been running it for a few weeks with my Fluance RT85 (Ortofon 2M blue) into the phono input of Ultra then to the analog line in of my Yamaha AS501. I have...

forum.wiimhome.com

people like the WiiM ultra’s built in phono.

Almost everyone going through the hobby can agree that speakers make the biggest difference. Get the Kh120II even if you don’t have the plan to use it to the full capabilities yet. Use WiiM Ultra phono preamp. Downgrade the turntable for now.

Agreed, I’d spread the funds around a bit to accommodate the best speakers you can possibly afford

 

[GD Fan]

+1 for spending more on speakers than components. I'd also add get the biggest speakers your space will possibly accommodate. When my desktop system was purchased I feared the next size up would crowd the space but it turns out it would have been possible. Regretted it ever since.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Delete everything and get KH120 II or KH150 with WiiM Ultra

 

[Joe Smith]

I personally think the room is too small for a sub to sound optimal at all... I think overall, you could spend less on many of the components (e.g., phono elements) and have a perfectly fine system for that size of room. And yes, Audioquest cables are not a good value in any way.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I don't see anything wrong with what you have settled on. Now for optimization I echo thoughts about economizing on things to get better/bigger speakers. My advice building a system is always find the best speakers you like and work backwards. Spend the overwhelming amount of money on the speakers.

Now having said that I read this in your post:
"So...tell me what you think. I'm excited to actually buy something, just in time for my birthday."

When it makes you feel this way, excited, that is pretty valuable and a good experience to live. Even the modest AQ cables as they probably give a bit of pride in connecting your gear together.

 

[GXAlan]

I am going to assume you have $3000 US.

Neuman KH120II
WiiM Ultra
Rega Planar 2 / Nd3 MM cartridge

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Where will you be storing the hundreds of LPs (or “vinyls”, as the kids call them) in that tiny space?

 

[56suited]

All good but save yourself £100 on the audioquest cables and buy some isoacoustic ISO-15t stands for the Kali’s

IsoAcoustics ISO-155

Table Tripod for Speakers / Monitors Allows optimal angle of the speakers in the direction of listening position, Decouples the loudspeaker signal from the ground, Two height adjustable: 76 and 210 mm, Inclination adjustable: Up to 6.5 degrees,...

www.thomann.co.uk

Oh yeah, I'll need those...or at least isolation pads (the stands might put my ears too low). Thank you! Are some brands better than others?

 

[markstein]

Regarding subwoofers: I recommend to skip it for the beginning. Always can be added later, if required.

Don't start with a single sub but get at least 2, maybe 3 subs and optimize them using multi subwoofer optimizer software. You need DSP capability incl delay.

A single sub makes you unhappy at most locations in the room besides the single location you used for optimization...

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi, sounds like a nice system.

You did ask for comment, and bear in mind that there are many ways to skin a cat (never actually tried...)

Don't spend that much on cables - that's just a waste.
Agree that subs can come later, if you want.

Personally, I'd spend less on the turntable/phono and more on speakers.
You will get a much better sound with the Neumanns, and you will not notice a degradation if you go down a level on the turntable - as long as you keep a decent cartridge/stylus (Ortofon blue/ AT-VM95ML).
Try the phono stage in your WiiM Ultra, you can always add a phono amp later.

Whatever you do, enjoy

 

[Karmacoma]

- A pair of kh 150 - 2600€ right now no sub needed, end-game stuff
- Fiio SR11 to feed them - 99€
2700€ total
Sorry but when i see 3000€ budget small space that's the first thing that comes to my mind. Buy the rest 2nd hand. When it's about a system's quality, speakers come first, you build your system from the speakers not from your turntable, paying 1,5x more for the vinyl gear than for the speakers is a rookie mistake, yes i know you'll evolve from there, change your in-5 at some point that's what you tell yourself but that's be a waste of money and time, and again speakers come first, make the vinyl part evolve instead.
Been there.