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

[pablolie]

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.

View attachment 391757

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)

View attachment 391758
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.

Great informed choices. While others suggest a sub, I think you sit close enough to not need one. May also depend on your musical preferences.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hello, folks! Everything is still sublime. As a reminder of my set-up:

• Technics SL1210-GR with Nagaoka MP-200 cartridge
• WiiM Ultra
• Neumann KH 120 II running on coax digital cables from the Ultra
• Samsung TV via HDMI eARC to the Ultra

So why am I back? Because I'm still looking for upgrade options for an updated status.

1. The refrigerator is still doing it's thing, but it's less frequent and less pronounced. No zapping or concerning sounds from the monitors, just sporadic volume reduction or sound drop.
2. As you can tell from the picture, I am a plant guy. My grow light on top of one of the monitors is causing a low level hum when I switch inputs to phono for playing vinyl. When I touch and hold the stem of the grow light, the humming stops. Moving the plant or the grow light is not an option.
3. I'm curious if a phono stage that is better than the one in the WiiM Ultra will give me noticeable vinyl sound improvements. I have ~7cm clearance under the TV where the Wiim Ultra is, and I would want to fit the phono stage there...so no tubes, and no massive piece of equipment.

Questions...

1. I can do something with power, but I just don't know what. Is it a power conditioner? A UPS? Both? Something else?
   • I was looking at THIS. Would this do?
   • I really like THIS as an option because it is cheap, and low profile--but I don't know if it will do the trick. There's also information in the reviews talking about dropouts in picture and sound from equipment due to tumble dryers and the like being completely eliminated.
2. I can probably do both power AND a phono stage...but if I had to pick only one, which would be the way to go? Based on previous posts, it's power.
3. What phono stage would you recommend considering my cartridge, turntable and overall set-up? I like having the option to go to a MC from an MM in the future, but I'm ultimately looking for drop-dead silence except for the music playing. I can adjust gain through the Ultra.

Comfortable budget would be in the 500-750EUR range for everything, but recommend whatever you wish - I can always have a wish-list with aspirations on it. Thank you ASR community! View attachment 474625

It's a lovely system.

Don't get dragged into the vinyl rabbit hole, tempting though it is!

First thing to fix (my opinion, there will be others) is that TT hum. I doubt if a new phono stage is the first thing to try.
It's fine to have longer digital cables- WiiM to speakers. Is there any way to move your TT and WiiM away from the lights? Wall mounted?

Fix the hum, then take stock.

 

[digitalfrost]

3. If buying any other phono stage, I would not buy something that cannot be adjusted. To get the cartridge loading right, you need something where you can adjust capacitance and resistance. Unfortunately, adjustable stages are not cheap.

2 +1: I fear they are related. When you touch the stem and it stops, that points to a grounding issue. The fact that you can hear that through the phono stage points to an EMI issue. A UPS will not fix this. You can try ferrite cores on the light power lead, near the light and at the wall. And you can try a power strip with EMI filtering for the light.

 

[markstein]

1. I can't find the Spartan in Europe (or I am an idiot)

You may contact Michael Fidler directly for shipments outside UK.