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Help requested for buying/assembling a system with the Dali Spektor II

GrandiASR

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Joined
Jan 12, 2025
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Luxembourg
Hello everyone, I'm “Grandi”.

I've thought a lot about how I should write this post, but I don't think I'll be able to express exactly what I want to, anyway, I've been emotionally attached to music since I was a little boy.

Another fact is that I spent a challenging childhood and adolescence in my South American country. After much effort and struggle, I settled in Luxembourg a few months ago.

I have always deprived myself of almost everything, intending to be able to move, study and have a better perspective on life, (and of course) including music. Now I think I can start to enjoy a bit of this “world”.

I've already bought some CDs/SACDs and wish to have a minimum of listening to them at home. I've been researching for months and the more I do it, the more I feel like I don't know anything.

I want your help to start my life in Hifi. I don't have great pretensions at the moment, but I'd like to enjoy a quality that makes me see the difference from something I've always had in my life (the lack of this quality). I want to listen to my classic Dire Straits CDs, for example (with new eyes, in fact, new ears) and have the option of listening to streaming (Tidal) in good quality.

TI'm thinking of the following characteristics:

*DAC: SMSLDO300EX. (MQA, DSD512, Bluethoot, ARC, AK4191+AK4499EX and the headphone preamp are the features that brought me to this device).
*Speakers: Dali Spektor II (I already have the speakers).
*AMP: Marantz PM-6007.
*CD/SACD Player: Sony BDP S-6200 (and I can even use it as an SACD/DSD converter).

Any suggestions or changes? I know that you probably see this kind of post all the time, but I know that community is the most important thing among us lovers of good-quality sound. Thanks!
 
The limiting factor won't be your DAC, your amp or your SACD player, it will be your speakers and your room. Your setup idea looks fine. Only caveat: The Marantz delivers just 60 W @ 4 Ohms, which will limit your SPL to roughly 100 dB @ 2 m from the speakers with the sensitivity of the Spektor II. You can calculate that here. 100 dB is loud, but not earth shattering.

Apart from that little caveat, the weakest link in that system would be the speakers, as they have a gaping hole in the frequency sesponse between 3-4 kHz and exhibit a rising SPL in the treble region above 7 kHz (see here). Considering that, the bass/treble dials on the Marantz could be very useful to dial in an acceptable sound.
 
The limiting factor won't be your DAC, your amp or your SACD player, it will be your speakers and your room. Your setup idea looks fine. Only caveat: The Marantz delivers just 60 W @ 4 Ohms, which will limit your SPL to roughly 100 dB @ 2 m from the speakers with the sensitivity of the Spektor II. You can calculate that here. 100 dB is loud, but not earth shattering.

Apart from that little caveat, the weakest link in that system would be the speakers, as they have a gaping hole in the frequency sesponse between 3-4 kHz and exhibit a rising SPL in the treble region above 7 kHz (see here). Considering that, the bass/treble dials on the Marantz could be very useful to dial in an acceptable sound.
My physical space is tiny, I've seen the calculator and you're right.

Could it be a good idea to take a step back? Buy a simpler DAC? For example, an SMSL AO300 (with an integrated amplifier) and a Sony Blu-ray player? (Any tips on how to get the most out of the Spektor II?)

I think it would be interesting to see what I could do with these speakers and change everything in the future.

Thank you very much for replying, I appreciate it.
 
Any suggestions or changes?
Yes - the Marantz is not that hot, and is expensive for what it is.

You DAC will operate very effectively as a pre-amp, so you don't need an integrated amp.

I would suggest replacing the Marantz with a decent power amp solution - probably a pair of the Foso V3 Monos
 
Here another person's setup with Dali Spektor II/2. That with an amplifier that has almost the same power as Marantz PM-600,#5:

Dali Spektor 2 is a good speaker for casual listening on a small room. A fresh air for me. Very happy with them. I put them on a bookshelf on a little office/bedroom together with a SANSUI A-α7 amplifier, a 2011 Mac Mini with Tidal and a Topping E50 DAC. Speakers cables are RCA generic 14AWG OFC. A Wireworld Eclipse 7 RCA from the DAC to the Sansui and an Oyaide Class S USB from the Mac Mini to the DAC. Inexpensive set with a really enjoyable sound for my ears.


But with 84.5 dB sensitive speakers, even if I rarely listen at high volume, I would choose the maximum that Dali recommends, i.e. 100 watts. It's nice to have power when you want to press the gas pedal. Even at lower volumes it is good with decent power, that is if you play highly dynamic music. :)
Incidentally, it is fine to play the Dali Spector 2 with amplifiers that have more than 100 watts. That is as long as you don't feed too much power into them.

Screenshot_2025-01-13_164313.jpg


Edit:
A subwoofer can be nice to have together with small bookshelf speakers. Maybe a small compact sub since you have a small listening room.
 
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Hi, I'm glad that you are in a good place now and ready to enjoy life a bit more

All the equipment on your list is good, you won't have problems with that. Having said that, perhaps you can step back and think about this differently.

You have the Dali's. They are decent speakers, no problems there, but they do have some issue across the frequency range. Because of that, it makes sense for you to be able to adjust that.
It makes sense, to me, to introduce a WiiM product - with good PEQ and the ability to make room correction changes. I'd be very tempted to look at the Wiim Amp Pro in place of your DAC and Amp.
There is no headphone output on the WiiM, but an inexpensive heaphone amp or USB dongle can be added very easily.

As long as the CD/SACD player has a digital output, so you use the WiiM DAC, then don't worry too much about the player - just make sure it has the features that you want. I've heard that some blu-ray players don't support gapless play, although that would not be an issue for me.

Your speakers are the thing to try to address (actually, your speakers in your room). Experiment with positioning and toeing in or out - but room correction will make a big difference which is why I'd suggest the WiiM.
 
Yes - the Marantz is not that hot, and is expensive for what it is.

You DAC will operate very effectively as a pre-amp, so you don't need an integrated amp.

I would suggest replacing the Marantz with a decent power amp solution - probably a pair of the Foso V3 Monos

Hello and thank you for replying!

Right, the Fosi (150~ euros) would be a good saving compared to the Marantz (400~euros). I've seen the reviews of this AMP and they're really good.
 
Here another person's setup with Dali Spektor II/2. That with an amplifier that has almost the same power as Marantz PM-600,#5:

Dali Spektor 2 is a good speaker for casual listening on a small room. A fresh air for me. Very happy with them. I put them on a bookshelf on a little office/bedroom together with a SANSUI A-α7 amplifier, a 2011 Mac Mini with Tidal and a Topping E50 DAC. Speakers cables are RCA generic 14AWG OFC. A Wireworld Eclipse 7 RCA from the DAC to the Sansui and an Oyaide Class S USB from the Mac Mini to the DAC. Inexpensive set with a really enjoyable sound for my ears.


But with 84.5 dB sensitive speakers, even if I rarely listen at high volume, I would choose the maximum that Dali recommends, i.e. 100 watts. It's nice to have power when you want to press the gas pedal. Even at lower volumes it is good with decent power, that is if you play highly dynamic music. :)
Incidentally, it is fine to play the Dali Spector 2 with amplifiers that have more than 100 watts. That is as long as you don't feed too much power into them.

View attachment 420795


Edit:
A subwoofer can be nice to have together with small bookshelf speakers. Maybe a small compact sub since you have a small listening room.

Thanks for sending the review! So that's another point for a more powerful amplifier and be careful not to overpower it.

I saw that Dali has the subwoofer, but it's a bit out of budget. I saw that they have a centre speaker, does that make a difference compared to the subwoofer or is it just a (centre) speaker... I mean, no sudden changes.
 
Thanks for sending the review! So that's another point for a more powerful amplifier and be careful not to overpower it.

I saw that Dali has the subwoofer, but it's a bit out of budget. I saw that they have a centre speaker, does that make a difference compared to the subwoofer or is it just a (centre) speaker... I mean, no sudden changes.
It is just a centre speaker - and really only useful in home theatre applications, or multichannel sound. Not stereo.
 
Hi, I'm glad that you are in a good place now and ready to enjoy life a bit more

All the equipment on your list is good, you won't have problems with that. Having said that, perhaps you can step back and think about this differently.

You have the Dali's. They are decent speakers, no problems there, but they do have some issue across the frequency range. Because of that, it makes sense for you to be able to adjust that.
It makes sense, to me, to introduce a WiiM product - with good PEQ and the ability to make room correction changes. I'd be very tempted to look at the Wiim Amp Pro in place of your DAC and Amp.
There is no headphone output on the WiiM, but an inexpensive heaphone amp or USB dongle can be added very easily.

As long as the CD/SACD player has a digital output, so you use the WiiM DAC, then don't worry too much about the player - just make sure it has the features that you want. I've heard that some blu-ray players don't support gapless play, although that would not be an issue for me.

Your speakers are the thing to try to address (actually, your speakers in your room). Experiment with positioning and toeing in or out - but room correction will make a big difference which is why I'd suggest the WiiM.

Hi, thanks for your words and your recommendation of the ‘Wiin AMP Pro’, I've already thought about it (AMP and integrated Streaming), but I have something on my mind about: if I have a .DSD file on my computer, I'll never be able to play it natively (either 64 or 512), because it will be converted and that sounds a bit confusing to me since it would be interesting to try this format and DAC's usually have this support (DSD512, for example).

Another point is the quality that the Wiin would bring from the player (CD/SACD, even via the digital connection).

I may be thinking too far ahead, but for (really good) quality would the Wiin be enough?

This PEQ issue caught my attention, because from what I've seen, in the Wiin APP, it's possible to make various audio corrections in the environment (room), right?
 
It is just a centre speaker - and really only useful in home theatre applications, or multichannel sound. Not stereo.
Understood (on the question of mono AMP as well).

Would you recommend a slightly more affordable brand? E.g. Yamaha, Polk, Edifier... (I've seen some of these at an average of 150~250 euros).

Thank you!
 
if I have a .DSD file on my computer, I'll never be able to play it natively (either 64 or 512), because it will be converted and that sounds a bit confusing to me since it would be interesting to try this format and DAC's usually have this support (DSD512, for example).
OK - lets try to unpack this:

High res audio formats (including DSD) are one of those things that have been foisted onto a gullible public by people wanting to extract money. In reality nothing above CD quality (16/44.1) brings any audible benefit to almost anyone. Certainly there is nothing beyond 24/48 that is audble to anyone for the purposes of playback. So you can rest your mind easy that as long as your gear can support this (and all can) then you have audibly perfect digital audio available to you.

Having said that, I personally wouldn't get the Wiim amp - because it has the amp built in at relatively limited power. It might suit you fine, but if you decided to upgrade later, you'd be replacing the whole system - both streamer/dac and amp.

Personally I'd go with the Wiim pro + or ultra with a separate amp. But if you'd prefer a fully integrated solution that would be fine also.

And yes:

Another point is the quality that the Wiin would bring from the player (CD/SACD, even via the digital connection).
Yes both the Pro+ and Ultra include an audibly perfect DAC, so can provide you audio as good as you can get from any device at any price.

And yes, they both include PEQ room correction.
 
Would you recommend a slightly more affordable brand? E.g. Yamaha, Polk, Edifier...
I'd have no problem with any Yamaha that has the features and power you want. Solid workhorse amps. Some of the lower end models (EG AS201) are bargains. Doesnt offer the power of the Fosi V3 mono, but plenty for your speakers.
 
OK - lets try to unpack this:

High res audio formats (including DSD) are one of those things that have been foisted onto a gullible public by people wanting to extract money. In reality nothing above CD quality (16/44.1) brings any audible benefit to almost anyone. Certainly there is nothing beyond 24/48 that is audble to anyone for the purposes of playback. So you can rest your mind easy that as long as your gear can support this (and all can) then you have audibly perfect digital audio available to you.

Having said that, I personally wouldn't get the Wiim amp - because it has the amp built in at relatively limited power. It might suit you fine, but if you decided to upgrade later, you'd be replacing the whole system - both streamer/dac and amp.

Personally I'd go with the Wiim pro + or ultra with a separate amp. But if you'd prefer a fully integrated solution that would be fine also.

And yes:


Yes both the Pro+ and Ultra include an audibly perfect DAC, so can provide you audio as good as you can get from any device at any price.

And yes, they both include PEQ room correction.
Right, that you did the unpack here :eek:.

So, it doesn't matter if I have a more complex audio file because I technically won't be able to hear it... (sorry for my ignorance, I guess I'm so focused on the equipment now that I've got a bit of resource for it that I've left all the physics surrounding the audio).

As someone who has never had any contact with good equipment, I really feel lost.

I'll conclude like this: CDs and probably one (TIDAL, QUOBUZ in the WiiM) will already be of sufficient quality for me not to mess with SACDs any more (because I certainly won't have the resources to run them properly and because I'd need to be a tiny fraction of the people who can actually hear the difference.

That's why the WiiM would be a smart choice. The question that remains is about AMP PRO/ULTRA:

*With AMP PRO I can run the 2 Dali without any problems but I couldn't for example run the 2 Dali Spektor II + 1 Subwoofer (as I should), right? Otherwise, it would be enough.
*With the Ultra + dedicated AMP I could run the Dali+Sub and plug a CD player into the WiiM (get maximum CD quality from the WiiM) and that's it.

Thanks again!
 
I'd have no problem with any Yamaha that has the features and power you want. Solid workhorse amps. Some of the lower end models (EG AS201) are bargains. Doesnt offer the power of the Fosi V3 mono, but plenty for your speakers.

Yes, about the amplifier, but about the brand of subwoofer (are they good)?
 
Right, that you did the unpack here :eek:.

So, it doesn't matter if I have a more complex audio file because I technically won't be able to hear it... (sorry for my ignorance, I guess I'm so focused on the equipment now that I've got a bit of resource for it that I've left all the physics surrounding the audio).

As someone who has never had any contact with good equipment, I really feel lost.

I'll conclude like this: CDs and probably one (TIDAL, QUOBUZ in the WiiM) will already be of sufficient quality for me not to mess with SACDs any more (because I certainly won't have the resources to run them properly and because I'd need to be a tiny fraction of the people who can actually hear the difference.

Yes, from an audibility point of view, SACD arguably is not "better" than CD. However, SACDs can be mastered differently by the studio. If you want to listen to SACDs occasionally and plan to get a regular CD player anyway, there's little reason (except cost) not to get one which is SACD-capable. DSD from an SACD won't sound better than PCM from a regular old CD per se, but maybe the studio remastered that one album for SACD and just hit a home run.

There may be no technical reason to listen to SACD, but if you want to play around with that format, it could still be fun.

That's why the WiiM would be a smart choice. The question that remains is about AMP PRO/ULTRA:

*With AMP PRO I can run the 2 Dali without any problems but I couldn't for example run the 2 Dali Spektor II + 1 Subwoofer (as I should), right? Otherwise, it would be enough.
*With the Ultra + dedicated AMP I could run the Dali+Sub and plug a CD player into the WiiM (get maximum CD quality from the WiiM) and that's it.

Thanks again!

I personally prefer separate devices, because it makes it easier to switch parts later on. If you get the Wiim Ultra or something similar, options for a power amp in your price bracket might be
 
Thanks for sending the review! So that's another point for a more powerful amplifier and be careful not to overpower it.

I saw that Dali has the subwoofer, but it's a bit out of budget. I saw that they have a centre speaker, does that make a difference compared to the subwoofer or is it just a (centre) speaker... I mean, no sudden changes.
I saw that antcollinet answered it in #10.

Subwoofer as such. It depends. Maybe you would like it or you think it is unnecessary to have subs. You can test that. You can get a decent used subwoofer for around $150. Doesn't have to be a super subwoofer just for you to test. If you like it keep it, if not sell it. :)

It is an advantage if you have an amplifier with subwoofer output. Most subwoofers have a built-in amplifier, so just plug it in (RCA from sub out on your amp) and try it out. BUT with that said, I should mention that it can be tricky to get the sub and speakers to blend together in a good way. That's a topic for a new thread. In fact, there are quite a few such sub-speaker integration threads here on ASR.
Anyway, if you succeed in that, a couple of small bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer (even better multiple subs) is a really good combo.:)
 
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Right, that you did the unpack here :eek:.

So, it doesn't matter if I have a more complex audio file because I technically won't be able to hear it... (sorry for my ignorance, I guess I'm so focused on the equipment now that I've got a bit of resource for it that I've left all the physics surrounding the audio).

As someone who has never had any contact with good equipment, I really feel lost.

I'll conclude like this: CDs and probably one (TIDAL, QUOBUZ in the WiiM) will already be of sufficient quality for me not to mess with SACDs any more (because I certainly won't have the resources to run them properly and because I'd need to be a tiny fraction of the people who can actually hear the difference.

That's why the WiiM would be a smart choice. The question that remains is about AMP PRO/ULTRA:

*With AMP PRO I can run the 2 Dali without any problems but I couldn't for example run the 2 Dali Spektor II + 1 Subwoofer (as I should), right? Otherwise, it would be enough.
*With the Ultra + dedicated AMP I could run the Dali+Sub and plug a CD player into the WiiM (get maximum CD quality from the WiiM) and that's it.

Thanks again!
The WiiM Amp Pro has a subwoofer output too, and digital input for a CD player.

Your choice between WiiM Amp or a WiiM Ultra+ Amp. You get the same functionality but the latter allows you to upgrade the Amp later.
 
Yes, about the amplifier, but about the brand of subwoofer (are they good)?
You can always try an old Yamaha YST sub. I myself have two Yamaha YST-SW300. They works well.:) I had a Yamaha YST-SW90 a few years ago. That also worked well, in a smaller room. Another one who likes YST subwoofers:

From the 300 loudspeakers and 60 subwoofers that I have tested, you sometimes get positive surprises.
The joy is all the greater when they are good and inexpensive........Among the affordable subwoofers, I was impressed by the Yamaha subwoofers.
Especially the YST-SW120/150/160/200

Available in Germany from €50


#20:

 
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