New beginner 2 channel setup

[Diegs]

New here at ASR and certainly appreciate the informative reviews and active forum community. Thought I’d share my beginner 2 channel system I put together from researching ASR and inspired by high end setups I experienced at a local shop. I use my system for a mix of music and movies/tv. Been enjoying it for about a month now and really happy with the setup.

VTV AMPLIFIER Purifi Eigentakt Stereo Amplifier based on EVAL-1

SMSL DO100 USB DAC

ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 Bookshelf Speakers

PiCore LMS Raspberry Pi 3 7” Touchscreen w/ TIDAL

Lenovo 8” Tablet running Squeezer

Ikea BERGENES tablet stand

Monoprice Premier Series XLR Male to XLR Female - 1.5ft - Black - Gold Plated

Cable Matters Premium Braided 12AWG Speaker Cable Speakon

EMK 90 Degree Optical Audio Cable

Open to thoughts, questions and comments!

Thanks you

 

[Dunlavyphile]

Everyone should be so organized!

The speakers are pointed straight out?

 

[hnash53]

Nice!!

 

[Keith_W]

I'll give my usual advice, I guess. If it is possible, you should get your speakers on stands and pull them away from the walls.

 

[Diegs]

Everyone should be so organized!

The speakers are pointed straight out?

They are toed in approx 10 degrees. Originally had them straight and through trial and error toed them in a bit. The speakers are 6’ apart and listening position is about 7-8’ back.

 

[FrankW]

Nice setup. If is sounds good to you, stop reading, start listening

 

[Astoneroad]

Welcome. Nice rig.

 

[Diegs]

I'll give my usual advice, I guess. If it is possible, you should get your speakers on stands and pull them away from the walls.

Thanks for the advice! The most I can get from the wall is about 6” and drove me towards front ported speakers to minimize boominess. Would small stands be worth while to raise them up a 4-6 inches off the cabinet? The top of the speaker is 3’ off the floor.

 

[Diegs]

Nice setup. If is sounds good to you, stop reading, start listening

Solid advise! I recently switched from Spotify to TIDAL and really enjoying it!

 

[Astoneroad]

Don't go down the MQA rabbit hole, is advice that will save you time, money and stress from trying to hear the difference. I agree with FrankW, go listen. Enjoy.

 

[Diegs]

Don't go down the MQA rabbit hole, is advice that will save you time, money and stress from trying to hear the difference. I agree with FrankW, go listen. Enjoy.

I went middle of the road in TIDAL with the HiFi tier and it sounds great. I’m intrigued by MQA, but taking your advice.

I downloaded some hi-res tracks locally to test if the smsl would play the higher rate from PiCore. Test was successful. Thanks!

 

[Keith_W]

Thanks for the advice! The most I can get from the wall is about 6” and drove me towards front ported speakers to minimize boominess. Would small stands be worth while to raise them up a 4-6 inches off the cabinet? The top of the speaker is 3’ off the floor.

Ideally your speakers should be into the room, about 1m away from the wall. They also need to be at ear height at your listening position. If they aren't, then a small stand might benefit your speaker.

 

[Midwest Blade]

Looks like a great start, I would add, depending on your room and listening spot, you may want to look at stands in order to help place your speakers for listening.

 

[Astoneroad]

I went middle of the road in TIDAL with the HiFi tier and it sounds great. I’m intrigued by MQA, but taking your advice.

I downloaded some hi-res tracks locally to test if the smsl would play the higher rate from PiCore. Test was successful. Thanks!

A blind listening test of MQA vs CD 16 bits, will be eye (or ear) opening. After I did, I was able to save money on the monthly subscription and replaced the MQA DAC with a "non" version and took money off the table with that exchange. ASR really helped me with my prudent purchases, you're in the right place.

 

[hnash53]

Since these speakers have the front firing bass port, won't they be ok where they are? If the bass port was on the rear, yes... I'd move them forward.

 

[Diegs]

Unfortunately I can not move the speakers forward, maybe in a future dedicate music setup. But I was able to raise them up to ear level with “isolation” stands I made. I know the sound stage improved for sure and in general sound better in the low mid frequency area. I’m having a good time with this new hobby .

 

[Steven Holt]

The front end is solid, the back end is solid, and you didn't buy into the bullshit of high end speaker cables/interconnects. Well done and welcome to ASR!