Advice on best amplifier + speakers to manage a difficult room

[Allears]

Hi all. First post so appreciate any advice you can give.

I have inherited some nice Vinyl from my Dad and decided it's time to buy a system to play it on.

The only room I can put the system in, is a mezzanine space above our kitchen.
It is like a loft space in that it has two sloping roofs but it open to one side with some glass.

I am looking at the Dali Kupids as they will fit under the roof and seem to be less fussy with placement paired with a Rega Planar 1.
Amp wise- I initially thought I would go for Rega IO, Marantz PM6007 or Audiolab 6000A MK1- which are all around £400

However I am aware that is going to be a difficult room to manage so I am also considering going for a WIIM Amp Ultra with a Rega Planar 1 Plus.
My thinking is that the Room Correction in the WIIM will help me manage the room.

Any thoughts on the above or other suggestions gratefully received

 

[Pedro2]

Probably worth getting some decent speaker stands and vibration isolation for your deck but the kit will sound pretty good for the money. Other options will almost certainly cost more (eg sealed box speaker designs such as the ATC SCM7, although you can pick them up second hand for about £600).

 

[Allears]

Probably worth getting some decent speaker stands and vibration isolation for your deck but the kit will sound pretty good for the money. Other options will almost certainly cost more (eg sealed box speaker designs such as the ATC SCM7, although you can pick them up second hand for about £600).

Thank you. So do you think going the Wiim Amp route for the EQ is a better route than going for a non-streamer? It is predominantly going to be a Vinyl system but will obviously use the streamer too

 

[Shrek]

We've tested the WiiM Ultra music streamer and its versatility, design and performance for the money has won us over

Is WiiM on to another winner?

www.whathifi.com

not a great review on the phono stage if your using vinyl food for thought !

 

[Allears]

We've tested the WiiM Ultra music streamer and its versatility, design and performance for the money has won us over

Is WiiM on to another winner?

www.whathifi.com

not a great review on the phono stage

Thank you. I think that is the streamer phono stage which they have taken out of the Wiim Amp Ultra.

 

[nopiano]

As records will be your main source, please bear in mind the Planar 1 isn’t designed to upgrade the cartridge. There are workarounds but it does not have the usual adjustments for tracking force or antiskate/bias. If you can stretch to a 2, or maybe consider one of the great value Pro-Ject models, then it might prove better in the long run. You’d need a separate phono stage depending on the model you choose.

Tiny speakers aren’t likely to cause serious room issues, and actually the larger space they play into with your mezzanine will reduce likely issues. Obviously I’m generalising so always best to buy from a store that’ll let you swap if necessary.

 

[RJW232]

Room correction in the Wiim is nice but not very sofisticated. Better look out for an amp with Dirac or, even better, insert a miniDSP unit in the audio chain. Be aware that using digital room correction is not easy and you can easily make it worse. And some problems can't be solved at all. Than you need some acoustical treatment to solve it.

And as said, the phono input of the Wiim isn't very good. Use a decent separate phono preamp instead.

 

[nopiano]

We've tested the WiiM Ultra music streamer and its versatility, design and performance for the money has won us over

Is WiiM on to another winner?

www.whathifi.com

not a great review on the phono stage if your using vinyl food for thought !

You’ve quoted the streamer, not the amp. Have WHF tested the Amp Ultra?

 

[Shrek]

You’ve quoted the streamer, not the amp.

oops same phono stage i think .

 

[nopiano]

oops same phono stage i think .

I thought it didn’t have one! That’s why OP selected the Plus version of the Planar 1.

 

[Shrek]

I thought it didn’t have one! That’s why OP selected the Plus version of the Planar 1.

Inputs Line level RCA, HDMI ARC, optical, Phono MM, USB A

 

[Integralista]

Hi, reading all good advices above, I will recommend not to focus on basic amp with many functions "all in" and even with room correction. I think this is not the best way for beginner in hifi. Also considering your Vinyl collection and streaming requirement. So, Rega Planar 1 or 1+(with phono preamp on board) are very good start points for vinyl enthusiast. Cartridge Rega Carbon, now with improved stylus in version Carbon plus is very good value. Amps like Rega Io or Marantz 6007 or also Rotel A8 are all very good. Also speakers Dali Kupid are truly good. No bad choice here. When selected amp without integrated streamer, than some small streamer like Bluesound or Cambridge Audio will work here. This system will be a lot better than my "Tesla" collection, where I was starting some 32 years ago.😉

 

[Fandango Andy]

Hi all. First post so appreciate any advice you can give.

I have inherited some nice Vinyl from my Dad and decided it's time to buy a system to play it on.

The only room I can put the system in, is a mezzanine space above our kitchen.
It is like a loft space in that it has two sloping roofs but it open to one side with some glass.

I am looking at the Dali Kupids as they will fit under the roof and seem to be less fussy with placement paired with a Rega Planar 1.
Amp wise- I initially thought I would go for Rega IO, Marantz PM6007 or Audiolab 6000A MK1- which are all around £400

However I am aware that is going to be a difficult room to manage so I am also considering going for a WIIM Amp Ultra with a Rega Planar 1 Plus.
My thinking is that the Room Correction in the WIIM will help me manage the room.

Any thoughts on the above or other suggestions gratefully received

Given the limitations of the room, the Dali Kupids are a good shout.

You wont go wrong with any Rega or Pro-Ject record player. There are plusses and minuses as with all things. Some may be really easy to set up straight out the box but have less options to upgrade. There is no right or wrong there, just what suits you. I am a fan of keep it simple with a record player, so don't worry about inbuilt phono stage on the turntable, but go for a record player with one. you can aways upgrade to external later if you need to.

Normally I would recommend Marantz 6007 or also Rotel A8, but as you have identified Audiolab 6000A MK1- which are all around £400, or £300 in silver, while stocks last as they say! The room correction in WiiM is basic and you will probably lose as much in quality compared to one of those three amps as you make up with the correction.

Can you post a picture of the room. We may be able to suggest how to make the best use of the space.

 

[nopiano]

Inputs Line level RCA, HDMI ARC, optical, Phono MM, USB A

Wiim’s own page shows phono preamp is required so I don’t believe it has PhonoMM as you state. It seems to have only one line level RCA input.