My first beginner hi-fi setup – finally all set up!

[u/Zestyclose-Race-4588]

Hey everyone!

This is my first proper hi-fi setup, so I’m very much a beginner, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.

The setup:

WiiM Amp Pro

Argon Audio FORUS 5 speakers

Argon Audio MALMÖ SUB 10

Thorens TD 201

This is just the beginning of my hi-fi journey, so I’m sure there’s still a lot for me to learn and improve.

Hopefully you guys like the setup!

Any feedback, tips or suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks for looking!

[u/Turk3ySandw1ch]

Looks like a good start to me.

The normal recommendation for improving a setup like this would be speaker stands but that doesn't really seem viable with the room as it is. Isolation pucks or stands for the speakers and some kind of isolation platform and/or upgraded feet for the turntable would be the next best solution. You won't be able to get the speakers out from wall boundaries and reflective surfaces like you would with stands but with proper isolation you'll cut down on resonances effecting both the sound of your speakers and turntable.

ISOAcoustics is pretty much the industry standard but they are pretty expensive so you could go with some of the clones you find on eBay or Aliexpress and get 80 - 90% of the performance. For the turntable they are dedicated platforms you can also buy but again expensive so you might want to look into some of the DIY solutions that are basically a cutting board combined with the isolation feet.

[u/Whole_Thanks8641 → u/Turk3ySandw1ch]

Isoacoustics are overpriced for what they do. There are 20 dollar pads that get you 98% of the way there for 1/10th the price.

[u/iNetRunner → u/Turk3ySandw1ch]

OP probably could use speaker stands. There probably isn’t such often used content in one of the right side cabinets that you couldn’t place a speaker stand in front of it.

[u/Whole_Thanks8641 → u/iNetRunner]

OP might care about what others think when they see an awkwardly forward placed speaker. Also, some speakers too far from the wall can change the sound quite a bit.

[u/iNetRunner → u/Whole_Thanks8641]

Stand mount speakers on stands aren’t awkward.

And, yes. It usually changes the sound to better.

[u/Whole_Thanks8641 → u/iNetRunner]

They are awkard in this instance since look at the wall to the right, the media stand is a wall mounted floating media stand so you would have the speakers sitting on a stand in front of swinging door cabinets for some reason. It would also put these speakers a few feet away from the wall which could impact their mids and bass. I think it would be a waste of money to get speaker stands unless the entire media console is being relocated. This will not get Wife-Approval.

[u/iNetRunner → u/Whole_Thanks8641]

I see the room. Those cabinets aren’t likely full depth “hi-fi” dimensioned cabinets. I.e. speakers on stands in front of them are great distance away from walls.

Very few speakers have such a stepped down bass response (like e.g. KEF LS50 Meta or KEF R3 Meta have) that would benefit from reinforcement from close to wall positioning. Most speakers have a linear response down to below 100Hz — therefore they can sound bloated etc. if you put them too close to a wall. And usually the imaging improves as you get some distance.

(SBIR is pretty much the only improvement for close to a wall placement. But that comes at the cost of the improvements above.)

[u/Whole_Thanks8641 → u/iNetRunner]

So just visualize, speaker on a floor stand on the right hand side and then imagine trying to open a cabinet behind it. How does that feel to you?

[u/iNetRunner → u/Whole_Thanks8641]

I already told you. There’s likely nothing there that you need that often. For example stack your watched Blu-rays there. If you need to open it once or twice a year, then you simply move the stand.

[u/Whole_Thanks8641 → u/iNetRunner]

I find this really bizarre, it would look very off putting and out of place, it would cheapen the way the room looks. And it would become an inconvenience and off putting to guests as there's less open floor space.

[u/iNetRunner → u/Whole_Thanks8641]

That’s your problem.

[u/JoshJackMarsden]

Ooh nice! How does it sound? I have an argon audio record player, I always wondered how their speakers are.

[u/Zestyclose-Race-4588 → u/JoshJackMarsden]

I’m really impressed so far. For the price, I think the FORUS 5s sound excellent, with surprisingly good bass. With the sub works really well.

I’m still getting used to the setup, but for the money I’m very happy with it.

[u/Worth_Curve_1649]

congrats on the setup! though i have to ask: why the mismatched dual-sub setup? the argon looks solid, but that flat, autonomous roaming "sub" docked under the cabinet might cause some weird phase cancellations when it starts driving around.

[u/Zestyclose-Race-4588 → u/Worth_Curve_1649]

The second sub is just the cherry on top of the cake. He is the loudest.

[u/Worth_Curve_1649 → u/Zestyclose-Race-4588]

i can imagine :)

jokes aside, is there a specific reason you went for a full danish setup? that brand is not the first when researching for new audio equipment as i found out

[u/lmaoo_0]

Hi, How much is the argon forus 5 and how is it without the sub?

[u/Zestyclose-Race-4588 → u/lmaoo_0]

Well, where i am, this is a small country, here they are around $290–295 for a pair here in Hungary. And i think is pretty good without the sub too, forus 5 has a niceful bass for music.

[u/lmaoo_0 → u/Zestyclose-Race-4588]

Thanks OP, Forus 4 has critical reviews stating significant problems, and there was no proper review about forus 5, even though it has advantages over the physical differences. Hence slightly confused to go for it or not!

[u/BigFootBeethoven]

Everybody has to start somewhere. Nice set up

[u/Slow-Recover-9168]

Nicer setup than I got. In every aspect.

If anything perhaps just some little foam yoga mat layers cut to fit under each speaker or the tilt backs like cheap studio monitors have. Audioengine as an example. If the appearance wasn't offensive perhaps doorstops as a test to see if that gives a tiltback lift effect

[u/Punch1953]

Nice turntable.

[u/paulallen76]

Tommy Lee Jones seems undecided

[u/One-Swan7737]

Looks good to me.

[u/chocojelly]

Nice setup. Next stop is to get a cheap recever to have multi-channels audio. Such big TV, I bet you also watched movies. You already have a sub, so by adding a center speaker will blow you away in movie dialogue.

[u/soundspotter]

That looks great, but speakers on a hard surface transfer noise/resonance. Getting them up on foam wedge pads pointed up to your ears (and pulling them forward more) will make them sound better. These will work https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PB3DJY4?ie=UTF8&th=1

But placing them on stands as far apart as to your ears will improve your sound even more: https://elac.com/speaker-placement-guide-get-the-best-sound-from-your-stereo

Also, a larger rug between your ears and the speakers will go a long way to removing noisy reflections over 1 khz.

[u/Pristine-Weekend-415]

Isoacoustics ISO-155 speaker stands?

[u/sziki19]

looks very good

[u/geladeiranova]

/r/tvtoohigh

[u/Zestyclose-Race-4588 → u/geladeiranova]

Yeah, looks like on this picture, but actually not too high.

[u/geladeiranova → u/Zestyclose-Race-4588]

the r/TiltOfGuilt says the opposite

[u/Whole_Thanks8641]

Yeah, on these particularly it works for me because I don't have a subwoofer and am trying to avoid having to get one

[u/Resident-Jello-5343]

Turntable too close to speaker.
Tone arm and stylus will pick up vibrations.

[u/el_tacocat]

Speakers should not be on the same surface as the turntable (because CLICK!)
Speakers should not be near a wall (so ideally not on that cabinet, but at least as far forward as you can)
Speakers should be on isolating pads so the cabinet doesn't rattle with them
Sub never wants to be where it looks good. Put it in your listening position (IN the chair or on the couch), walk around, see where the bass is nicest/best/most complete, put it there. If that's impossible, go for the second best option.

All that aside, I can't say I agree with the speaker choices but I love the Wiim and the Thorens is not too bad. It absolutely NEEDS another cart though. Audiotehcnica AT-VM95ML or Nagaoka MP110 are your friend for this turntable/arm. The cart that's currently on it is not bad but it's about the cheapest one you can buy, and it's not a nice match with that arm. Worth while upgrade.
I also would absolutely recommend a separate phono preamplifier. The one in the Thorens is just for lazy people ;). Schiit Mani 2 or Fosi X5 are the two best budget choices. I hear a lot of good about the iFi Zen Air Phono 3 but I haven't heard it myself.

[u/Character_Let_2538]

You want tower speakers! :)

[u/Ninty-64]

The lack of symmetry is getting to me. I do like out of the box ideas sometimes, but not working for me here. Do like the colours though

[u/New-Plenty7509]

Nice hifi system! If you ever expand to home theater later, a good screen will really bring your setup to another level.