First Impressions & Questions About this hobbie

Hello everyone!

My first HiFi System ever, KEF Q1 Meta speakers and a WiiM Amp Ultra arrived on September 24th, and I'm absolutely loving it. After spending some time with it, I have a few observations and questions I'd love to get your thoughts on.

1. Listening Volume:

I've read all the safety guidelines:70-75 dB is safe, and exposure to 85 dB+ can cause hearing damage over time. But let's be honest, isn't it thrilling to crank up your favorite song or album to 85-90 dB, especially with friends? Some charts even say under 8 hours at 85 dB is "safe." I find it hard to stick to 70-75 dB when a track gives me chills—I naturally want to push it to 80-85.

Question: At what average SPL do you all listen to your music during casual vs. critical listening sessions?

Question: Do you use an app to measure? I'm using Decibel X and like its graphs, but I'm curious what others use since the WiiM app doesn't show dB volume**.**

2. Speaker Stands

I'm struggling to find 32-inch speaker stands, that hieght match the tweeter level to my ear,here in Mexico. The best I can find are 28-inch ones. My thinking is that 4 inches probably won't make a massive difference, especially since we're always moving in our seats anyway.

Question: Am I underestimating the importance of those 4 inches? How critical is perfect tweeter-to-ear alignment in your experience?

Question: Why are so many official stands (like the KEF S1 at only 24") so short? A standard sofa is 14" high, plus your torso and head... you end up needing at least 28-30" stands! What's the logic here?

3. Streaming Service

I went on a quest, using free trials for Tidal, Qobuz, YT Music, SoundCloud, Spotify (this one I've used all my life), and Amazon Music. My verdict: Tidal wins by far.

The UI is clean, Tidal Connect works flawlessly (only 1 night I had connection/stutter/lag issues, I've read Tidal has some issus from now and then but if that happens I just change to TV with HDMI eArc, and that's it im not having 2 music streaming app to fix that), the library is vast, and it has all the resolutions in one place. Qobuz might have slightly better sound quality on paper, but as a beginner in a living room setup, I can't hear a difference between 16-bit/44.1kHz and 24-bit/192kHz. Furthermore, Qobuz's library was a deal-breaker for me, it's missing some of my favorite tracks*.

(The others were eliminated mostly due to terrible UI, in my opinion and the Quality from Spotify).

Question: What streaming service do you use? Do you have more than 1?

4. RoomFit vs. Parametric EQ

This has me a bit confused. I'm trying to understand the difference between the RoomFit feature and the manual Parametric EQ in the WiiM Home App.

Question: What exactly is the difference? Do they overlap or are they independent? It seems like RoomFit is an automated process that applies EQ corrections, which is essentially what I would do manually with the Parametric EQ, right? Should I use one, the other, or both?

5. What are your top tips for a beginner audiophile?

Mine would be: just enjoy your music.

Before discovering Hi-Fi systems, I used to listen to music with pure joy. As Alan Parsons once said:

“Audiophiles don’t use their equipment to listen to music; they use music to listen to their equipment.”

As minimalist, we should remember what really matters: the music itself, and the emotions it makes us feel. Don’t let the pursuit of better gear distance you from that connection.

TL;DR:

New owner of KEF Q1 Meta & WiiM Amp Ultra. Need your advice on a few things. I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts and your angle on this:

1. How loud do you usually listen?

2. Can't find 32" stands that fit the height level from the tweeter to my ear. Will 28" be okay, or is that 4-inch difference crucial?

3. Which is your streaming(s) app(s) and why?

4. What's the real difference between the WiiM's RoomFit and the manual Parametric EQ? Aren't they both just EQing?

5. What are your top tips for a beginner audiophile?

*Missing Tracks: Overthinker by Inzo, I love you by Kaivon, Vaporous by Elsiane, Bad karma by Axel Thesleff and more.