Hello friends, welcome to Setup Stations, episode 1. I’m super excited to start this series!

In this episode I’ll show you my current setup, what I’m working on (this project) and products & gear I use. This is my first go at this newsletter, so any feedback / suggestions are most welcome!

Let’s dive in!

• TL;DR setup pics + product list.

About me

I (Deni) am a content creator and a software engineer who also runs businesses outside of tech. I love to create (art, content, etc) and to travel. I enjoy reading, especially fictional philosophy, but general sci-pop, classics and thrillers are also on my reading list.

The Setup

This is my current setup, in Belgium. I have another one in Barcelona that I will show as well!

At this moment I’m running setup on a SmartDesk Core by Autonomous. I try to balance my working hours between sitting and standing, so I use two presets which I’ve set to number 1 and 2 on the control pad.

Doing this every half an hour or so with some stretching and walking really does help offset any negatives from sitting too long or standing too long.

I chose for a white desk since I’ve always had black or dark desks (those from Ikea) and wanted something fresh that would also look good on pictures or when I create content. So far I’m really happy with it.

My speakers of choice are the Sonos One (Gen 2). They’re a superb set of speakers with great clarity, deep thundering bass and features to sync up with your favourite music streaming services (or your local playlist). It works through AirPlay on my iPhone and I also use the alarm function to auto play music (usually between 5 and 7am).

I love them. I mostly listen to EDM, but love to play OSTs, pop, rap, rock, etc. Basically everything but country. Currently i’m blasting Solo Leveling vs Cerberus ost.

As for headphones, NOTHING beats the Sennheiser Momentum 4 in this price range. Battery life? 60 hours. Sound? 10/10. Connectivity? 2 devices at once. Fit? Light and lovely. I love this so so much, and I have the Sony XM4 and the XM5.

I also have the cabled earpods when I’m working on laptop and it’s too warm or I just want to give my ears and head a rest from wearing headphones all the time. For other cases, I have a backup airpods gen 2 because the gen 3 fit is weird and I have a pair of Airpods Pro 2 for the city trips and commutes.

I used to stream on Twitch once in a while, to an average of 15-30 people, and would love to get back to it. For that I use my Elgato Wave 3 which works perfect for streaming and looks clean. For filming videos etc I prefer the sound of the Rode VideoMic Go 2. The extension arm is from IKEA.

A collection of my smartphones, always wanted to talk about tech, maybe someday soon, a tech channel!

• iPhone 15 Pro Max

• iPhone XS

• iPhone SE 2020

• Google Pixel one (unlimited photo storage hehe)

• iPhone 4 black and white.

As for other electronics that I don’t use too much, I keep on this black IKEA pegboard. The headphones I hang there because it looks clean but I do use them a lot during focus sessions. The mouse is an Razer Basilisk gaming mouse which is super light and works well, when I used to play OW2.

Sad times. Never got to GM.

Let’s talk about the keyboard because everytime I post it on X, i get the same questions / response:

The reason I use this keyboard is because of ergonomics, which is a topic I would love to get into.

The gear

• Desk: Autonomous SmartDesk Core

• Keyboard: xBows Nature

• Mouse: MX Master 3 Mac

• Headset: Sennheiser Momentum 4

• Monitor: LG 29” Ultrawide monitor

• Speaker: Sonos One

• Laptop: Macbook Pro 13” M1

• Mics

  • Elgato Wave 3

  • Sony UX570

  • Rode VideoMic Go 2

• Ikea pegboard, a chair I ordered on amazon and some led lights from the local lights store.
  
  Monitor light is also some Amazon brand.

Advice on:

content creation:

• Use whatever gear you have, no need to spend money on expensive cameras etc.

• Audio is more important, as most of us have good smartphones (get a Rode video mic 2, or a cheap lavalier mic!)

• Post, post post. Don’t overthink cinematography, scripting etc. The more you post, the quicker you can improve.

• Try to make goals based on things you control like posting once a week vs getting 100k subs in a year.

What I’m working on

Currently I’m working on this (Setup Stations). The point is to release a weekly ep on this newsletter and the Youtube channel, showing the desk setups and interviewing the creators / builders by sharing their stories. This also includes pictures on IG and short form roast / reviews on Tiktok and YT Shorts.

Thank you for reading, DM me on Twitter / X if you want to get featured or your setup roasted / reviewed!

TL;DR setup pics + product list.

Here are all the pics + products of my setup if you’re not interested in reading the whole story episode: