adding a topping d70 sabre DAC to a wiim ultra ?

[Coyotito]

Hello everybody,

I was considering adding a dac topping d70 sabre (or another one) o a wiim ultra (which is plugged to an Musical fidelity M6i and a pair of q acoustics 5050) to listen to music.
Indeed i find the sound "mingled" in the lower mediums and bass ranges.
But although ive read in numerous places that the topping d70 is a good dac, i ve also seen several people saying that adding it wont make any audible difference, and that a better sound can be achieved by using a minidsp.
The minidsp seems a bit hard to use for a newbie though.

So the question is, if i want an audible gain without too much "tweaking" (which im not sure i could do), should i add a dac, a minidsp, or just nothing ?

Thank you very much for your advice.

 

[Marc v E]

Good question. The answer is that a dac will not give any upgrade, let alone the dac in the wiim ultra. The best place to upgrade is usually speakers or adding a sub.

The frequency response of the Q acoustics 5050 looks like this:

It can be improved upon and is not likely to be fixed by eq with a minidsp. The reason being is mentioned in the review: cabinet resonances.

I'm sorry to say this, but the best you could do is try different speakers that have a smoother response.

Q Acoustics 5050 Lab Report

If the forward response, with its presence band dip [Graph 1], emphasised midrange and 23kHz treble peak - made all the more irregular with the grille in place [blue trace] - look familiar then that's because we saw the same in the Concept 50 and earlier Concept 500 . While there is consistency...

www.hifinews.com

 

[Mort]

The answer is that a dac will not give any upgrade,

Not in fidelity, but it will increase the output voltage and possibly go louder. That won't help that mediocre frequency response though. Still going to need better speakers.

 

[Coyotito]

Than you very much for your quick answers. I though the q5050 were good speakers... It's too bad I bought them recently

 

[Mort]

Than you very much for your quick answers. I though the q5050 were good speakers... It's too bad I bought them recently

It's not that they are necessarily terrible, but no, a new DAC won't improve them. They should have decent bass for instance.

 

[Coyotito]

They do (in my opinion ) even though the sound is not very "précise" in that range (sry for the poor vocabulary, im not from the english speaking world) . That's why I didn't add a sub,since it is enough for movies and not really needed I think for the kind of music I listen to

 

[Tres]

Might room correction and PEQ done through the Wiim Ultra be an option ? In my home it works. Speakers and the room together are responsible for what you hear. For someone not capable (I am also too lazy) the Wiim software is easy enough to make some corrections and this might help your listening experience. I, for example, like the B&K curve over the Harman version.

 

[Coyotito]

Thank you.
Could u point me to this software or option ? I have wiim home ofc but I cant remember seeing a peq option allowing to choose the harman curve...

 

[Mort]

Thank you.
Could u point me to this software or option ? I have wiim home ofc but I cant remember seeing a peq option allowing to choose the harman curve...

It's under EQ or roomfit

 

[Coyotito]

It's under EQ or roomfit

Thx a lot !

 

[VintageFlanker]

That's why I didn't add a sub,since it is enough for movies and not really needed I think for the kind of music I listen to

You don't imagine how a (properly integred) sub is an improvement for any kind of content.

 

[Coyotito]

I'm folllowing up on all this :
- if i get a sub, should i stay with q acoustic nonetheless ?
- could you point me to some "good" floorstanding speakers ? (i cant find a tool to compare on this site).

Thax again

 

[RHO]

I'm folllowing up on all this :
- if i get a sub, should i stay with q acoustic nonetheless ?

No, you can look for a good one from any brand that is available to you.

- could you point me to some "good" floorstanding speakers ? (i cant find a tool to compare on this site).

Thax again

Kef q7 meta comes to mind.

A collection of loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

 

[Marc v E]

I'm folllowing up on all this :
- if i get a sub, should i stay with q acoustic nonetheless ?
- could you point me to some "good" floorstanding speakers ? (i cant find a tool to compare on this site).

Thax again

Good floorstanding speakers are:

Arendal 1961 Tower speaker (1900 per pair)

Polk R700 (2500 per pair)

Kef basically any model because the measure their speakers. The R5 (3500 per pair) and R11 (6800) for example.

Revel any model as they measure their speakers.

Mofi SourcePoint 888 (5800)

 

[RHO]

Kef basically any model because the measure their speakers. The R5 (3500 per pair) and R11 (6800) for example.

Looking at the price of his current speakers, I guess these are outside of his budget.
That's why I suggested the Q7 meta.

 

[Marc v E]

Looking at the price of his current speakers, I guess these are outside of his budget.
That's why I suggested the Q7 meta.

Good point.
I noticed it too.
There aren't that many well measuring floorstanders that are fairly priced.

In my opinion and experience a bookshelf sized speaker with a sub or multiple subs gets you better value for money.

 

[RHO]

In my opinion and experience a bookshelf sized speaker with a sub or multiple subs gets you better value for money.

It depends a bit on how much you value the lowest octaves.

 

[Nutul]

It depends a bit on how much you value the lowest octaves.

Also how big your room is... unless your bookshelves can do watts well into the 3-digits domain... ;-)

 

[Coyotito]

Thank you very much for the link (which i will explore more in detail, right now i dont even understand what im supposed to look for !)and taking the time to answer.
The room is about 20 square meters (square) with a ceiling at 2,5 meters.
I could spend around 3 000€ euros, i chose the q acoustic 5050 because they had great reviews for this price range and i needed a 5.1.
I might also get a sub, i just had no idea it could be helpful for hifi.

 

[techsamurai]

Than you very much for your quick answers. I though the q5050 were good speakers... It's too bad I bought them recently

Different speaker but some of it might apply to this especially positioning. I think he toed the speakers outwards which I would never have thought of.