Hi would adding a external DAC to the wiim ultra streamer make a difference/improve sound?

[J84]

What's your budget? And again, what's your room size? Cos if you havennt set up anything yet, people here will love giving you advice from the ground up. Lintons are great, topping b200x2 too, but really that's not what most people would choose here as a combo for that kind of money, there are better solutions imo.
Cos right now your budget seems to be around 3500-4500€, you can get some end game stuff with that kind of money.

Hi thanks . I chose the Linton for warm sounding/less fatigue. Budget is like £5000

 

[Karmacoma]

Hi thanks . I chose the Linton for warm sounding/less fatigue. Budget is like £5000

Forget these narratives about warm sounding being better and less fatigue will result from it, that's not how it works. Lintons are neutral speakers, not warm, and that's one of several reasons why they're good, but for 5000£ you can clearly get a better system.
Neutral speakers with an even directivity won't be fatiguing at all, and will give you the most accurate and satisfying sound reproduction, this claim is backed by decades of research.
Yet neutral speakers interacting with a room won't give you a neutral sound, but a warmer sound, so don't worry about neutral speakers being too thin on the bass side.
I suggest you start a new thread with a title like ''looking for advice to build a 5000£ hifi system'', as I already told you people in this forum will give you great advice on reliably and objectively tested gear with great pleasure.

 

[Purité Audio]

Wiim streamer and a pair of contemporary active speakers, I don’t believe that can be bettered if you just want to listen to music and enjoy high fidelity.
If you enjoy ‘box-swapping then probably not for you.
Keith

 

[voodooless]

For £ 5000, I would indeed choose an active system: Wiim Pro (plus), a set of KH150, and some nice subs. Pretty much endgame!

Nothing much wrong with the Lintons. They are nice speakers, and if you like the look, the KHs will probably not be to your liking visually. But at least it gives some more options.

 

[Karmacoma]

For £ 5000, I would indeed choose an active system: Wiim Pro (plus), a set of KH150, and some nice subs. Pretty much endgame!

Won't contradict that, that's my setup! There are a few other options though.

 

[Good Vibes]

As has been mentioned above, it seems as though you have a great budget, there are some truly exceptional speakers to choose from. Give some more info on your room and budget and you will no doubt get some great advice.

In my experience, a measurement microphone is an essential tool in this hobby.
Regardless of what speakers you buy or how much money you spend, it is not easy to get good sound. The largest factor in the sound you will experience, is your room, the speakers position and your listening position within the room. A measurement microphone used with REW will allow you to ‘see’ the sound you are experiencing. With a little work, you can quite easily play around with positioning, measure, see the various results and choose the best one. You will no doubt have some bass peaks that distort the sound but you can easily tame them using the WiiM Ultra’s PEQ/ RoomFit settings. Learning is a large part of the process but this site is a valuable wealth of knowledge that you can tap into along the way.

Subwoofer integration is not an easy task but the WiiM Ultra will really help to simplify the process and help you get the best results. Again, a measurement microphone is an important addition to your list. I bought a Umik 1 microphone but there are other options.

I have been in this hobby for around 6 years now, have spent thousands of £’s, countless hours researching, learning etc etc and the WiiM Ultra and a microphone have been the best purchases I have made by a long shot. I could have saved myself so much time and money if I had been able to buy them at the start.

 

[Karmacoma]

As has been mentioned above, it seems as though you have a great budget, there are some truly exceptional speakers to choose from. Give some more info on your room and budget and you will no doubt get some great advice.

In my experience, a measurement microphone is an essential tool in this hobby.
Regardless of what speakers you buy or how much money you spend, it is not easy to get good sound. The largest factor in the sound you will experience, is your room, the speakers position and your listening position within the room. A measurement microphone used with REW will allow you to ‘see’ the sound you are experiencing. With a little work, you can quite easily play around with positioning, measure, see the various results and choose the best one. You will no doubt have some bass peaks that distort the sound but you can easily tame them using the WiiM Ultra’s PEQ/ RoomFit settings. Learning is a large part of the process but this site is a valuable wealth of knowledge that you can tap into along the way.

Subwoofer integration is not an easy task but the WiiM Ultra will really help to simplify the process and help you get the best results. Again, a measurement microphone is an important addition to your list. I bought a Umik 1 microphone but there are other options.

I have been in this hobby for around 6 years now, have spent thousands of £’s, countless hours researching, learning etc etc and the WiiM Ultra and a microphone have been the best purchases I have made by a long shot. I could have saved myself so much time and money if I had been able to buy them at the start.

Unless he gets active speakers with native dsp like Neumann's or Genelec's, which have a superior room management suite.

 

[voodooless]

Won't contradict that, that's my setup! There are a few other options though.

For sure! I would personally skip the B200 amps when going passive. Just get the WiiM Amp Ultra and some nice passives. Similarly stylish as the Lintons (but slightly more modern looking) are the MoFi Point Source 8 or even 10 (8 is the better speaker, the 10 has the better looks ). Obviously, we have KEF R3 Meta. Genelec actives are also a safe bet, even second-hand.

Would be good to get some more information from @J84 about his situation (room), and what he's looking for in terms of looks, expected output, music sources, etc.

 

[Purité Audio]

For that budget, the new C8C must be worth consideration.
Keith

 

[J84]

As has been mentioned above, it seems as though you have a great budget, there are some truly exceptional speakers to choose from. Give some more info on your room and budget and you will no doubt get some great advice.

In my experience, a measurement microphone is an essential tool in this hobby.
Regardless of what speakers you buy or how much money you spend, it is not easy to get good sound. The largest factor in the sound you will experience, is your room, the speakers position and your listening position within the room. A measurement microphone used with REW will allow you to ‘see’ the sound you are experiencing. With a little work, you can quite easily play around with positioning, measure, see the various results and choose the best one. You will no doubt have some bass peaks that distort the sound but you can easily tame them using the WiiM Ultra’s PEQ/ RoomFit settings. Learning is a large part of the process but this site is a valuable wealth of knowledge that you can tap into along the way.

Subwoofer integration is not an easy task but the WiiM Ultra will really help to simplify the process and help you get the best results. Again, a measurement microphone is an important addition to your list. I bought a Umik 1 microphone but there are other options.

I have been in this hobby for around 6 years now, have spent thousands of £’s, countless hours researching, learning etc etc and the WiiM Ultra and a microphone have been the best purchases I have made by a long shot. I could have saved myself so much time and money if I had been able to buy them at the start.

"A measurement microphone used with REW will allow you to ‘see’ the sound you are experiencing"

Hi how do you then correct the sound?

 

[Good Vibes]

Hi how do you then correct the sound?

Changing speaker positioning has a massive effect, as does the listening position. Take measurements as you go along. Once you have found the positioning with the best response, you can then use the PEQ function to make some adjustments.

I positioned my speakers & MLP in the place that gave me the least amount of bass nulls and then used PEQ to reduce any peaks (up to the 400hz region) and I finally started to enjoy my music again lol.

 

[staticV3]

"A measurement microphone used with REW will allow you to ‘see’ the sound you are experiencing"

Hi how do you then correct the sound?

You can develop your EQ parameters inside REW, then copy them over to the WiiM Home App.

Or you can use WiiM's fully automated process, with an external measurement microphone even (WiiM Home supports this), but with IME inferior results.

 

[90sNintendoKid]

May I recommend if you get 2 subwoofers, I would consider learning how to integrate subwoofers into your system. I've learnt a lot from OCAs subwoofer videos on YouTube and there's also Multi Sub Optimiser. I use Minidsp 2x4 HDs with my subwoofers. I've found OCAs A1 Evo Acoustix works extremely well in eqing my 4 subwoofers on my Denon 3800H, better than Dirac ART.

 

[J84]

Changing speaker positioning has a massive effect, as does the listening position. Take measurements as you go along. Once you have found the positioning with the best response, you can then use the PEQ function to make some adjustments.

I positioned my speakers & MLP in the place that gave me the least amount of bass nulls and then used PEQ to reduce any peaks (up to the 400hz region) and I finally started to enjoy my music again lol.

Thanks

 

[J84]

You can develop your EQ parameters inside REW, then copy them over to the WiiM Home App.

Or you can use WiiM's fully automated process, with an external measurement microphone even (WiiM Home supports this), but with IME inferior results.

Thanks

 

[J84]

May I recommend if you get 2 subwoofers, I would consider learning how to integrate subwoofers into your system. I've learnt a lot from OCAs subwoofer videos on YouTube and there's also Multi Sub Optimiser. I use Minidsp 2x4 HDs with my subwoofers. I've found OCAs A1 Evo Acoustix works extremely well in eqing my 4 subwoofers on my Denon 3800H, better than Dirac ART.

Thanks

 

[techsamurai]

I'm surprised by this as I've watched a dozen audiophile reviewers talk about DACs. I was thinking of adding a Wiim Ultra to my Denon 4800h in search of better musicality.

I read about Eversolo's offerings ranging from the Play, A6, A6 master edition, A8, Z10. Then there's a Geshelli Labs with the AK4499 combo with the other chip and upgraded opamps, Topping D70 Octo, Topping another one, bluesound node icon, node. Then there are at least 2 from Cambridge Audio, the NAIM, NAD C700 version whatever. Then there are some more expensive ones that get crazy. Stereophile has several reviews.

Every time they review them, they talk about improvements. The build of the Z10 is pretty wild with 3 special toroidals, dual AK4499 DACs and so on and so forth.

Andrew called the sound almost clinical/analytical (I'm paraphrasing) as it gets to the point of too much detail something I felt when I was listening to older DD and DTS with an old Crystal DAC on an old flagship AVR vs DD+ and newer chips on a mid-range 4800h. Once your brain enters analysis mode, you lose joy exponentially.

There are so many DACs out there that it's getting absolutely crazy to choose one. If they made little to no difference compared to a $329 device, then why build them at all?

Anyway, I was thinking of doing the exact same thing as the OP. Nab a WiiM Ultra add it to my 4800h which acts as a pre-amp with the 8002 acting as amp and then running comparos and then deciding to add an external DAC.

 

[techsamurai]

Hi would adding a external DAC to the wiim ultra streamer make a difference? Like will it improve the music/sound to worth spending on a external DAC?

The DAC I'm looking at is the topping D90 111 sabre listed at £899.

Set up will be -

Speaker - Wharfedale Linton, Amp - 2×Topping B200, Streamer - wiim ultra, Subwoofer - SVS PB2000 Pro or SVS SB2000 pro

Do I need to add a external DAC to the setup?

Can you try a Class A/B toroidal and return it if you don't like it? Not saying Class D is not equal or better but open any high-end audio chassis and in it is a toroidal transformer.

 

[staticV3]

If they made little to no difference compared to a $329 device, then why build them at all?

Because the designers bias themselves into hearing improvements, set the RRP accordingly, which in turn only reinforces expectation bias in their customers.

Double blind tests at every step of the way would crash most of the hifi market in one fell swoop.

90% of this industry is built on bias, lies, and deception and as such, plain incompatible with DBT. That's why no one does it.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi, you've been a member here for a little while now so consider all the posts (many, many posts) saying over and over again that after a point DACs do not offer any sound improvement and that power supplies also mane no difference to sound quality.

Other sites contradict those simple statements but they offer no evidence and no measurements.