Possible to combine a WiiM Ultra with tube amps ?

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

There is no way I am going to find out here, although I fully appreciate
all the feedback and help from you all, but what sounds good to me,
and even with REW, the final judge will be my ears.

So the only way is to compare myself,
trying to find a used amps or
to buy a tube amp on Aliexpress.

I just saw a Jolida JD707A for 750€
and a Jolida EL34, both not far away from where I live.
But since one has to replace tubes with tube amps,
perhaps it is better to buy new from AliExpress ?

I was going to buy the WiiM Ultra with a Fosi 3V Mono Amps and still will
but I hear such marvels about tube amps so I obviously have to get one
to try with my vintage speakers, my line array speakers
and my futur open baffle Lii Song F18.

I was going to get the Lii Hifi, original, but they
do not make the F18 anymore, or at least it is not in stock and the
Lii Song F18 is in stock only a few hours away from me, in northern spain.

 

[DrTom]

I was running an Ultra into a modified Reisong A12 for a while, works just fine and the roomfit/PEQ can help to some extent with any shortcomings with the tube amp.

 

[LTig]

With any working combination of preamp and poweramp you can always insert a device in between them, if the gain can be set to around unity. Since you want tube sound I recommend to use a professional tube sound processor. Those allow to control the amount of tube sound you want to insert. This one for example (ART Pro VLA II, seen at Thomann for € 479): https://artproaudio.com/microphonepreamps/product/293543/provlaii

 

[voodooless]

With any working combination of preamp and poweramp you can always insert a device in between them, if the gain can be set to around unity. Since you want tube sound I recommend to use a professional tube sound processor. Those allow to control the amount of tube sound you want to insert. This one for example (ART Pro VLA II, seen at Thomann for € 479): https://artproaudio.com/microphonepreamps/product/293543/provlaii

But you can't even see the tubes . How else would you know it works ?

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

Whaoooo that's some kind of a piece of équipement !

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

This one for example (ART Pro VLA II, seen at Thomann for € 479): https://artproaudio.com/microphonepreamps/product/293543/provlaii

thank you, I wonder, could this kind of equipment not alter the pure signals from the amp to the negative ? it seems to me that less equipment is better ? but I am not an expert

 

[staticV3]

I wonder, could this kind of equipment not alter the pure signals from the amp to the negative ? it seems to me that less equipment is better ? but I am not an expert

If you're after transparent reproduction, then indeed the fewer components and effect boxes you have in your chain, generally the better.

But then why are you looking for tube amps? That seems contradictory

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

Thank you static.

I was very affected by the shared of many years of experience, see link below.
Its utter simplicity, not even crossovers, just a source, amp and one speaker :

Glow in the Dark Audio--Tube Amps

Glow in the Dark Audio showcases Kevin Davis’ personal collection of small-scale, DIY and one of a kind hifi audio gear, with a focus on single ended and push pull tube amplifiers and full range open baffle speakers.

www.glowinthedarkaudio.com

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

also, the utter simplicity of his pannels to hold the 15 or 18 inch driver,
there are so many videos making you think that these pannels are such
a big deal. Of course, if beauty is so important, I understand and no
jugment of course for people loving wood craft, but when
I listen to music, I close my eyes

Anyway, I cannot wait to get setup
in a month or two to compare the fosi and a tube amp, perhaps
both are valid depending on the music you listen to, same with open
baffles, perhaps my vintage speakers are valid for some music and the
open baffle for a different kind of music. After all, listening to rock
and blues and chamber music is not really the same thing.

 

[voodooless]

If you're after transparent reproduction, then indeed the fewer components and effect boxes you have in your chain, generally the better.

But then why are you looking for tube amps? That seems contradictory

He's willing to buy a driver that is this linear:

[Here in the Lii F18 in comparison to the recently measured AsciLab (ignore the levels, they are incorrect) with equal scale]

Linearity is the least of your worries here. The Wiim Ultra ofcourse can fix some of this. The poor output impedance of the tube amp may help the low extension if you mount the woofer in a large panel, but so can a simple series resistor, or a bit of EQ ... And then we have the beaming of such an 18" driver: it won't be pretty.

 

[LTig]

Thank you static.

I was very affected by the shared of many years of experience, see link below.

Don't believe everything you read in the Internet.

Its utter simplicity, not even crossovers, just a source, amp and one speaker :

Glow in the Dark Audio--Tube Amps

Glow in the Dark Audio showcases Kevin Davis’ personal collection of small-scale, DIY and one of a kind hifi audio gear, with a focus on single ended and push pull tube amplifiers and full range open baffle speakers.

www.glowinthedarkaudio.com

The KISS principle means one should make things as simple as possible, but not simpler than this limit.

 

[LTig]

also, the utter simplicity of his pannels to hold the 15 or 18 inch driver,
there are so many videos making you think that these pannels are such
a big deal. Of course, if beauty is so important, I understand and no
jugment of course for people loving wood craft, but when
I listen to music, I close my eyes

So do I.

Anyway, I cannot wait to get setup
in a month or two to compare the fosi and a tube amp, perhaps
both are valid depending on the music you listen to, same with open
baffles, perhaps my vintage speakers are valid for some music and the
open baffle for a different kind of music.

A tube amp might change the sound, but different may not mean better. Better use an EQ or an effect device to improve the sound to personal taste, but make sure you can switch it off if not required. I use an old Behringer Ultrafex Pro between pre- and power amp, to widen the stereo image or enhancing bass or treble, depending on the quality of the recording. If I switch it off it takes itself out of the audio chain.

After all, listening to rock
and blues and chamber music is not really the same thing.

With neutral speakers (like mine) I enjoy all kinds of music, from classical over avantguarde, blues, jazz to folk, pop, rock and heavy metal. That's the beauty of such speakers.

 

[voodooless]

The KISS principle means one should make things as simple as possible, but not simpler than this limit.

Bad car analogy time : If that speaker were a car, it would look like this:

And a Tube amp would be a Model-T: fun to own, but not a daily driver for sure.

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

Thank you, I shall have to try and compare and measure. Does not the wiim ultra have an equalizer ?

 

[john61ct]

Yes, PEQ, DSP driven

 

[Ropeburn]

I was running an Ultra into a modified Reisong A12 for a while, works just fine and the roomfit/PEQ can help to some extent with any shortcomings with the tube amp.

"Get a tube amp for the Wiim Ultra because Wiim EQ can help with its flaws"

 

[Cbdb2]

This one for example (ART Pro VLA II, seen at Thomann for € 479): https://artproaudio.com/microphonepreamps/product/293543/provlaii

thank you, I wonder, could this kind of equipment not alter the pure signals from the amp to the negative ? it seems to me that less equipment is better ? but I am not an expert

Thats a compressor, not what you want.

 

[rjp]

There is no way I am going to find out here, although I fully appreciate
all the feedback and help from you all, but what sounds good to me,
and even with REW, the final judge will be my ears.

So the only way is to compare myself,
trying to find a used amps or
to buy a tube amp on Aliexpress.

I just saw a Jolida JD707A for 750€
and a Jolida EL34, both not far away from where I live.
But since one has to replace tubes with tube amps,
perhaps it is better to buy new from AliExpress ?

I was going to buy the WiiM Ultra with a Fosi 3V Mono Amps and still will
but I hear such marvels about tube amps so I obviously have to get one
to try with my vintage speakers, my line array speakers
and my futur open baffle Lii Song F18.

I was going to get the Lii Hifi, original, but they
do not make the F18 anymore, or at least it is not in stock and the
Lii Song F18 is in stock only a few hours away from me, in northern spain.

Yes, you can pair the WiiM Ultra with any amp.

 

[RaymondFromThePyrénéés]

thank you rjp, great !

 

[john61ct]

Schiit Buf: tube buffer + gain

Sorry I could not find the "Tube Audio" subforum here? *** Please don't convert this thread into an attack on tube products *** *** We know tube adds distortion, we have seen it in measurements *** https://www.schiit.com/products/buf see the FAQ for ha-ha but serious... Coherence maintains...

www.audiosciencereview.com