WiiM Amp Ultra Streaming Amplifier

[BillG]

Regarding the high frequency distortion, between age-related hearing loss and the actual spectrum of music where there's not much energy past 10 kHz anyway, I think it's much ado about nothing.

Measurements and comparison of WiiM Amp Pro and WiiM Amp Ultra (and more :)

Hello all, Beware: This thread will contain a lot of measurements and technical analysis. Continue reading at your own risk! Introduction Until the end of last year I used a Denon Ceol RCD-N9 integrated stereo receiver/amplifier to power my living room system consisting of pair of Revel M16...

forum.wiimhome.com

 

[chelgrian]

But why Eversolo has? Is it because of Android based?

If you search at

MFi Licensee App

mfi.apple.com

You will find that Eversolo are not MFI certified. They initially advertised AirPlay support but they were never certified and all mention of it has been scrubbed from their website.

Their may still have an unadvertised and unlicensed airplay 1 implementation but it’s not clear.

 

[BillG]

How did you take the measurements? Did you use a calibrated external microphone? Did you measure from the listening position by moving your microphone around the head or by moving your microphone horizontally from right to left? Tell us more please

I used a calibrated measurement microphone and took stationary measurements at ear level from my listening position. I didn't use the moving mic method as it's not really applicable to my listening environment as I'm only correcting the bass region, and my speakers have wide dispersion anyway.

The WiiM Home app prompts the user with explicit instructions on how to perform the measurements.

 

[GGroch]

......I guess it is a great almost-all-in-1 package but for me the lack of pre-outs and/or digital out is a big limiting factor for adding headphone dac/amp.

So, you could alternately purchase a WiiM Ultra Streamer which has those (and a built in headphone amp) plus an equivalent 3255 amp like the Douk A5. In either case you end up with 2 boxes but with the Douk combo you spend $100 less.

 

[mrick39]

Is the toslink input processed by software (EQ, DSP, etc) same as streaming app inside? Or just straight to the amp/speaker output without any software process?
I’m thinking to use AirPort Express or Arylic LP10 digital out to the Wiim.

Toslink input is processed by software

 

[obsessive9119]

This compact amp would be an absolute dream if the way they implemented DSP wasn't so slow. Apparently there is over 100ms of latency when using the optical or HDMI ARC connections, ~50ms through ADC via RCA input. There is no way to bypass this processing, such as a "Pure Direct" mode.

I wonder why it's so high when even cheap audio interfaces are capable of ~15ms roundtrip latency. This is really problematic for a TV setup. Lip sync for video can be offset through software, but I think even casual gaming would be a bad experience.

I hope the processing pipeline can be optimized with firmware updates.

Where are you getting the 100ms delay info from? I’m pretty sensitive to delay when it comes to video sync (notice it all the time if I use BT headphones) but have never noticed it using optical in from the TV to my WiiM Pro Plus.

 

[GGroch]

I’m pretty sensitive to delay when it comes to video sync (notice it all the time if I use BT headphones) but have never noticed it using optical in from the TV to my WiiM Pro Plus.

My experience is the same as yours, and I see specs showing 50ms. You could reach 100ms in multi-room sync application. My Ultra has much worse delay transmitting Bluetooth so I use a dongle transmitter for that.

 

[Pritaudio]

Would this be sufficient to drive the ascilab c6b.
What sort of db could I expect without harshness.

 

[ScottySmallsMom]

@obsessive9119 I asked on the wiim forum and a user did some testing on the inputs. 50ms isn't great either, but probably not terrible. Are you using EQ and sub out with bass management?

Could the 100ms total be due in part by the TV HDMI output processing?

 

[obsessive9119]

@obsessive9119 I asked on the wiim forum and a user did some testing on the inputs. 50ms isn't great either, but probably not terrible. Are you using EQ and sub out with bass management?

Could the 100ms total be due in part by the TV HDMI output processing?

I’m using room correction but (as I’m using a Pro Plus) not bass management or HDMI.

 

[arichman]

@amirm,

As a trained listener, consider using the WiiM Amp Ultra to assess the performance of WiiM's RoomFit room correction feature.

I have been wondering about this as well. I have a Wiim Ultra (not the amp) and let Roomfit carry out the integration of my subwoofer with my BMR towers. This EQ produced a nearly perfect correction of my system I described previously (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ng-subwoofer-how-did-i-do.68385/#post-2478531). I did see a number of positive gain eq at higher frequencies which presumably reduced the headroom of this system.

And today I was watching a streaming movie which generated a tone which set my ribbon tweeter to making crunchy noises. I've never experienced an issue like that before, it sounded very unhealthy for my equipment, and occurred at -10 dB system volume, a level which I considered safe since I've never heard anything similar without EQ at 0 dB. All very much anecdata, and in addition I simply took the output of Roomfit from my Ultra and plugged it into my Minidsp Flex. So it wasn't the Ultra that was misbehaving, but that was its RoomFit EQ in the Flex. Curiously, the sound that caused the problem was in the new Naked Gun movie when the villain turns on his invention, something called the P.L.O.T. device, towards the end...

 

[Descartes]

Apple don’t negotiate it’s either MFI certified and plays by the rules required to certify or it isn’t and it therefore doesn’t have AirPlay. The translation of ‘discussing’ here is they are still asking for some exception to some requirement and Apple are still saying no.

So disappointing!

 

[CD2]

newbie-to-streaming question: this device has a LAN port. Could you plug it into your network and play .wav files from a server?

 

[obsessive9119]

newbie-to-streaming question: this device has a LAN port. Could you plug it into your network and play .wav files from a server?

Yes - though you don’t need to use the Ethernet port, you can do it via wifi too.

WiiM supports DLNA, Plex and (I believe) SMB for local streaming.

 

[Mnyb]

Yes - though you don’t need to use the Ethernet port, you can do it via wifi too.

WiiM supports DLNA, Plex and (I believe) SMB for local streaming.

And LMS and ROON .

 

[daniboun]

I used a calibrated measurement microphone and took stationary measurements at ear level from my listening position. I didn't use the moving mic method as it's not really applicable to my listening environment as I'm only correcting the bass region, and my speakers have wide dispersion anyway.

The WiiM Home app prompts the user with explicit instructions on how to perform the measurements.

Thanks
I read an excellent post presenting tangible measurements between REW MMM and Wiim Room Fit. It seems that Wiim has added the ability to use MMM measurements for each speaker individually. On the Wiim forum, I read a comparison with several corrections made, and MMM now appears to offer a real advantage since the latest update

I think that by optimizing the methodology based on this thread, we could now achieve a Room Fit result equivalent to REW.
I will give a test with my calibrated mic BTW

KEF LS60 Room Correction Showdown: REW MMM vs. Wiim Ultra—A Data-Driven Analysis

1. Introduction and Background Room acoustics play a pivotal role in perceived audio quality in home listening environments. Of particular importance are resonant frequencies—or room modes—that commonly arise in rectangular rooms. These modes often lead to significant boosts or cuts in specific...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[BillG]

Thanks
I read an excellent post presenting tangible measurements between REW MMM and Wiim Room Fit...

You're welcome.

RoomFit worked well for me as it tamed the occasional boominess I'd hear that could throw off the tonal balance. The correction was particularly noticeable on well recorded acoustic songs - it projected the singer and guitar right into the room with me, which I didn't notice as prominently prior.

 

[daniboun]

You're welcome.

RoomFit worked well for me as it tamed the occasional boominess I'd hear that could throw off the tonal balance. The correction was particularly noticeable on well recorded acoustic songs - it projected the singer and guitar right into the room with me, which I didn't notice as prominently prior.

That is a good point )
So what settings did you use? Do you have a subwoofer?
The problem with Room Fit, if it's not properly configured, is that you can quickly fall into confirmation bias. In the thread I shared, this point is highlighted compared to REW.


Rew MMM VS HouseCurve VS Wiim Room Fit (restricted to 40-300HZ)

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Now the same with Room fit restricted to 20-300HZ with external Mic (Umik 1) with no calibration file
This shows that the Wiim Room Fit's algorithm is highly effective for low-frequency correction without calibration file. (NB : At the time the screenshots were taken, it was not possible to import calibration files via Room Fit.)



MY GUESS : It is better to limit Room Fit to 20–300 Hz and take measurement with an external Mic + calibration file. I think the MMM Room Fit function with individual measurement of each speaker is sufficiently developed to approach MMM under Rew


a Umik-1, the outcome is very similar to REW MMM

 

[Dennis_FL]

Has the ESS DAC been tested?

 

[Uncola]

I use one of these in my living room 2.1 system with an LG OLED and utilize an appletv into the tv, then earc to the wiim amp ultra. I have to admit I have noticed a little bit of lipsync issues when I watch video from the appletv.. I use roomfit and have the tv pass through 5.1 through the earc.. is there anything I can do to reduce latency? turn off roomfit or have my tv only output 2 channel?