I've been through hoops and back a bit recently trying to upgrade my systems in a couple of rooms and my biggest issue with what I've bought was thinking how brash and harsh some of them have been (all exclusively tested with a WiiM) so have lost quite a lot of money, buying and the selling things and at a later stage paying return postage, thinking I was buying a decent level equipment that didn't sound so great when you tried it.
It coincided with me also getting fed up with having to switch off UltraHD on each device everytime I wanted to use multiroom stereo so I decided to start using my Echo Dots for multiroom again as they offer the same quality as the WiiM with UltraHD switched off and I could just select them whenever I wanted multiroom and save the Wiim / UltraHD for "critical listening".
I genuinely believe the WiiM's create a harsh / bright sound that very quickly becomes hard on the ears and with an elevated song is an absolute killer but also their lower range is muddy compared to just using a wired Echo Dot, I would say the WiiM possibly gives a smidge more clarity / seperation but at a serious expense to the overall sound.
I was initally using a Topping E30 DAC with the WiiM which is reasonably regarded, I then switched to using the onboard DAC on an Arcam SA30 which took the edge away a bit.
I also wanted to test the digital inputs vs analogue inputs on the Arcam just to be fair so did a back to back comparison with one of my Chromecast Audios into a digital input, this complteley blew the WiiM out of the water .... no elevated highs or muddy lows, just clarity of music.
I am actually kicking myself, I shouldn't have put so much faith in these and just tested one product vs another thinking this source was the ultimate, I should have tested the products with other sources instead and would have seen the shortcomings of these a long time ago and probably saved myself at least £1500.
Worst part of this that made me realise they're not what they're meant to be, I had a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300's on trial and when I thought they sounded bright / harsh (which I now know is introduced by the WiiM), I tried adjusting the EQ only to find they then sounded an awful lot worse and were definitely going back.
It was after I'd reluctantly packed them up and commited to an £80 fee to return them I discovered threads saying the EQ creates distortion.
I'm sitting here typing this listening to music through one of my Chromecast Audios and it's the best I've heard music sound for many months in comparison to using Wiims
I posted quite a while back I thought these are toys and anybody who's bought one are just testers for them, now I just think they're toys.
I know this won't go down well with some but honestly, go compare with other sources before jumping on me.