Wiim Ultra or Bluesound Nano Node......or should I just spend the money on the Eversolo DMP A6 Gen 2?

[rudy]

i am wondering if i should get the Wim Ultra with Denafrips Iris DDC which has OCXO clocks for about $1000 for my Pontus 2 or the Rose Hifi 130 for $5200?

 

[staticV3]

i am wondering if i should get the Wim Ultra with Denafrips Iris DDC which has OCXO clocks for about $1000 for my Pontus 2 or the Rose Hifi 130 for $5200?

Your Pontus 2 has internal clocks right next to the D->A conversion circuit (ideal location to minimize jitter), so best to use them via WiiM Ultra->USB->Pontus 2.

Buying an external clock will likely increase jitter simply due to the physical distance, so that $1000 would be money down the drain.

Ditto for the $5200 Rose Hifi honestly.

The WiiM Ultra is a bit-exact audio transport.

It cannot get any better on that front, no matter how many Benjamins you want to part with.

 

[rudy]

you can not upgrade the power supply to the Wim Ultra with a linear PSU unlike the node 130, so the 130 may better to replace my 2i with. not sure if the USB output will measure as good as it did on the Ultra? did Amir measure it?

 

[staticV3]

you can not upgrade the power supply to the Wim Ultra with a linear PSU unlike the node 130, so the 130 may better to replace my 2i with. not sure if the USB output will measure as good as it did on the Ultra? did Amir measure it?

No matter how dearly you may wish audiophile myths like Linear vs Switching PSUs to be true, the simple truth is that what kind of PSU powers the WiiM is entirely irrelevant.

Its analog and digital outputs are virtually perfect, with not one hint of PSU-related artifacts, and that's all that matters.

It could be powered by a hamster wheel at that point and an LPS upgrade would still be pointless.

 

[mermayer]

Always remember with the DMP-A8 (and the A6):
All digital inputs on this device do not support coaxial and optical digital output.
Digital audio input can only be output through the analog ports RCA/XLR.

 

[JSmith]

Wim Ultra with Denafrips Iris DDC

The Pontus 2 uses asynchronous USB audio... so the DAC will handle the clocking of the audio data internally rather than relying on the timing of the source device. Thus, the Denafrips Iris DDC will be useless here... like all reclockers in this scenario.


JSmith

 

[rudy]

The Pontus 2 uses asynchronous USB audio... so the DAC will handle the clocking of the audio data internally rather than relying on the timing of the source device. Thus, the Denafrips Iris DDC will be useless here... like all reclockers in this scenario.


JSmith

will my concern is that the clocks in my present 2i are inferior to that of the Pontus so i need to upgrade to a device that has usb output like a Node n130? the Pontus deserves better Amir was impressed with the usb performance of the Ultra. did he ever measure the performance of the usb on the Node n130? he seem to think jitter performance via usb is important or he would not have raved about it?

 

[gwing]

will my concern is that the clocks in my present 2i are inferior to that of the Pontus so i need to upgrade to a device that has usb output like a Node n130? the Pontus deserves better Amir was impressed with the usb performance of the Ultra. did he ever measure the performance of the usb on the Node n130? he seem to think jitter performance via usb is important or he would not have raved about it?

Should be easy enough to do, just run the spdif input through one of these https://hifimediy.com/product/s2-digi/ into your DAC's USB. You'll probably find it makes no difference at all though

And less than £50 ....

 

[staticV3]

Should be easy enough to do, just run the spdif input through one of these https://hifimediy.com/product/s2-digi/ into your DAC's USB

That will not work.

Both the DAC and S2 Digi are USB slave devices and can't talk to each other.

You'd need a USB host in between (PC, Raspberry etc).

 

[antcollinet]

will my concern is that the clocks in my present 2i are inferior to that of the Pontus so i need to upgrade to a device that has usb output like a Node n130? the Pontus deserves better Amir was impressed with the usb performance of the Ultra. did he ever measure the performance of the usb on the Node n130? he seem to think jitter performance via usb is important or he would not have raved about it?

Please stop worrying about clocks and jitter.

There are almost no Dacs on the market that are susceptible to jitter sufficiently to have any audible impact at all. The remaining few (even if they exist) are broken by design.

"Jitter Issues" are an audiophile myth used to justify expensive but pointless purchases. Jitter hasn't been an issue for decades - even if it ever was.

 

[Xibal]

I appreciate the sentiment, but this is what is great about this hobby. I felt I heard a difference. Your results may vary from mine and that is ok.

So what's the meaning of asking for someone else's experience, if results may vary from one user to another?The idea of measuring gear, apart from being just the only way to proper evaluate something which is, or should be, designed using measurements as a "measure", is that they are repeatable without introducing bias. Once you got a proper engineered, transparent to the source gear, then you can add your taste with equalization, like a painter on a blank canvas...

 

[knownothing]

FWIW, I just got a Bluesound Nano for use in my office system. It is replacing a MS Surface Laptop 4 as a server and a Chord Mojo2 DAC. I got the Nano because I moved the system to a public space and wanted our staff to be able to stream their own music.

The Nano sounds very good. Surprisingly good. Even streaming via Bluetooth from a phone or computer. Streamed Hi-res files work flawlessly via bluetooth.

I did try replacing the stock power supply with a 5V/3A iFi iPowerX and in this application I convinced myself it sounded better. After swapping the iPowerX in and out multiple times I found it offered greater clarity on the leading and trailing edge of notes and noticeably better soundstage presentation. Both power supplies are used in concert with a decent power conditioner. I did not get the same result with the iPowerX on either of my Chord DACs. In fact I thought it sounded worse than the stock Chord switching supply. YMMV.

The Nano is a great product if you don’t need all the features of the Wiim, Eversolos or pricer Bluesound Nodes.

Side note: the DAC built into my MS Surface Laptop 4 sounds pretty good too in this system. If Amir had anything to do with that - hats off bro.

kn

 

[MaxBuck]

All the discussion about clocks, power supplies and other audiophile hoodoo about these systems is completely irrelevant. What matters is as follows:

1. Does the device support your preferred streaming sources (e.g. Qobuz, Spotify, Amazon Music, Idagio, etc.)?
2. Do you like the control app?
3. Is its price within your budget?
4. (For some) can it incorporate your existing library of music adequately?
5. Are its input and output capabilities (USB, XLR, toslink, RCA, etc.) consistent with your needs and preferences?

There may be a couple of others, but I really think these capture pretty much all the important stuff.

 

[GXAlan]

There may be a couple of others, but I really think these capture pretty much all the important stuff.

And DSP capability. PEQ vs Dirac vs nothing.

 

[gwing]

All the discussion about clocks, power supplies and other audiophile hoodoo about these systems is completely irrelevant. What matters is as follows:

1. Does the device support your preferred streaming sources (e.g. Qobuz, Spotify, Amazon Music, Idagio, etc.)?
2. Do you like the control app?
3. Is its price within your budget?
4. (For some) can it incorporate your existing library of music adequately?
5. Are its input and output capabilities (USB, XLR, toslink, RCA, etc.) consistent with your needs and preferences?

There may be a couple of others, but I really think these capture pretty much all the important stuff.

6) Room correction.
7) Cabled network connection. Unless you prefer wireless.
8) Low power consumption - if you intend to leave it on standby all the time, which can be a great convenience for a streamer.