I think they are in the same category, but different quality levels.
The only way they would be in different categories is if we consider price and build quality as a category definitions. As boxes they do the same thing.
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WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review
- Thread starter amirm
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The only way they would be in different categories is if we consider price and build quality as a category definitions. As boxes they do the same thing.
Just found out that the Eversolo A8 G2 still does not have a phono input. Bummer. I was hoping it was at least as good as the WiiM Ultra feature and quality wise.
Oh well, it took them until now just to add the subwoofer out. Maybe next release.
Oh well, it took them until now just to add the subwoofer out. Maybe next release.
EJ3
Master Contributor
For exactly that reason, I have an excellent separate phono stage: as long as there are RCA's or balanced input, I can connect to a system. It opens up many options that would be unavailable without it.
Of course one *can* use the line inputs with an outboard phono stage. Point is, the WiiM ultra already has both line inputs and a phono stage, so it has more flexibility. I know it's not the greatest, but at least it has one. I think Eversolo, at it's luxury price, should have an even better one. Alas it has none at all.
I'd like to buy the Eversolo for its beauty and build, but it looks like they are lagging. I appreciate that they recently added subwoofer output, and hope they will continue to improve. To remain relevant in the future they need to beat or at least match the WiiM on all other accounts in my opinion.
If not, even people with ample funds are going to start to seriously question the merits of paying 6x the price.
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Remember this is primarily a digital device. You state that you feel eversolo is lagging because of the lack of phono stage. Most other similar devices digitize the analog input. Here eversolo gives us a good analog volume control with analog inputs that are not digitized. You have picked one attribute that doesn't suit you and came to a questionable conclusion about the product. It may not be right for you, but to say it's lagging behind others because of the lack of phono stage is myopic.
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morillon
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The ADC section of the WiiM devices is currently quite limited in terms of quality... That is one area where we can hope to see significant improvements from WiiM in the future...
(but if it is really important for your use case... you can supplement it with an external ADC like the MiniDSP Pocket, Adept, etc.)
The ADC in the WiiM ultra is better than in thier other devices but probably not sota . Some distortions spikes but not noise , I would be more concerned if the low score came from noise .
Funny enough I use an external phono unit a Cambridge DUO connected to my ultra. To digitise vinyl to be able to use the DRC and EQ and conect to my KEF LS60 .
The combo is quiet enough , as I use the ADC for phono it shortcomings drown in the distortion from even a decent pickup and the vinyl media.
I realy wanted to buy a Michael Fidler phono stage but when I was purchasing it was temporarily unavailable.
Funny enough I use an external phono unit a Cambridge DUO connected to my ultra. To digitise vinyl to be able to use the DRC and EQ and conect to my KEF LS60 .
The combo is quiet enough , as I use the ADC for phono it shortcomings drown in the distortion from even a decent pickup and the vinyl media.
I realy wanted to buy a Michael Fidler phono stage but when I was purchasing it was temporarily unavailable.
morillon
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It would still be a shame to use such a nice phono stage with the Ultra's ADC...
(a pocket ADC would be more reasonable or There's quite a bit to digitize... maybe check using the Wax or the Adept.)
It will probably outlast the WiiM and be with me the next iteration of my system.It would still be a shame to use such a nice phono stage with the Ultra's ADC...
(a pocket ADC would be more reasonable or There's quite a bit to digitize... maybe check using the Wax or the Adept.)
I like the feature set the WiiM has I tried to find anything matching from anyone Eversolo did not have any product at the time and price was not an issue ?
So I’ll think it’s quite a cool device not perfect, but not missing important bits .
somebodyelse
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There's certainly room for improvement - I've called out that limitation before. On the other hand it's unlikely to be the weakest link in the vinyl playback chain - self noise is comfortably below surface noise, and frequency response variations are lower than those from nearly all cartridges, as are crosstalk and distortion. There's a fair argument that this makes it 'good enough.' It doesn't (yet) have some of the processing bells and whistles, but the DSP will let you compensate for the cartridge's non-flat response if you want. There's a similar argument for most fully analogue line level sources like cassette - it's only with sources that were originally digital anyway that the line level ADC's failings will be the weak link, and you can probably keep those digital. That's why I haven't yet given in to the temptation to buy a PocketADC or Waxwing, despite the temptation.
Unfortunately, Michael Fidler has closed his business, at least temporarily.
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Also in the past, buying from him has not always been easy for non-UK residents. Let's wait and see how things develop once he completes his move to Łódź, Poland.
qirex
Member
Vinyl has like 70dB of dynamic range under ideal conditions, most commercial releases are much worse. The Ultra having a noise/distortion floor of -85 on the ADC is just fine.
antcollinet
Grand Contributor
Why - the ultra's ADC is good enough that it won't be the limiting factor for audio quality in a vinyl setup compared to the fundamental limitations of the medium.
It'd be more realistic to say "It would still be a shame to use such a nice phono stage with vinyl"
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morillon
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It only further degrades something that you apparently already consider inadequate...Why - the ultra's ADC is good enough that it won't be the limiting factor for audio quality in a vinyl setup compared to the fundamental limitations of the medium.
It'd be more realistic to say "It would still be a shame to use such a nice phono stage with vinyl"
Ps
It has a phono input... and a line input, not just phono...
(What can be achieved these days at a low cost with new ess adc and good engineering, It might encourage WiiM to improve its analog inputs in the future, given that it is positioning itself in a preamp role with products like the Ultra.
PocketADC
The miniDSP Pocket ADC is an extremely compact high-resolution A/D (analog-to-digital) convertor that accepts a stereo analog input on single-ended (RCA) connectors and converts it to SPDIF coaxial and TOSLINK optical digital outputs. This pocket size converter supports high sample rate and...
antcollinet
Grand Contributor
Not audibly - and about 25% of my listening is vinyl. But I am under no illusions regarding its performance compared even to mediocre digital.
It is the line input I was talking about - obviously because it was in reference to the "nice phone stage" (I've just corrected my quote of your post that seems to have gone wrong)
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