WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review

[Mort]

Wiim Ultra turned out to be a gateway drug to MiniDsp Flex HT and DiracLive which are nearly 3x the Ultra price but have much better DSP. I've switched back to Wiim Pro for streaming. I can't complain about the Ultra device, but it wasn't enough for me, and I have the budget to upgrade.

 

[pogo]

and I have the budget to upgrade.

If that's what you're after, you'd be better off with a Node N132 and you have everything in one device.

 

[Mort]

With DiracLive, which the Node does not have yet, it'll be the same price or very close to a Flex with Dirac live I think.
I use other Wiim and Minidsp devices and will stick with those platforms.
Edit - also only single sub, flex will do two which I need. And not enough inputs.

 

[pogo]

You could integrate additional inputs via a Bluesound HUB (up to 4 HUBs possible) and you wouldn't be more expensive than the miniDSP/Wiim solution.
miniDSP Flex HT processing (Dirac Live, ...) only @32 bit/48 kHz is a no go for me.

 

[Mort]

only @32 bit/48 kHz is a no go for me.

I can't hear above that. I'm good.

It's good to know there are alternatives. I don't think MiniDsp has to worry a lot about the price comparison. I think it ends up a hair cheaper.

 

[pogo]

It will also depend on the country in which the devices are purchased.

 

[pogo]

I can't hear above that.

This is about the post-processing of the miniDSP. A good comparison is a mastering studio. Here you will also find a higher post-processing resolution to avoid artifacts, ...
The better miniDSP models operate @96kHz, but probably not with Dirac Live.

 

[Mort]

This is about the post-processing of the miniDSP.

Good to know. I'm skeptical it's audible without some ABX however.

 

[antcollinet]

I can't hear above that. I'm good.

No-one can.

 

[antcollinet]

A good comparison is a mastering studio.

No, it's not. Mini DSP does one set of processing resulting in one resampling. Studios generally use multiple cascaded sets of effects, filters, mixing and so on.

 

[pogo]

The human ear is sensitive to time relationships between the wavefront arrival times down to a resolution of ~20us. This time relationship corresponds to a sample frequency of 96kHz. Its not the pure tonal sounds you look for, its an accurate representation of the space, ...

The topic is not trivial and we should end this as it is off-topic.

 

[antcollinet]

The human ear is sensitive to time relationships between the wavefront arrival times down to a resolution of ~20us. This time relationship corresponds to a sample frequency of 96kHz. Its not the pure tonal sounds you look for, its an accurate representation of the space, ...

The topic is not trivial and we should end this as it is off-topic.

No, it's not trivial - but it is important

Two issues with that:
1 - that 20us represents a head movement of less than 7mm (or about 3mm if talking about a left ear/right ear difference

Much more importantly
2 - The sample rate doesn't limit the minimum time resolution of a "wave front" as demonstrated in the Monty video at 20:55

In fact the time accuracy/resolution of 16/44.1 is about 100ps - 200,000 times finer than your stated ear sensitivity.
For 24/44.1 it is about 0.4ps - 255 times finer again.

= 1/(2pi * quantization levels * sample rate) or
= 1/(2pi * 2^bit depth * sample rate)

EDIT
A factor of 2 out in my formula - and much better explained here:

Time resolution of digital audio

A frequent claim by detractors of digital audio is that the time resolution is equal to the sampling interval, 22.7 μs for the CD format. This is incorrect. Although there is a limit, it is much sm…

troll-audio.com

 

[cce32]

My Ultra's trigger stopped working.
I am using 3.5mm TRS cable with Apollon ncx500st amplifier.
Was great for few days.
I get 0.12V from trigger.
Support is not able to solve it.

It is not a big deal to push 1 button on amplifier, but still.

Maybe there is someone who had similar problem and got it solved?

Same with me. Is the 12v trigger working for others? Was kinda hoping an update would reenable it...

 

[EddNog]

Same with me. Is the 12v trigger working for others? Was kinda hoping an update would reenable it...

I never had any issues with the 12V trigger in the Ultra. Always works fine. Wish the Amp Pro had one to hook my subwoofer to.

-Ed

 

[holbob]

My trigger is working fine with Audiophonics NC502MP

 

[ISchmidt]

I never had any issues with the 12V trigger in the Ultra. Always works fine. Wish the Amp Pro had one to hook my subwoofer to.

-Ed

It is possible to use a 3,5mm splitter, it worked for me

 

[EddNog]

It is possible to use a 3,5mm splitter, it worked for me

You can use multiple and get away with it. I had the first splitter with one cable coming out of it to the subwoofer and another splitter attached to the other port, and then from the second splitter wires went to both monoblocs.

-Ed

 

[dtaylo1066]

Will the Wiim Ultra detect the music files on my WD My Cloud running the latest MyCloud OS5?

 

[antcollinet]

Will the Wiim Ultra detect the music files on my WD My Cloud running the latest MyCloud OS5?

If you mean a mycloud NAS, then I think it can run the twonky media server - in which case the ultra will be able to connect to this.

 

[dtaylo1066]

Yes, a WD My Cloud NAS. An older model but latest update to OS5, which says it has DNLA. I am not savvy in this area of the digital world, but the WD page says I can add Townky or Plex Media.

I currently have Volumio on a TinkerBoard and it has not issues detecting the My Cloud NAS and music on it.