WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review

[DMill]

@amirm Miley Cyrus, really? Actually I kind of think she’s cool too. Loved the Flaming Lips Colab. Another great review and the product looks good to me.

 

[Audiobliss2]

As it is, I ran a ton of tests. Either you all need to stop asking me to test Phono, BT, etc. or asking that I test every variation there is.

I would think the digital outputs of a streamer/dac would be much more important to test than phono and BT.

 

[Th0805]

I would think the digital outputs of a streamer/dac would be much more important to test than phono and BT.

There’s reason to believe that the other digital outs would be similar to each other. There’s no reason to believe the BT or phono would be similar and we also don’t have the phono on any previous wiim product. That makes me think those measurements are far more interesting in terms of this review

 

[Descartes]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Ultra network streamer, DAC, phono stage and preamplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $329.
View attachment 395569
Physical attribute are modern and attractive enough. Alas, I can't say the same thing about the graphical interface. Icons seem dated to me. They are also superfluous to what is in the App other than "now playing" screen. On that front, I am yet again disappointed by lack of volume control display even though there is plenty of room there:
View attachment 395570
Why emphasize bit rate and sample size instead of volume control? Also lacking is any indicator that you have EQ active and if so, which profile.

On that topic, the volume controls feels like it is scratching against the case. I tried to pull it out but would not move so left it alone, leaving an unsatisfying feel.

I tried to turn Ethernet off and it warned me that I would be switching to WiFi? Why is this either or instead of both being on at the same time?

Finally, there is no off switch on the UI or the unit itself:
View attachment 395571

The good news shows up when you look at the back and see such comprehensive connectivity, blowing away any stand-alone DAC or simple streamer. We have analog input, phono stage, and even HDMI ARC in addition to USB host capability. Alas, reading those names is next to impossible in most lighting/angles. As you see, I had to tilt the unit up for them to show up on the picture. Otherwise they wash away to same color as the case. Labels should be legible when looking down from above which the back is facing the wall.

The sophisticated app is there which instantly recognized the unit and allowed me to configure it. There is great value added here including proper crossover for bass management, EQ, etc.

WiiM Ultra DAC Measurements
I set up the unit for streaming over Ethernet from my Roon player and was greeted with excellent performance out of line out:
View attachment 395573
The WiiM Ultra easily makes way for itself among our very competent DACs, obviating the need to use an external one:
View attachment 395574
View attachment 395575
Noise performance is in the same class:
View attachment 395576

Multitone performance is great:
View attachment 395577

Here is the 50 Hz performance for comparison with Stereophile tests of DACs:
View attachment 395578
Linearity is perfect:
View attachment 395579

IMD test shows noise could be a bit better but distortion is nicely low:
View attachment 395580

Jitter shows some interference as we saw with WiiM Pro Plus but nto harmful to sound:
View attachment 395581

Filter attenuation beyond 24 kHz is excellent:
View attachment 395582

Frequency response is nice which is a good thing as I didn't see any option of changing the filter:
View attachment 395583

48 kHz wideband distortion+noise is not very good:
View attachment 395584
Increasing the sample rate fixed that indicating that there is some kind of noise shaping going on:
View attachment 395585

WiiM Ultra Headphone Output Measurements
I started with power testing which turned out just OK performance:
View attachment 395586
View attachment 395587
Stepping through the various load impedances shows substantial output impedance (should be near zero):
View attachment 395588

Response is also variable. So not a serious headphone amplifier.

WiiM Ultra Phono Stage Measurements
Let's start with our dashboard using MM mode:
View attachment 395606

And MC:

View attachment 395589
Noise floor seems elevated which when added to mains noise, resulted in lackluster performance. Fortunately RIAA equalization is good:

View attachment 395590

WiiM Analog Input Measurements
I configured the analog input for 24 bit/192 Khz:
View attachment 395602

So not bad. Here is the noise performance for both 24 bit and 16:
View attachment 395603

So better override the default 16 bits.

Frequency response is nice as and wide (at 192 kHz sampling):
View attachment 395605

WiiM Ultra Bluetooh Measurements
Someone suggested that I test the Bluetooth input using LDAC codec. I spent half hour trying to enable that and I could not. My Android phone would constantly show it in gray indicating the target device doesn't support it. A quick google found the FAQ for WiiM Ultra stating that it only supports SBC and AAC. Both turned in poor performance due to the nature of those codecs and their encoders in BT application:
View attachment 395591

I highly recommend company pursue supporting LDAC.

Conclusions
WiiM Ultra nails streaming performance with an excellent codec implementation. Rich functionality is another plus as is the App. The new display didn't do much for me and if anything, was a bit of a negative even though in general I am a fan of such things. Headphone output is not useful for serious listening. Phono stage may be OK if noise is not an issue. Finally, Bluetooth support is a let down with lack of LDAC support.

I think an overhaul of the GUI with a better platform and addition of LDAC would go a long way to justify the higher cost and display.

I am going to recommend the WiiM Ultra. There is such incredible amount of capability here that when combined with excellent codec and reasonable cost, it is hard to pass on it.

------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

When they have Apple Airplay 2 I might consider it!

 

[Burnside]

-DAC Digital Filter Types?

These appear when you select line out as your audio output. I’m sure the different filter types and their use can be found in this forum or the manufacturer’s website.

 

[JaccoW]

amirm what the heck is with the display?
It looks really glowy and of bad quality.
Is this just your camera or is it a really low-quality part?

Display is definitely not the greatest display around. Quite a bit of backlight bleed though certainly not the worst I've seen.
Comparing it to a high quality OLED screen it does stand out however.

 

[Cote Dazur]

There is such incredible amount of capability her

No AirPlay makes it useless to me.

 

[Left]

Thanks @amirm . My Wiim Ultra showed up a few days ago and will be the heart of my planned system.
Tidal > Wiim Ultra > Fosi V3 Mono x 2 > Magnepan 0.7s

The Magnepans arrived a few weeks ago and for testing I was running them through:
Laptop > ifi Uno > Yorkville PX1700 (rented pro audio amp - 2 x 850 watts) > Magnepans

Swapping from the ifi Uno to the Wiim Ultra has been night and day even while still using the Yorkville amp.

Pros:
-Sounds great compared to what I was using
-Streaming Tidal with my phone as a remote
-Wiim Remote for power and volume
-Better DAC (than what I was using)
-EQ
-Room Correction (better than expected)
-Sub out
-Software
-Price
-More that I'm sure I'm forgetting

A lot of people claim smaller Magnepans benefit from a sub. I have an old Sony SA W-2500 subwoofer I plug in sometimes for 2.1 and the Wiim Ultra lets me set crossover and EQ the way I want without changing settings on the subwoofer itself, as it's already configured for my 5.1 AV receiver. I may get a RCA switcher but I may be fine using the Magnepans without a sub. Need more listening over the coming months.

The software has also been a great experience. I've only had this a few days and there have already been a few updates adding features so its good to see continuous improvements are on the way for the foreseeable future. The UI is easy to navigate and it's been a blast to play with. I wish I could use the EQ in landscape instead of forced portrait but that's okay.

I did try eARC for youtube and plex through my Roku powered TV and it was amazing to have the pre-gain volume settings on the Wiim Ultra. My default tv volume output was low so the ability to boost the eARC audio signal on the Wiim was very intersting to see and use. Switching between audio inputs and having them fairly balanced volume wise was a treat.

Cons:
-No XLR
-DAC Digital Filter Types?
-mDNS detection over the network

I wish there was more information on the DAC Digital Filter Types. I have researched this and many people say they can't hear a difference, end of story. It would be nice to have a detailed description of what each actually does.

I use a custom firewall at home where the Wiim Ultra sits on an IoT network. My phone is on a different network and doesn't have any issues seeing IoT devices except for the Wiim Ultra which sometimes takes a few tries. I recently plugged in ethernet to see if that resolves the issue.

All in all, I am entering hifi at an interesting time it seems. My 20 year old Sony system is getting a new sibling with some brand new devices (Wiim Ultra and Fosi V3 Mono's). I'm interested to see where this takes me and if I'll get the urge to upgrade this equipment in the next couple of years to get a better sound from the Magnepans?

On the Wiim forums there was a person complaining about the Wiim's Home App not using mDNS. Turned out it was a bug with Avahi and the Wiim will indeed use mDNS despite the documentation stating otherwise.

He did complain that Wiim was less than inspired to address the issue, considering the problem a "end case."

 

[dtaylo1066]

For some folks, including me, the analog input is a big, big plus. I know of no other streamer/DAC in anywhere near this price that has an analog input, let alone a decent one. I have a turntable and lots of old albums, and a phono preamp, so an analog in is a major feature. I would not need to use the Wiim's phono preamp, but that is a plus for some. A good number of folks still have tape decks. If I buy another streamer such as the Eversolo, I need to purchase a WaxWing for another $500 to spin my records.

I do yearn for a balanced out on the Wiim, as my Hypex amps are balanced only. But one can address that without too much of an investment.

 

[audioaudio]

On the Wiim forums there was a person complaining about the Wiim's Home App not using mDNS. Turned out it was a bug with Avahi and the Wiim will indeed use mDNS despite the documentation stating otherwise.

He did complain that Wiim was less than inspired to address the issue, considering the problem a "end case."

Thanks for that info @Left . I'm not big into forums and haven't looked into the Wiim forum yet. What you explained is what I'm using (Avahi). My guess, the Wiim has a lower polling rate than other IoT devices and therefore caused some minor issues when trying to connect to it from my phone. It was minor and only caused issues sometimes.

Switching the Wiim from WiFi to Ethernet seems to have resolved the issue, although I know not everyone has that option.

 

[JaccoW]

I'm just mocking up a few things in Powerpoint right now but for me the display would already be a whole lot more functional from the couch with better spaced album art and track info.

It's either a screen filled album art or sized down in lettering that's entirely too small anyway.


Whereas something like this with just a logo of the source and a simple progress bar in the bottom would make things a lot more readable from 3 meters or 10 feet away.


Hell, make the text scrolling if it is too long.

Add the kbps if that's important:

 

[amirm]

I would think the digital outputs of a streamer/dac would be much more important to test than phono and BT.

In this case the DAC is excellent so I don't see a need for digital out.

 

[DEF]

In this case the DAC is excellent so I don't see a need for digital out.

but digital in, right? as in toslink - is always benefical, right?

 

[Strongy]

Thanks @amirm . My Wiim Ultra showed up a few days ago and will be the heart of my planned system.
Tidal > Wiim Ultra > Fosi V3 Mono x 2 > Magnepan 0.7s

The Magnepans arrived a few weeks ago and for testing I was running them through:
Laptop > ifi Uno > Yorkville PX1700 (rented pro audio amp - 2 x 850 watts) > Magnepans

Swapping from the ifi Uno to the Wiim Ultra has been night and day even while still using the Yorkville amp.

Pros:
-Sounds great compared to what I was using
-Streaming Tidal with my phone as a remote
-Wiim Remote for power and volume
-Better DAC (than what I was using)
-EQ
-Room Correction (better than expected)
-Sub out
-Software
-Price
-More that I'm sure I'm forgetting

A lot of people claim smaller Magnepans benefit from a sub. I have an old Sony SA W-2500 subwoofer I plug in sometimes for 2.1 and the Wiim Ultra lets me set crossover and EQ the way I want without changing settings on the subwoofer itself, as it's already configured for my 5.1 AV receiver. I may get a RCA switcher but I may be fine using the Magnepans without a sub. Need more listening over the coming months.

The software has also been a great experience. I've only had this a few days and there have already been a few updates adding features so its good to see continuous improvements are on the way for the foreseeable future. The UI is easy to navigate and it's been a blast to play with. I wish I could use the EQ in landscape instead of forced portrait but that's okay.

I did try eARC for youtube and plex through my Roku powered TV and it was amazing to have the pre-gain volume settings on the Wiim Ultra. My default tv volume output was low so the ability to boost the eARC audio signal on the Wiim was very intersting to see and use. Switching between audio inputs and having them fairly balanced volume wise was a treat.

Cons:
-No XLR
-DAC Digital Filter Types?
-mDNS detection over the network

I wish there was more information on the DAC Digital Filter Types. I have researched this and many people say they can't hear a difference, end of story. It would be nice to have a detailed description of what each actually does.

I use a custom firewall at home where the Wiim Ultra sits on an IoT network. My phone is on a different network and doesn't have any issues seeing IoT devices except for the Wiim Ultra which sometimes takes a few tries. I recently plugged in ethernet to see if that resolves the issue.

All in all, I am entering hifi at an interesting time it seems. My 20 year old Sony system is getting a new sibling with some brand new devices (Wiim Ultra and Fosi V3 Mono's). I'm interested to see where this takes me and if I'll get the urge to upgrade this equipment in the next couple of years to get a better sound from the Magnepans?

I have had the Ultra teamed up to Fosi V3 Monos for a few weeks now. Very pleased with the result.
I also forgot that there was a touch screen as I was using remote or Wiim App to control everything.

 

[EJ3]

Sure. My suggestion doesn't preclude that, does it? The ultra has enough inputs you can add your own phono stage if you need.

The distinction might bring consumer clarity to the use-cases these units are designed to address. Right now they seem to want everything to be everything to everybody.

Yes, instead of 1 analog in & 1 phono stage, 2 analog inputs & no phono stage, (I'll use my own, thank you).
And stereo sub outs, please.
And please implement comments about the display.
I would be willing to pay more for "more better"!
But, I believe that this unit is far ahead of most others in being ahead on the right future track.
& LDAC.

 

[amirm]

but digital in, right? as in toslink - is always benefical, right?

Yes and I measured that:

 

[Gremlins]

I'd love to see talks about room auto EQ possibilities

Yes, that small box has this functionlities, use your phone to make mesurements and it will auto calibrate against a choosen curve

A Friend of mine reported me yesterday that this wiim is far better than his McIntosh d100 ... He's just so surprised ... An audiophile dream just vanish

 

[Deleted member 78499]

I'd love to see talks about room auto EQ possibilities

Yes, that small box has this functionlities, use your phone to make mesurements and it will auto calibrate against a choosen curve

A Friend of mine reported me yesterday that this wiim is far better than his McIntosh d100 ... He's just so surprised ... An audiophile dream just vanish

room correction, is a breeze whit all wiim product, look forward to purchase an ultra!

and syncing, is great plus,

 

[Deleted member 78499]

Thanks @amirm . My Wiim Ultra showed up a few days ago and will be the heart of my planned system.
Tidal > Wiim Ultra > Fosi V3 Mono x 2 > Magnepan 0.7s

The Magnepans arrived a few weeks ago and for testing I was running them through:
Laptop > ifi Uno > Yorkville PX1700 (rented pro audio amp - 2 x 850 watts) > Magnepans

Swapping from the ifi Uno to the Wiim Ultra has been night and day even while still using the Yorkville amp.

Pros:
-Sounds great compared to what I was using
-Streaming Tidal with my phone as a remote
-Wiim Remote for power and volume
-Better DAC (than what I was using)
-EQ
-Room Correction (better than expected)
-Sub out
-Software
-Price
-More that I'm sure I'm forgetting

A lot of people claim smaller Magnepans benefit from a sub. I have an old Sony SA W-2500 subwoofer I plug in sometimes for 2.1 and the Wiim Ultra lets me set crossover and EQ the way I want without changing settings on the subwoofer itself, as it's already configured for my 5.1 AV receiver. I may get a RCA switcher but I may be fine using the Magnepans without a sub. Need more listening over the coming months.

The software has also been a great experience. I've only had this a few days and there have already been a few updates adding features so its good to see continuous improvements are on the way for the foreseeable future. The UI is easy to navigate and it's been a blast to play with. I wish I could use the EQ in landscape instead of forced portrait but that's okay.

I did try eARC for youtube and plex through my Roku powered TV and it was amazing to have the pre-gain volume settings on the Wiim Ultra. My default tv volume output was low so the ability to boost the eARC audio signal on the Wiim was very intersting to see and use. Switching between audio inputs and having them fairly balanced volume wise was a treat.

Cons:
-No XLR
-DAC Digital Filter Types?
-mDNS detection over the network

I wish there was more information on the DAC Digital Filter Types. I have researched this and many people say they can't hear a difference, end of story. It would be nice to have a detailed description of what each actually does.

I use a custom firewall at home where the Wiim Ultra sits on an IoT network. My phone is on a different network and doesn't have any issues seeing IoT devices except for the Wiim Ultra which sometimes takes a few tries. I recently plugged in ethernet to see if that resolves the issue.

All in all, I am entering hifi at an interesting time it seems. My 20 year old Sony system is getting a new sibling with some brand new devices (Wiim Ultra and Fosi V3 Mono's). I'm interested to see where this takes me and if I'll get the urge to upgrade this equipment in the next couple of years to get a better sound from the Magnepans?

Dac digital type are there on wiim amp, they should be there on ultra, in wiim amp, they are in audio output "dac digital filter type"

 

[lowkeyoperations]

In this case the DAC is excellent so I don't see a need for digital out.

To connect to active speakers with coax input is a need.
Preferable than going through the DAC only to feed back into an ADC.
It’s one of the features, along with room correction that is critical for my use case.