WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review

[Alexx]

@MoreWatts
Out of curiosity, is the sound of the Nad C298 good in the medium-high range? I have no chance to try it.

I listen to classical jazz and vocal music, for this reason I need a lot of detail in this medium-high range, I read some reviews online they say that it is quite confused as detail (it seems very strange to me).

If necessary I can (I don't think so because I would like to put an external Dac with Peq later) but would it be possible to add the Dirac module to the Nad 298? Or is it only put on the Preamp?

Kef R3 Meta speakers.
Thank you very much.

 

[MoreWatts]

@Alexx the C298 sounds just fine. NAD licenses the design from Purifi and then make their own modules, with similar specs.

The Wiim Ultra is a self-contained unit. No need to use additional external DACs or mini-DSP modules for additional bass management. It is so inexpensive, use it for its own capabilities. If you want to plug in additional boxes, then don't bother with an Ultra. The Ultra is easy. Many audiophiles cannot handle easy....

This is where the extra features of the C298 come in handy. It can take unbalanced RCA inputs directly, without the need for cable adapters, as is usually needed with Purifi/NCore modules. Input sensitivity is adjusted with a switch. And I did use the RCA/unbalanced signal pass-through in a previous set-up, to power a subwoofer. The bass integration via the Ultra is superior to this method, however.

 

[Romario]

I have a question at this point which one to choose:

wiim ultra amp - 529
wiim ultra + vibilink - 628
eversolo play - 699

Wiim ultra + ncore amp

 

[Alexx]

@MoreWatts
Ok thank you very much.

 

[motleypixel]

If you stream Apple Music, Eversolo is really almost the only good option of the three. If you stream from any other major service, then you would want to consider what else you listen to. If you’re someone listening to vinyl, the Eversolo play and the WiiM Ultra & VibeLink combo have that phono input, which the WiiM Amp Ultra does not. Also, if you’re planning to listen using headphones, the WiiM Amp Ultra and Eversolo Play do not have their own headphone out, whereas the WiiM Ultra & VibeLink combo does. Finally if you still spin CDs, the Eversolo Play has a CD transport built in, whereas neither WiiM does.

Questions about your last sentence. You mean the Eversolo Play plays CD's as in it's a CD transport which then needs a DAC which itself has? I'm confused on this. The WiiM Ultra has digital in so you can connect a CD transport to it. It also does NOT play CDs. Thanks.

 

[SoySalsaPicante]

Questions about your last sentence. You mean the Eversolo Play plays CD's as in it's a CD transport which then needs a DAC which itself has? I'm confused on this. The WiiM Ultra has digital in so you can connect a CD transport to it. It also does NOT play CDs. Thanks.

Sorry, let me clarify: the Eversolo Play offers a CD Edition which has a built-in CD transport (which uses the Play's internal DAC):

 

[harkpabst]

Questions about your last sentence. You mean the Eversolo Play plays CD's as in it's a CD transport which then needs a DAC which itself has? I'm confused on this. The WiiM Ultra has digital in so you can connect a CD transport to it. It also does NOT play CDs. Thanks.

The price difference between the Play and the Play CD-Edition is ~100 bucks.

 

[Russ_L]

Well that was easy.

• Ordered an Ultra on Thursday for $280 with an Amazon USA 'Lightning Special.'
• Ordered a Blue Jeans Cable Y-splitter to hook up my 2 subs to the Ultra's sub-out. Ordered 2 HDMI cables to replace old ones that may not be up to latest specs. Picked-up all today. (Wednesday)
• Plugged my Intel Nuc11i7 into my 75-inch TV via HDMI. Plugged TV HDMI eArc into the Ultra. Plugged Ethernet into the Ultra.
• Ran analog RCA out to my NAD C298 amp. Set the amp's input-switch to unbalanced, after a previous balanced set-up.
• Plugged in the power cable. The Wiim powered up. Downloaded the Wiim Home app onto Android phone and tablet. Ultra did a firmware update. Paired the Ultra remote.
• All devices found each other without much help. Lyrion Music Server, the PC, Spotify Connect, and the TV see the Ultra, and vice versa. I turned off Equalizer APO on the PC for now, to use the Ultra's EQ.
• On the Wiim app, turned on the sub-out, set the XO lowish for now (I have Revel F208 floorstanders, with nice bass). Turned on the equalizer and did a quick adjustment to mimic a previous curve. Set the display to the VU-meter.
• HTPC, Chromecast (HBO Max, Hulu, Disney, Paramount+, etc.), whole-house audio via old Lyrion Music Server devices all worked effortlessly.

I lost some amp headroom with this unbalanced configution compared to my previous all balanced streamer/DAC/preamp/amp devices. It appears to play plenty loud, for the sake of my hearing, at least.

The Ultra replaced a streamer/DAC that was $2000 and a preamp that was $3500 when new.

I will run Wiim room correction software soon. I'll keep in touch in this thread, as I discover all the features of this marvelous device.

Received my Ultra yesterday, Amazon Prime $263. Unbelievable for what I’m expecting from the unit. Was intending to set it up tomorrow but after reading your post I know what I’m doing for the remainder of the evening.

 

[Xibal]

How bad is, in reality, 48khz wideband distortion+noise pointed out by @amir?Did they fixed it somehow?

 

[kyuu]

How bad is, in reality, 48khz wideband distortion+noise pointed out by @amir?Did they fixed it somehow?

It's not. It's just noise shaping, the noise is out of the audio band and extremely low level in any case. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Xibal]

It's not. It's just noise shaping, the noise is out of the audio band and extremely low level in any case. I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks, i need a minimalist set up and maybe Wiim Amp Ultra (i expect similar performance as for transparency) +Ascilab F6bs + sub would be a great cost/benefit set up for the front...

 

[Russ_L]

My new Ultra is up and running perfectly with one BIG exception. RooN is not recognizing the Ultra. It doesn’t show up as an “audio zone”. I have some recommendations from the WiiM forum which I will try later today.

Russ

 

[Russ_L]

Recommendation, reboot roon, did not work. ??

Russ

 

[Alexx]

@Russ_L
Send feedback to their support team via the app, or write directly to their contact email.

They're incredibly quick to respond and find solutions; I've always solved complicated issues this way.
Let us know, and best regards.

 

[Russ_L]

@Russ_L
Send feedback to their support team via the app, or write directly to their contact email.

They're incredibly quick to respond and find solutions; I've always solved complicated issues this way.
Let us know, and best regards.

Thanks for the advice. Will do.

R-uss

 

[John.D]

Hi, question to those who own wiim ultra…..
I have recently bought one on Prime Day to simply my setup.
I have TV optical out to Geshelli J2S DAC and then amplifier. While very satisfying experience, volume control has become pain as TV won’t allow volume change in optical digital out and DAC doesn’t have volume control. Changing volume on amplifier is pain as it doesn’t have remote.
Now, with Wiim:
TV HDMI ARC to Wiim and Wiim RCA out to amplfier.
Volume control works on TV now and that issue is resolved but the SQ has suffered to a degree that I could catch almost every time I play something.
Does Wiim’s DAC output capabilities aren’t on higher side based on Amir measurements. He hasn’t used word “DAC” in subject as well.

 

[Russ_L]

Hi, question to those who own wiim ultra…..
I have recently bought one on Prime Day to simply my setup.
I have TV optical out to Geshelli J2S DAC and then amplifier. While very satisfying experience, volume control has become pain as TV won’t allow volume change in optical digital out and DAC doesn’t have volume control. Changing volume on amplifier is pain as it doesn’t have remote.
Now, with Wiim:
TV HDMI ARC to Wiim and Wiim RCA out to amplfier.
Volume control works on TV now and that issue is resolved but the SQ has suffered to a degree that I could catch almost every time I play something.
Does Wiim’s DAC output capabilities aren’t on higher side based on Amir measurements. He hasn’t used word “DAC” in subject as well.

Amir has stated “no need to use an external DAC with the Ultra”.

Russ

 

[Guddu]

Amir has stated “no need to use an external DAC with the Ultra”.

Russ

So, is it to conclude that it has got sota DAC or basically equivalent transparent performance as any decent 100$ DAC?

Anyone decided to connect Ultra to another DAC because of DAC performance?

 

[Alexx]

@Guddu
The Wiim Ultra has a good DAC.

It features this model: SABRE ES9038 Q2M Premium 32-bit/384 kHz DAC.

You don't need anything else.
Best regards.

 

[harkpabst]

Volume control works on TV now and that issue is resolved but the SQ has suffered to a degree that I could catch almost every time I play something.
Does Wiim’s DAC output capabilities aren’t on higher side based on Amir measurements. He hasn’t used word “DAC” in subject as well.

Are you 100% sure that what you experience is not merely a difference in volume? HDMI ARC outputs are notoriously low in digital signal level.

Also make sure to check your TV's HDMI/CEC/ARC settings. Unfortunately different brands love to name this in different ways.

• ARC must be turned on (obviously), but eARC must be turned off. The WiiM Ultra supports ARC but not eARC.
• Make sure that the output of your TV is set to PCM or LPCM, nothing else. Strictly avoid settings like "Compressed", "AC3", "Dolby", "Dolby Digital" or "Bitstream". Quality

The latter is related to my first question, as Dolby Digital output appears even lower in level than LPCM. Multiple WiiM devices can be connected wirelessly to form a 5.1 Dolby Digital system. In this case you would want your TV to output Dolby Digital, of course. But as long as you use the WiiM Ultra in a stereo setup, it's vital to feed it 2 channel LPCM (even if it can decode the compressed 5.1 stream).

PS:
You can use the Pre-Gain settings on the Audio Input page of the device settings to bring the TV level up to that of the other sources. You can set the touchscreen display to show the input level as a VU meter. You should carefully watch this for different TV stations and/or other sources connected to the TV. Increase Pre-Gain only, if the level shown is clearly below 0 dBFS all the time. If you apply too much pre-gain this would result in hard digital clipping (you would hear that instantly). In my personal (limited) experience the HDMI ARC output is usually limited to peak values around -10 dBFS (so one could safely apply up to ~9 dB pre-gain). But your setup might be different, so don't just take my word for it and watch for yourself.