WiiM Ultra

[Mort]

Bought this rig for my wife. She's thrilled. Super clean audio, all white, small form factors.

*Genelec G Two x2 ($800)
*SVS micro 3000 subwoofer ($650)
*Wiim ultra ($320)

I wish we had more affordable powered monitors like Genelec. Used speakers and new Wiim were still under $1800.

She really loves the Wiim as a touchscreen preamp. (Can we turn off the "yes/no" prompts when switching input/output?)

 

[Joffy1780]

Bought this rig for my wife. She's thrilled. Super clean audio, all white, small form factors.

*Genelec G Two x2 ($800)
*SVS micro 3000 subwoofer ($650)
*Wiim ultra ($320)

I wish we had more affordable powered monitors like Genelec. Used speakers and new Wiim were still under $1800.

She really loves the Wiim as a touchscreen preamp. (Can we turn off the "yes/no" prompts when switching input/output?)

I bet that sounds amazing, I'm not surprised she likes it!!
Re the more affordable monitors, have you looked at the Kali Audio IN-5 or IN-8 or even the Swissonic a305/6/8?

 

[Mort]

I bet that sounds amazing, I'm not surprised she likes it!!
Re the more affordable monitors, have you looked at the Kali Audio IN-5 or IN-8 or even the Swissonic a305/6/8?

Not the swissonic, but the kalis yes. It came down to space savings plus I already owned the subwoofer.

I did look at the Kali in-5 extensively and decided that with a subwoofer, I could get away with a LR pair with less bass output and have a considerably smaller desktop footprint. The kalis are quite deep and she appreciates the space savings of the Genelec.

If I didn't have the micro 3000 already to give her (I got it for 650 blemished from SVS last month) I probably would have gone in-5 or in-8 and foregone the space savings. Even used/blemished Genelec and the micro3000 are a bit expensive for what one gets.

 

[Joffy1780]

Not the swissonic, but the kalis yes. It came down to space savings plus I already owned the subwoofer.

I did look at the Kali in-5 extensively and decided that with a subwoofer, I could get away with a LR pair with less bass output and have a considerably smaller desktop footprint. The kalis are quite deep and she appreciates the space savings of the Genelec.

If I didn't have the micro 3000 already to give her (I got it for 650 blemished from SVS last month) I probably would have gone in-5 or in-8 and foregone the space savings. Even used/blemished Genelec and the micro3000 are a bit expensive for what one gets.

I'm looking to build a very similar setup for our bedroom, so have been weighing up the same issues you describe.
I think I'll likely go with an Ultra and the Swissonic a305 and possibly add a sub later, as the Kalis aren't much cheaper than used Genelecs and I think I'd regret not just getting the Genelecs. I don't think I'd really need a sub with the Kalis, as it's a small room, but I'd likely add a used SVS SB1000 pro or a BK XLS300.
I can imagine the Genelecs 2s and the SB3000 being an amazing combo and with a bit of EQ will sound stunning - I hope you both enjoy it!!

 

[Joffy1780]

Also, I'm looking to go as budget friendly as possible, so the savings the Swissonics represent over the Kalis is quite significant, to me anyway.

 

[James240]

When do you think Amiir will have a review up!

 

[Joffy1780]

When do you think Amiir will have a review up!

Hopefully we will be seeing one from Vintageflanker soon, as I know he has one for testing.

 

[REK2575]

The price-point of WiiM's products really impresses me. I bought a WiiM Ultra and swapped out my old Bluesound Node because, hey, why not give it a try at this price? I really like the Ultra, and I also like WiiM's app better than BluOS.

With the newest generation Bluesound Node retailing at a not-so-cheap $550, WiiM seems well-placed to cut into that marketshare.

 

[Burnside]

The price-point of WiiM's products really impresses me. I bought a WiiM Ultra and swapped out my old Bluesound Node because, hey, why not give it a try at this price? I really like the Ultra, and I also like WiiM's app better than BluOS.

With the newest generation Bluesound Node retailing at a not-so-cheap $550, WiiM seems well-placed to cut into that marketshare.

I would have thought they already had done that with the WiiM Pro tbh…

 

[REK2575]

I would have thought they already had done that with the WiiM Pro tbh…

Yes I suspect you are right. I notice on Crutchfield that the older gen Bluesound Node is now retailing at $350 (marked down from $600 - !!) -- it seems a reasonable guess that those discounts are in response to what WiiM and similar are offering.

 

[renoxd]

Hi @amirm , Thank you for your work!

Do you have plans to take measurements of Wiim Ultra?

 

[NoGoodPoints]

Something must be off in your setup. I get plenty of power for the HD650, HD800S and also Arya Stealth. Never need to go over half volume for more than enough loudness.

Good clear sound. I don't see any need for a separate headphone amp.

Same experience here. I am pleasantly surprised with the amp, didn't expect much. I run my 650s at volume level 9-12 (out of 100). Power is fine.

 

[Brian Hall]

I've submitted a ticket to Wiim for this, but one thing the Ultra needs is a setting for the volume step with the remote. Currently the remote increases or decreases by 4 (I think).

The issue I have with that is I am using the Wiim Ultra as a preamp/dac/streamer going into V3 Monos driving Klipsch Heresy IVs. Using the remote, one step up can go from slightly too low to "Wow, that's too loud".

Previously I was using an Eversolo DMP-A6 and it had an option to set the volume step rate to 1 which was perfect.

 

[Mort]

I've submitted a ticket to Wiim for this, but one thing the Ultra needs is a setting for the volume step with the remote. Currently the remote increases or decreases by 4 (I think).

The issue I have with that is I am using the Wiim Ultra as a preamp/dac/streamer going into V3 Monos driving Klipsch Heresy IVs. Using the remote, one step up can go from slightly too low to "Wow, that's too loud".

Previously I was using an Eversolo DMP-A6 and it had an option to set the volume step rate to 1 which was perfect.

Adjust the ultras max Vrms down by half and you'll have more control.

 

[Burnside]

I've submitted a ticket to Wiim for this, but one thing the Ultra needs is a setting for the volume step with the remote. Currently the remote increases or decreases by 4 (I think).

The issue I have with that is I am using the Wiim Ultra as a preamp/dac/streamer going into V3 Monos driving Klipsch Heresy IVs. Using the remote, one step up can go from slightly too low to "Wow, that's too loud".

Previously I was using an Eversolo DMP-A6 and it had an option to set the volume step rate to 1 which was perfect.

Can’t you use the volume limit as a multiplier to impact that?

 

[Brian Hall]

Adjust the ultras max Vrms down by half and you'll have more control.

That will probably help, but the volume control still needs to be more precise. I don't think relatively large changes are ever a good idea.

Wiim responded to my message and said they will look into adding the option in an update.

 

[Mort]

That will probably help, but the volume control still needs to be more precise. I don't think relatively large changes are ever a good idea.

Wiim responded to my message and said they will look into adding the option in an update.

Yeah it's not a bad feature to request.

Those are highly sensitive speakers too 99db!.

 

[Brian Hall]

Yeah it's not a bad feature to request.

Those are highly sensitive speakers too 99db!.

Yes. Too easy to go from too quiet to too loud.

 

[harkpabst]

Yes. Too easy to go from too quiet to too loud.

Your use case is surely a rather extreme one. I hope you have set the V3 Monos to 25 dB gain.

However, this point has actually been criticized from the beta stage on. WiiM didn't listen.

Ironically, third party apps like e.g. Tidal using Tidal Connect can set the volume in increments of 1%. At least some TVs can do it as well through HDMI CEC. It's just the WiiM Home App and the hardware remote that are limited to 3% steps.

 

[Brian Hall]

Your use case is surely a rather extreme one. I hope you have set the V3 Monos to 25 dB gain.

However, this point has actually been criticized from the beta stage on. WiiM didn't listen.

Ironically, third party apps like e.g. Tidal using Tidal Connect can set the volume in increments of 1%. At least some TVs can do it as well through HDMI CEC. It's just the WiiM Home App and the hardware remote that are limited to 3% steps.

The volume dial on the front works well. It does not have the issue.