WiiM Ultra

[Brian Hall]

 

[Brian Hall]

Which one of these do I pick? View attachment 383413

I think the linear phase fast roll-off is the default. I haven't changed it.

 

[Ze Frog]

View attachment 383431

So nice to see them supporting a product with updates. And to think you could spend many thousands and you simply get what you get and company swiftly moves on.

 

[Grotti]

Which one of these do I pick? View attachment 383413

I would choose the brick wall. But there is no wrong filter: try them and pick the one you like the most....

 

[Jkdjedi]

The sub out features on this are crazy. Took a little tweaking but it's doing a better job than what my Denon (entry level) AVR was doing. Looking to grab a decent amp to compliment this unit for my bedroom bookshelf speaker setup. Emotiva BasX A2 or Schiit Vidar?

 

[harkpabst]

The fact that room correction is only supported on iOS devices (due to the uniformity of their mics) would seem to argue differently.

Not really. Room correction support for Android devices is in open beta state now. They just started off taking the easier route.

I'm thinking of getting a WiiM mini to feed Airplay into the Ultra but that seems just a little ridiculous somehow.

A bit ridiculous, maybe, but doable.

They should have explicitly said it doesn’t have the needed chip and will never have AirPlay from the start

Unfortunately, they obviously didn't know from the start. I don't know any details, but Apple did certify purely software based solutions in the past. Could well be that they just stopped doing so ... for whatever reason.

I was a little bummed I couldn't get 24 bit off the rca cables, only available through optical and coaxial.. the dac on this thing is (technically) better than anything I currently have so I'm stuck with it (which isn't a bad thing really..sounds freakn awesome)

RCA line out is analog, no bits involved. What exactly didn't work for you? I can play 24 bit files just fine through line out.

Not allowed since it is a commercial product that requires license to implement is understandable but saying it is completely not possible due to a missing hardware as a press release seems wrong

The certification process is 100% controlled by Apple. If they opt to refuse certification, they just do it. Again, we don't know for sure if this is the core of the problem, but it's not completely unlikely.

 

[Joffy1780]

The sub out features on this are crazy. Took a little tweaking but it's doing a better job than what my Denon (entry level) AVR was doing. Looking to grab a decent amp to compliment this unit for my bedroom bookshelf speaker setup. Emotiva BasX A2 or Schiit Vidar?

Fosi V3 mono x2 would be my choice.

 

[Jkdjedi]

RCA line out is analog, no bits involved. What exactly didn't work for you? I can play 24 bit files just fine through line out.

In settings for output (bit rate) there is no options for the RCA out, which makes sense now that you mention the analog. Not sure if it matters but I choose the highest possible from the coaxial and spdif (for future use?) Everything is working great otherwise. I'm here waiting for the family to wake up so I can mess with it some more, feel like I'm hearing my favorite playlist for the first time again.
I set the alarm feature and decided not to disturb the family and turned off the reciever last night. Only I forgot about the subwoofer..lol, that was diffrent. Wondering if that's another way to fine tune the subwoofer settings?

 

[Jkdjedi]

US v. Apple: everything you need to know

The center of all of it is Apple’s iPhone ecosystem.

www.theverge.com

View attachment 383455

 

[DannyBoyNYC]

You would think Linkplay/Wiim would be a lot more aware than us of Apple and their 'tactics'. It can't be a secret to them and obviously the decision to enable Airplay casting has backfired badly.
Wiim certainly have to take some of the responsibility.

It appear that both my Ultra and Pro WiiMs are still able to cast (if you can believe Airfoil)

 

[Jkdjedi]

I stand corrected... Wow .. 24bit Flac playback.. (RCA out) using Tidal Connect

 

[Joffy1780]

It appear that both my Ultra and Pro WiiMs are still able to cast (if you can believe Airfoil)

Looks like a Chromecast symbol next to the ultra. Not used Airfoil, so not sure. I'd be very surprised if your ultra had Airplay, considering what is happening.

 

[uofmtiger]

Unfortunately, they obviously didn't know from the start. I don't know any details, but Apple did certify purely software based solutions in the past. Could well be that they just stopped doing so ... for whatever reason.

As you said, we don’t know. What we do know is that Apple has a vested interest in Apple Music subscribers and AirPlay. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense for them to deny software solutions ( if they allowed it in the past..unless they have a security issue with new firmware). Apple wasn’t telling people they were working on certification… that was Wiim. Like I said, it’s a non issue for me, so I don’t care either way, but until we hear specifics from both sides, we won’t have the full story. All I know is that I have tons of Apple AirPlay devices from everyone Belkin, Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, and even Wiim. Hard to come to the conclusion that Apple is the problem without all the facts.

Looks like a Chromecast symbol next to the ultra. Not used Airfoil, so not sure. I'd be very surprised if your ultra had Airplay, considering what is happening.

Airfoil also works with Chromecast. The ultra does not show up as an Airplay option on my iPhone.

 

[Joffy1780]

As you said, we don’t know. What we do know is that Apple has a vested interest in Apple Music subscribers and AirPlay. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense for them to deny software solutions ( if they allowed it in the past..unless they have a security issue with new firmware). Apple wasn’t telling people they were working on certification… that was Wiim. Like I said, it’s a non issue for me, so I don’t care either way, but until we hear specifics from both sides, we won’t have the full story. All I know is that I have tons of Apple AirPlay devices from everyone Belkin, Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, and even Wiim. Hard to come to the conclusion that Apple is the problem without all the facts.

Airfoil also works with Chromecast. The ultra does not show up as an Airplay option on my iPhone.

Sorry, I thought you meant the Ultra was available for Airplay.

 

[VJK_out]

Just a noob question here. The reason for me to purchase Wiim Ultra would be the ARC, room correction abilities and chromecast support.

I have 2.1 Genelec setup: G3 and F2 sub. As of now my signal comes from optical hub to the F2 optical in -> XRL to G3. F2 has default crossover frequency set at 85hz when hooked like this (not adjustable and always on I think).

With Wiim Ultra I could measure and calibrate this pretty well I guess. But should I still use the same way to connect like before.. to use the Wiim optical out?

Or should I connect these directly to the Wiim outputs (rca and sub out, and thus let Wiim handle the crossover and other parameters etc)?

My point here is do I get all the benefits either way or would you prefer one over other?

 

[Jkdjedi]

Just a noob question here. The reason for me to purchase Wiim Ultra would be the ARC, room correction abilities and chromecast support.

I have 2.1 Genelec setup: G3 and F2 sub. As of now my signal comes from optical hub to the F2 optical in -> XRL to G3. F2 has default crossover frequency set at 85hz when hooked like this (not adjustable and always on I think).

With Wiim Ultra I could measure and calibrate this pretty well I guess. But should I still use the same way to connect like before.. to use the Wiim optical out?

Or should I connect these directly to the Wiim outputs (rca and sub out, and thus let Wiim handle the crossover and other parameters etc)?

My point here is do I get all the benefits either way or would you prefer one over other?

I preferred the Wiim doing the sub out. I believe optical out bypasses the DaC on the Ultra.

 

[harkpabst]

As you said, we don’t know. What we do know is that Apple has a vested interest in Apple Music subscribers and AirPlay. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense for them to deny software solutions ( if they allowed it in the past..unless they have a security issue with new firmware). Apple wasn’t telling people they were working on certification… that was Wiim. Like I said, it’s a non issue for me, so I don’t care either way, but until we hear specifics from both sides, we won’t have the full story. All I know is that I have tons of Apple AirPlay devices from everyone Belkin, Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, and even Wiim. Hard to come to the conclusion that Apple is the problem without all the facts.

We do know a little more than that, even though only from WiiM's perspective. Their statements are pretty clear now.

Originally they expected the Ultra to become AirPlay certified, just as every other device they made so far. However, the certification was not completed before introduction to the market. This came as a surprise to WiiM.

At this point they decided to remove all references to AirPlay from their marketing material and sell the Ultra, anyway. Sadly, not all retailers did the same. Also, at this point in time most potential customers did believe that a future firmware update would certainly enable AirPlay. It's not clear if WiiM knew better by then, but I expect they were still negotiating with Apple.

The final statement from WiiM was that the Ultra as is cannot support AirPlay because it doesn't have the MFi chip. That says two things: 1. They didn't expect to need the hardware chip (ask yourself why) and 2. Apple told them they need it (ask yourself when).

I come to the conclusion that it's far more likely, Apple did change something in their certification process or in the way they're dealing with WiiM then just WiiM "fucked up" as a friendly fellow member liked to call it.

No matter what Apple's interest may or may not be, WiiM has absolutely no advantage from (and thus no interest in) not supporting AirPlay in their top of the line streamer, only.

WiiM made themselves vulnerable by starting mass production prior to receiving the certification. Apple explicitly tells participants in the MFi programme not to do that. This was their mistake ...

 

[VJK_out]

I preferred the Wiim doing the sub out. I believe optical out bypasses the DaC on the Ultra.

Thanks. But if I used the optical out from Wiim, would it carry the room correction information + bass management (other than crossover) and how would it be with the F2 having the fixed 85hz crossover?

 

[uofmtiger]

Apple explicitly tells participants in the MFi programme not to do that. This was their mistake ...

then it is Wiim’s fault. The rest is pretty much irrelevant.

One thing that might be worth trying for those that want to use AirPlay and have a Mac on all the time. Use Airfoil Speakers (app) to get audio to the Mac and Airfoil Casting to cast to the Chromecast feature on the Ultra.

I have not looked into whether there are third party apps that might be on iOS for AirPlay to Chromecast or AirPlay to DLNA, but may be worth looking into.

Also, I wonder if you have two Wiims if can pair them and share the audio from one with AirPlay to the other via Wiim Link. Could be another workaround. ( I will check, but I expect this would work, as well).

 

[rcstevensonaz]

I think your full of shit man, this thing is selling like hot cakes, your just sore to be sore.

What in @harkpabst post do you think is wrong? I read his comment as being very straight-forward, even-keeled statements describing the situation as best it seems to be known at this time.