Amp Ultra volume control

[PaintItBlack]

Hi, I’ve switched from a NAD C356BEE (80W) to a new WiiM Amp Ultra. What surprises me is that while with the NAD I could never raise the volume control beyond roughly 40% without reaching very high volume levels, with the Amp Ultra — even though it has more power — I don’t start finding the volume too loud until I get to around level 75, and, even at 50 I feel it just comfortable. The speakers are the same in both cases (Dynaudio Focus 140), and nothing else has changed except the amplifier.

Does the Amp Ultra’s volume control use a different curve compared to classic (alps) potentiometers?

Apologies if this has been answered before.

 

[Aquaman]

Hi, I’ve switched from a NAD C356BEE (80W) to a new WiiM Amp Ultra. What surprises me is that while with the NAD I could never raise the volume control beyond roughly 40% without reaching very high volume levels, with the Amp Ultra — even though it has more power — I don’t start finding the volume too loud until I get to around level 75, and, even at 50 I feel it just comfortable. The speakers are the same in both cases (Dynaudio Focus 140), and nothing else has changed except the amplifier.

Does the Amp Ultra’s volume control use a different curve compared to classic (alps) potentiometers?

Apologies if this has been answered before.

Welcome to the world of cheap class-D amplifiers. I‘ve had the same experience. But the techies deny persistently this is true.

 

[HansD-NL]

Hi, I’ve switched from a NAD C356BEE (80W) to a new WiiM Amp Ultra. What surprises me is that while with the NAD I could never raise the volume control beyond roughly 40% without reaching very high volume levels, with the Amp Ultra — even though it has more power — I don’t start finding the volume too loud until I get to around level 75, and, even at 50 I feel it just comfortable. The speakers are the same in both cases (Dynaudio Focus 140), and nothing else has changed except the amplifier.

Does the Amp Ultra’s volume control use a different curve compared to classic (alps) potentiometers?

Apologies if this has been answered before.

Yes the (digital) volume control is a different curve and the internal gain structure is different than your NAD which has high sensitivity (line) inputs so with a "hot" input the amp is already at maximum power with it's volume knob at 50% (more or less)
I hope this short explanation answers your question...

@Aquaman --> Not helpful and as an example anyone that ever used an AVR from the last say 15 years has seen the same behavior and those are mostly class AB amps.

 

[Aquaman]

Lyngdorf did better with their fully digital Equibit technology already more than a decade ago.
Current state of the art class-D technology are Purifi Eigentakt Gen2 and Hypey Niali. They truely deliver. Please note that class-D and True Digital are some very different technologies. Class-D is not digital, just more efficient than class-A/B.

The TI modules used by WiiM, Fosi and many other Chinese manufactures are not bad, but don‘t deliver what one would expect coming from classical A/B amplification. They stay free of distortion up to a certain point, but then the implementation limits them before they go into clipping. You can increase the volume and nothing will happen as of a certain volume level setting.

 

[PaintItBlack]

Thanks for your replies, the reason for that difference is clear to me now. Regarding the quality of the Amp Ultra, I know the TPA3255 isn’t a cutting-edge amplifier chip, but my C356BEE wasn’t a high-end amplifier either, nor is it capable of doing everything the Amp Ultra does. I especially hope that the digital room correction feature will outweigh any differences in sound quality (if there are any).

Given said that, I think something like an “Amp Ultimate” with Purifi or Hypex modules would be a huge success, as there’s nothing like that on the market at a fair price. I mean, between the €599 price of the Amp Ultra and, for example, the €2000+ price of the Cambridge EVO 150 SE, there is plenty of room for such an Amp Ultimate, which would inherit the Ultra’s excellent DAC and user experience.

 

[harkpabst]

Lyngdorf did better with their fully digital Equibit technology already more than a decade ago.
Current state of the art class-D technology are Purifi Eigentakt Gen2 and Hypey Niali. They truely deliver. Please note that class-D and True Digital are some very different technologies. Class-D is not digital, just more efficient than class-A/B.

The TI modules used by WiiM, Fosi and many other Chinese manufactures are not bad, but don‘t deliver what one would expect coming from classical A/B amplification. They stay free of distortion up to a certain point, but then the implementation limits them before they go into clipping. You can increase the volume and nothing will happen as of a certain volume level setting.

These claims (and they are just claims) have nothing to do with the topic at hand. This is really just a matter of gain and the deliberately chosen volume control curve. And I say that as an enthusiastic Lyngdorf owner.

It's also not a question of audio quality.

I'm sure that TI never envisioned these TPA325x chips to be used in such high quality devices. They were designed for appliances like soundbars, TVs or smart speakers. But at least when Post Filter Feedback finally was implemented in a better way than outlined in TI's white paper, the level of performance became simply surprising.

 

[Skull]

I am using a WiiM ultra with 2x Fosi Za3 as mono blocks they use tpa3255 chips And I don’t have any volume issues, I have never had the volume over 50% and usually have it set at 35 which gives me 70-75db and if I want around 85db 45 on volume settings is enough
I don’t have a large room but it can get very loud