Amp?

[F1 Fan]

Hi all,

Looking at getting a ultra but need a suitable amp to power my speakers - Sonus Faber Lumina III floor standers & Sonus Faber Gravis I sub.

Was looking at the Wiiim Amp Pro (Ultra > Amp Pro) but does anybody else have any suggestions?

 

[harkpabst]

Hi all,

Looking at getting a ultra but need a suitable amp to power my speakers - Sonus Faber Lumina III floor standers & Sonus Faber Gravis I sub.

Was looking at the Wiiim Amp Pro (Ultra > Amp Pro) but does anybody else have any suggestions?

Have a look at this thread:

Which amp to match the Ultra?

Since the Ultra will be a pre-pro, I'm curious to know what amp will everyone be matching the Wiim with. I've been looking for somethings similar in size to the Ultra with at least 80w per channel (stereo).

forum.wiimhome.com

The WiiM Amp Pro is a great device but it's not designed as a power amplifier. It doubles most of the functionality of the Ultra.

So far WiiM show no intentions to make a matching power amp.

 

[jed1]

What about Topping B100 mono blocks? https://www.toppingaudio.com/product-item/b100

 

[Smartplug]

Hi all,

Looking at getting a ultra but need a suitable amp to power my speakers - Sonus Faber Lumina III floor standers & Sonus Faber Gravis I sub.

Was looking at the Wiiim Amp Pro (Ultra > Amp Pro) but does anybody else have any suggestions?

Parasound Halo JC 1+ Monoblock Power Amplifier, Each

Explore unparalleled audio with the Parasound Halo JC 1+ Monoblock Amplifier: 450W power, John Curl design, and Class A/AB operation for an unmatched sound experience.

tmraudio.com

 

[shuppatsu]

What size room? The Wiim amps are pretty great and a display is overrated. Stereophile measured a big impedance spike from 3k-5k so the pro’s PFFB is probably worth the extra $80.

If you need more power adding the Fosi monos to the Ultra will give you nearly 200W for $260. If you need more than that you can look at the Buckeye amps.

 

[slartibartfast]

Hi all,

Looking at getting a ultra but need a suitable amp to power my speakers - Sonus Faber Lumina III floor standers & Sonus Faber Gravis I sub.

Was looking at the Wiiim Amp Pro (Ultra > Amp Pro) but does anybody else have any suggestions?

Does the Ultra give you something that the Amp Pro doesn't? If not just go for the Amp Pro and don't bother with the Ultra.

 

[Mr Ee]

My amp pro drives my Krix floorstanders nicely. Not so my Paradigm floorstanders.
For your Luninas I'd want to try it out rather than hope / assume it'd work ok.
And, as others say, ultra into amp pro doesn't make much (read any!) sense.

 

[shuppatsu]

Does the Ultra give you something that the Amp Pro doesn't? If not just go for the Amp Pro and don't bother with the Ultra.

Ultra
+ Better DAC (should not matter as the amp DAC should be transparent)
+ Display
+ Phono input (lackluster compared to dedicated but should be fine for many)
+ Headphone output (rather poor compared to dedicated but should be fine for most)
+ A proper preamp with digital and analog ins and outs

Amp Pro
+ Amplification!
+ Better turn knob

To my mind it comes down to whether the Wiim Amp has enough ponies for OP's living room. Stereophile measured his speakers at 91dB, plus he has a sub to take the load off the low end. I think it's probably enough, but I don't know his room size and how loud he likes to listen.

 

[keiron99]

I had the Wiim amp and it struggled with my inefficient speakers. I often had to turn it up to near maximum.

I swapped for an Ultra and a bargain basement Fosi V3. Amazing. Why spend more? Give it a go, you might be surprised.

 

[slartibartfast]

I had the Wiim amp and it struggled with my inefficient speakers. I often had to turn it up to near maximum.

I swapped for an Ultra and a bargain basement Fosi V3. Amazing. Why spend more? Give it a go, you might be surprised.

If near maximum is loud enough what's wrong with that? Maximum volume is bit perfect

 

[harkpabst]

Ultra
+ Better DAC (should not matter as the amp DAC should be transparent)
...
+ A proper preamp with digital and analog ins and outs

Same DAC in Ultra and Amp Pro (ESS ES9038 Q2M).

Inputs are the same, except for the missing phono in on the Amp Pro.

Only one digital output on the Amp Pro (USB), but that shouldn't matter much as it would replace a pre- and power-amp.

PS:
The volume rotary knob on my Amp Pro isn't stepped like it was on the WiiM Amp, unfortunately.

 

[Wiimer]

PS:
The volume rotary knob on my Amp Pro isn't stepped like it was on the WiiM Amp, unfortunately.

Yes, you are correct, but is there any friction like in Ultra?

 

[harkpabst]

No friction, since the center part isn't stationary, right.

Friction with the Ultra's knob definitely reduces over time.

 

[shuppatsu]

Same DAC in Ultra and Amp Pro (ESS ES9038 Q2M).

My bad. Sloppy late night ASR comparison, but the amp doesn’t have an analog out so it wasn’t a DAC measurement!

The volume rotary knob on my Amp Pro isn't stepped like it was on the WiiM Amp, unfortunately.

At least it doesn’t rub though, right?

I forgot another plus for the Ultra, a 12V trigger. Again more important where you’ve got separates, but nice to have regardless.

 

[harkpabst]

My bad. Sloppy late night ASR comparison, but the amp doesn’t have an analog out so it wasn’t a DAC measurement!


At least it doesn’t rub though, right?

I forgot another plus for the Ultra, a 12V trigger. Again more important where you’ve got separates, but nice to have regardless.

Yes, all these points should be mentioned for the sake of completeness, especially before anyone is making a decision.

To sum it up: The WiiM Amp Pro is designed as an all-in-one device. It's a choice between that an a network "preceiver".