Can I use Wiim Amp Ultra for 2 zones?

[RockstarATL]

Hello,
I would like to power three rooms that have in ceiling speakers (Klipsch 8 ohms) with a Wiim Amp Ultra. I asked ChatGPT and said it can be done in the following manner:

Great — you’re planning to use a Wiim Amp Ultra to power:

• Zone 1: Walk-in closet + Master bathroom (2 pairs of 8Ω speakers)
• Zone 2: Master bedroom (1 pair of 8Ω speakers)

This setup is feasible and efficient, but you’ll need to be thoughtful about impedance, power handling, and volume control across the combined zones.

Here is the set up diagram suggested:

I understand sometimes AI can hallucinate, but would like to get a feedback from experts, whether this can be truly done in real life. I understand that zone one speakers are tied so I won't have individual control.

Thank you for the feedback.

 

[harkpabst]

The WiiM Amp Ultra has binding posts for one set of stereo speakers. Usually, the concept of "zones" implies that you can at least switch them on and off independently or even play different contents to each zone. None of this is possible with a single WiiM Amp Ultra.

If all you want is playing music to all these speakers simultaneously then the WiiM Amp Ultra might be capable of this. You would have to wire all three sets of speakers in parallel:

• all right plus wires to the red right speaker terminal
• all right minus wires to the black right speaker terminal
• all left plus wires to the red left speaker terminal
• all left minus wires to the black left speaker terminal

The volume will most probably be different in zones 1 and 2 and there's no way to change that.

The minimum impedance of a speaker can be as low as 6.7 ohm and still officially be called an 8 ohm speaker. Even worse, many manufacturers advertise their speakers as being nominally 8 ohm when their actual impedance minimum is way below that! If we do the math just assuming an impedance of 6.7 ohm then the combined impedance of all three speaker sets in parallel would be as low as 2.2 ohms.

This is very close to the WiiM Amp Ultra's rated minimum speaker impedance of 2 ohms. Personally, I wouldn't do it unless you know the exact impedance curves of your speakers to be above 7 ohms for all frequencies.

A pair of WiiM Amp Pros (or WiiM Amp Ultras, of courses) would be much more appropriate.

 

[slartibartfast]

Interesting article about ChatGPT

Oops! We Automated Bullshit. | Department of Computer Science and Technology

ChatGPT is a bullshit generator. To understand AI, we should think harder about bullshit

www.cst.cam.ac.uk

 

[RockstarATL]

The WiiM Amp Ultra has binding posts for one set of stereo speakers. Usually, the concept of "zones" implies that you can at least switch them on and off independently or even play different contents to each zone. None of this is possible with a single WiiM Amp Ultra.

If all you want is playing music to all these speakers simultaneously then the WiiM Amp Ultra might be capable of this. You would have to wire all three sets of speakers in parallel:

• all right plus wires to the red right speaker terminal
• all right minus wires to the black right speaker terminal
• all left plus wires to the red left speaker terminal
• all left minus wires to the black left speaker terminal

The volume will most probably be different in zones 1 and 2 and there's no way to change that.

The minimum impedance of a speaker can be as low as 6.7 ohm and still officially be called an 8 ohm speaker. Even worse, many manufacturers advertise their speakers as being nominally 8 ohm when their actual impedance minimum is way below that! If we do the math just assuming an impedance of 6.7 ohm then the combined impedance of all three speaker sets in parallel would be as low as 2.2 ohms.

This is very close to the WiiM Amp Ultra's rated minimum speaker impedance of 2 ohms. Personally, I wouldn't do it unless you know the exact impedance curves of your speakers to be above 7 ohms for all frequencies.

A pair of WiiM Amp Pros (or WiiM Amp Ultras, of courses) would be much more appropriate.

Thank you for the input.
When you say a pair of Wiim Amp would be much more appropriate. Are you saying one Wiim Amp for two pairs of speakers and one for another pair is more appropriate?

 

[dtc]

You can get an impedance matching speaker control box, with or without volume controls. The present a constant 4 ohm impedance to the amp no matter what speakers are currently running. The volume controls allow you to adjust each par of speakers. Monoprice and Niles are the common ones. You might look into those rather than buying another amp. There is still an issue of the efficiency of the speakers and whether, even at 4 ohms, the amp can drove all the speakers simultaneously.

 

[Burnside]

Interesting article about ChatGPT

Oops! We Automated Bullshit. | Department of Computer Science and Technology

ChatGPT is a bullshit generator. To understand AI, we should think harder about bullshit

www.cst.cam.ac.uk

I agree - I find I need to apply more critical analysis to ChatGPT results than I would to a Google search. All too often AI can spout contradictory and incorrect nonsense to the extent I wouldn’t trust it to tell me the time.

 

[slartibartfast]

I agree - I find I need to apply more critical analysis to ChatGPT results than I would to a Google search. All too often AI can spout contradictory and incorrect nonsense to the extent I wouldn’t trust it to tell me the time.

It makes it sound so plausible as well which makes it even worse

 

[Burnside]

I think the latest one I had to refute was someone claiming WiiM devices could (still) airplay HomePods because ChatGPT said they could…

 

[harkpabst]

You can get an impedance matching speaker control box, with or without volume controls. The present a constant 4 ohm impedance to the amp no matter what speakers are currently running. The volume controls allow you to adjust each par of speakers. Monoprice and Niles are the common ones. You might look into those rather than buying another amp. There is still an issue of the efficiency of the speakers and whether, even at 4 ohms, the amp can drove all the speakers simultaneously.

And there's still no option of playing different stuff to different zones with just one amp. It all depends on priorities.

I'd probably prefer a pair of WiiM Amp Pros over a pair of WiiM Amps, should this be the way to go.

 

[dtc]

And there's still no option of playing different stuff to different zones with just one amp. It all depends on priorities.

This is a key issue but that does not seem to be a key issue. But, if it is, two amps is the right way to go.

 

[Wiimer]

Hello,
I would like to power three rooms that have in ceiling speakers (Klipsch 8 ohms) with a Wiim Amp Ultra. I asked ChatGPT and said it can be done in the following manner:

Great — you’re planning to use a Wiim Amp Ultra to power:

• Zone 1: Walk-in closet + Master bathroom (2 pairs of 8Ω speakers)
• Zone 2: Master bedroom (1 pair of 8Ω speakers)

This setup is feasible and efficient, but you’ll need to be thoughtful about impedance, power handling, and volume control across the combined zones.

Here is the set up diagram suggested:

I understand sometimes AI can hallucinate, but would like to get a feedback from experts, whether this can be truly done in real life. I understand that zone one speakers are tied so I won't have individual control.

Thank you for the feedback.

Do you need stereo playback in your zone 1 closet and bathroom? If mono is fine and you want to save money, here's what you can do.

1) Connect bedroom speakers to the WiiM Amp Ultra speaker outputs.

2) Connect an inexpensive amplifier to the Amp Ultra's sub-out and connect it to the closet and bathroom.

Change the subwoofer settings on the Amp Ultra as described here.


The result is stereo playback in the bedroom and simultaneous mono playback in the closet and bathroom.

This way, you can also switch off the subwoofer-out using the preset to turn off zone 1 and listen to music zone 2 alone. It also eliminates the need to link two WiiMs together, making operation easier and providing more stable music playback.

An amplifier capable of driving two pairs of speakers is required to connect to the sub-output.

#Gemini Suggestions
Fosi Audio BT20A Pro
AIYIMA A07 MAX
SMSL AL200
(An amplifier with a bluetooth receiver can also be used to listen to music in zone 1 alone. However, the amplifier's volume settings may need to be carefully adjusted).